Four male students from Yarra Valley Grammar suspended after disgraceful ranking of female classmates

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says everyone has a role to play in addressing the misogyny that led to a group of Yarra Valley Grammar schoolboys ranking female classmates on a scale from “wifeys” to “unrapable”.

Four male students have been suspended from Yarra Valley Grammar School.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has slammed the behaviour of a group of male high school students who ranked their female classmates as unrapeable as “disgusting” and “utterly unacceptable”.

Ms Allan said she was “utterly devastated” to learn of the incident in which four Year 11 boys at leading private co-ed school Yarra Valley Grammar created a spreadsheet with photos of female students and ranked them as “wifeys”, “cuties”, “mid”, “object”, “get out” and “unrapeable”.

Ms Allan said the behaviour was “no joke” and “misogynistic”.

“It’s disgraceful, it’s disgusting and it’s utterly unacceptable,” she said on Melbourne.

“To think that you’re sitting in a classroom with classmates who not just hold these views but write them down and share them.

“This is no joke. Respect for women has to be at the forefront of every classroom, of every household and every part of our community.

“I just can’t imagine how tough it is for those young women.”

Yarra Valley Grammar School in Melbourne’s outer east.

Yarra Valley Grammar principal Dr Mark Merry. Picture: Josie Hayden

Ms Allan said it was a matter for the school to determine an appropriate punishment.

“This is something we all need to pause and reflect on,” she said.

“We all have a role to play,” she added.

About 30 Year 11 girls from Yarra Valley Grammar are now receiving counselling over the incident.

Yarra Valley Grammar principal Mark Merry labelled the post, made on the app Discord, as “disgraceful”.

He told the Herald Sun police could be involved to determine if the term “unrapeable” constituted a threat.

“We need to get to the bottom of this and work out who is responsible and hold them accountable. The boys who did it thought it would stay among themselves but how often do we need to tell young people that’s not how it works?” Dr Merry said.

Premier Jacinta Allan at a rally against violence towards women. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Dr Merry said bystanders who viewed the deplorable material – but didn’t create it – could still be disciplined by the school.

Dr Merry said the school will hold a meeting on Monday morning with all year 11s where “kids will be addressed directly”.

“Then the mums and dads of the girls concerned will be briefed. We are still trying to work out who did the posting. And then working out about the bystanders. The issue is not only those who were stupid enough and cruel enough to create this, but others who saw it and didn’t speak up,” Dr Merry said.

He said he was grateful that a member of the school community alerted the school last week.

“From the actions of one or two individuals, so much harm can be done,” he said.

Staff learned of the material last Wednesday and moved to investigate the situation which resulted in the four students being suspended on Friday.

The parents of the female students involved were notified and the principal also confirmed the school has contacted Victoria Police for advice.

The Herald Sun received a copy of a letter sent to parents at Yarra Valley Grammar on Sunday that informed them of the “highly offensive” material that was being circulated online. It also said an assembly would be held on Monday morning with the year 11 cohort.

The revelations come as the nation is calling for significant cultural and legislative changes to address the spate of abuse and violence directed towards women.

After sitting down with state leaders on Thursday the federal government announced a suite of measures to address misogyny online, including the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography.