‘The exact same things are still happening’: Former Haileybury student outraged at reports of sickening group chats

A former student who has previously spoken out about the private school’s culture is calling for zero-tolerance of misogynistic and bigoted students following reports of more disturbing behaviour.

A young woman who graduated from Haileybury in 2023 says she wants the school to do more to protect female students.

A former Haileybury female student has spoken of her experiences of misogynist group chats, threats of sexual violence and slut-shaming at the prestigious co-ed school.

In 2021, after uncovering death and rape threats directed at her in a Haileybury boys’ group chat, the student wrote a letter to the school about her experiences, imploring it to protect their female students.

This landmark manifesto was read by more than 30,000 people after being published on social media.

In it she said school boys exchanged threats about “shooting up” a women’s march she took part in and called her a “bitch” and a “feminazi” for posting about women’s rights and assault.

The former student uncovered death and rape threats directed at her in a Haileybury boys’ group chat. Picture: Mark Stewart

The 2023 graduate student, who said she was first called a “slut” when she was in year five by another male student, said back then the “abuse of women has been greatly normalised in this school”.

“We are forced to walk the halls with rapists, sexual assaulters and misogynists. You have done nothing to shield us,” she wrote in the bombshell missive.

Her revelations come as the Herald Sun has reported two group chats containing distressing sexualised discussions in recent weeks.

Similar online behaviour has also been uncovered at many schools.

When the former student wrote the letter in 2021, hundreds of schools around the country were exposed for having a similar culture of sexual harassment and assault perpetrated by male students against females.

The young woman, who is now an interstate law student, said she was grateful for the support she received once she spoke up, but as time has passed, has questioned the school leaders’ response to her allegations.

The young woman said the boys she accused of misogyny and abuse were “not expelled, and I still had to see them almost everyday”.

She questioned the lack of transparency regarding consequences, and believes that schools should do more to empower victims.

“Although I was very grateful for the education that I received, my experience at the school was tarnished by how unsupported I felt,” she told the Herald Sun.

Soon after the letter went public, she was asked to meet with Haileybury senior female school leaders.

The student said she was “expecting to hear about the consequences that the boys would receive” but she was made to feel like a “villain for responding in an impolite way” to boys who talked about bombing and bashing her

Whilst she has moved on from the event, upon reading the Herald Sun’s recent reports, the young woman said it “was incredibly distressing to see that the exact same things are still happening”.

“I do believe that this is somewhat enabled by private schools.”

“There must be a zero-tolerance policy on misogynistic or bigoted threats, and students should be aware of this. People with those views, regardless of the fact that they are teenagers, should not be permitted at these institutions. They must learn that actions have consequences,” she said.

Haileybury declined to comment, but in 2021 principal Derek Scott told parents: “The kind of behaviour highlighted in her letter is not reflective of the values Haileybury strives to uphold and instil in its students. We want a culture where all students feel safe and empowered”.

The school has since put in place additional programs and policies to support female students and educate all students.

Originally published as ‘The exact same things are still happening’: Former Haileybury student outraged at reports of sickening group chats