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‘Need to reflect on this’: Victorian schools respond to movement calling for better consent education
Several Victorian schools have issued messages to parents in response to a deluge of sexual assault claims made by young women across the country who voiced their stories as part of a movement demanding better education around consent.
Private schools Xavier College and Geelong Grammar School wrote to their school communities this week after a petition started by Sydney woman Chanel Contos called for sexual consent to be taught in schools from a young age.
It saw hundreds of young women come forward with disturbing allegations of sexual assault and rape from their time as students or soon after, with many describing being forced to perform sex acts or being assaulted while intoxicated or passed out.
Chanel Contos, whose online petition calling on people to come forward with allegations of sexual assault is forcing schools to change.
Among those who anonymously recounted their stories were two students who said they previously attended Geelong Grammar, south-west of Melbourne.
In one account, the former pupil said she was with a male student from the school when she had become intoxicated and woke up to find him sexually assaulting her.
Another ex-student, who graduated in 2014 said they had blacked out at a party and came to with their boyfriend assaulting them.
“He also left my house that night when I wasn’t ready to have sex with him the first time under the pretence of ‘why aren’t you ready’,” she recounted.
Geelong Grammar principal Rebecca Cody said the safety and welfare of students was the school’s highest priority. She assured past and present students that “we are here to listen, and we have programs in place to provide independent, confidential counselling and support”.
“At GGS we begin formal education regarding consent and positive and respectful relationships at year 7 within our curriculum, with the support of external experts such as BraveHearts. This education continues right through every student’s time with us,” she said.
Geelong Grammar School principal Rebecca Cody.Credit: Trevor Collens
The school sent a message to parents and the wider community to address the issues raised in the petition.
The petition also prompted the college rector at private boys school Xavier College in Melbourne’s east, Chris Middleton, to release a message which was sent to parents as part of the newsletter on Thursday.
He said that the fact “so many young women signed the petition is distressing”.
“It would be irrational to think that there would not be similar cases here in Melbourne, and Xavier, as a largely boys’ school, needs to reflect on this, as I would add gently, so do our parents and their sons,” he said.
Mr Middleton said parents should be encouraged to have these conversations with their children “earlier, around years 8-9, rather than later”.
“And I suspect we need to encourage boys to talk more with sisters, girlfriends, friends who are girls and good mates about consent.
“As a school we too need to reflect on how we inform and educate around consent. The question needs to be put clearly to our boys as to whether sex can ever be consensual where heavy drinking or drug taking is involved, or for that matter, at a young age where pressure in any form is applied.”
In Sydney, after the petition began to gain traction during the week, principals drafted letters to their school communities, while some held urgent assemblies with their students, booked guest speakers for parents or contacted their alumni with messages of support.
Ms Contos, who attended Sydney private girls school Kambala, said she had been inspired by the number of people who shared their experiences.
“Even if it stopped now, and just 1000 people learnt about consent as a result this week, that would be a great thing. But I don’t think it’s going to stop. I’m so optimistic about the future. I think so many good things can come of this. I’m so optimistic that this is going to go far,” she said.
“We need to shift away from rape culture, where it’s normal to do these things and people are bystanders. It needs to be normal to call this out,” she said.
“I’m so optimistic about the future. I think so many good things can come of this.”
Her petition for better sex education had called on girls to write to their schools, however now the 22,000-plus signatories have been asked to write to their MPs, and Contos is launching a website to host more than 3000 testimonies.
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