Alarming rise in ‘casual statements about serious sexual issues’

Teachers have raised the alarm about the worrying sexual culture in schools, including one student suspended over a document listing his preferred sex acts with schoolgirls and teachers.

Both male and female teachers are reporting a rise in ‘casual statements about serious sexual issues’. Picture: Getty

A growing sexual culture in Victorian schools means students are calling teachers pedophiles and sluts, and making pornographic memes and comments about them.

Both male and female teachers are reporting a rise in “casual statements about serious sexual issues” including boys being suspended for catcalls such as “clap them cheeks”.

Slurs also included girls who “call any male teacher who tries to maintain the class rules a pedophile at the drop of the hat”, according to one teacher on an online forum.

The teacher also said they had seen “disturbingly graphic public declarations of sexual acts directed toward female staff and students”.

Students are making pornographic memes and comments about teachers.

“We recently suspended a boy who had a Word document with a list of various girls and women at the school and his preferred sex acts for each one,” the teacher wrote.

Another teacher reported one student who said “f--k you bitch” when he was disciplined.

A collection of teachers at one private boys’ school said boys were drawing penises on their school books, threatened to “piss in the corner” if not allowed to go to the bathroom and referred to a group of female teachers as a “coven”.

The Herald Sun has found a litany of social media posts, both from students in state and private schools, where teachers are accused of being pedophiles and having relationships with students.

“(Teacher’s name) after he preys on innocent little Indian boys,” one TikTok post said, while another post accuses a teacher of having a “relationship” with a student.

There are also several degrading posts in which teachers are matched up as couples while being mocked.

Samantha Schulz, a senior lecturer at the University of Adelaide, called for a national collection of instances of anti-social behaviour, abuse and harassment in schools.

Dr Schulz said the offensive attitudes “cut across the sectors” and were found in many different types of schools.

“Little change will be made until the problem is measured and acknowledged, and a unified system of reporting is put in place,” she said.

Dr Schulz surveyed teachers’ comments on social media, reporting “heightened use of misogynistic language and behaviours by male students, some as young as five”.

One teacher said: “Boys are increasingly using misogynistic language towards female students and teachers, telling them to ‘make me a sandwich’.”

Other teachers noted the use of terms like “slut” and “rape-able” used about female teachers. They said boys would make animal noises and grab their genitals and make rude gestures towards women and girls at the school.

Monash University researcher George Variyan said social media extended the reach of such attitudes, operating as a kind of “echo chamber” for Andrew Tate and other influencers.

“We need to do more, and it’s not just about having a one-hour consent education incursion,” he said. “This kind of profane behaviour has always been there but now technology is amplifying this.

“There’s not a single parent or teacher out there who is not concerned about this issue,” Dr Variyan said.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said: “Any harassment of staff by students is completely unacceptable, and schools will take appropriate disciplinary action against any students who engage in this kind of conduct.”