The mother of a female student at Kambrya College in Melbourne’s West – the school featured on the ABC’s Revolution School documentary series – has accused school staff of slut-shaming and victim-blaming in a post going viral on Facebook.
Kambrya College was named on a website recently exposed for circulating private and nude images of young women without their consent. Some images are sorted by high-schools, and many of the girls are under-age.
“Instead of laying blame directly where it falls – with the perpetrators – it seems [my daughter’s] school decided the best line of defence was to haul the girls into a meeting and not just police their appearance, but thoroughly insult and denigrate them,” the mother said.
The mother said the school told girls to wear longer dresses and not to post photos of themselves online.
“They were told the boys are distracted by their legs, and that boys don’t respect girls who wear short skirts,” the mother wrote.
From speaking with students, The Feed understands girls were shocked and angry.
Source: abc iview
“They were focusing on it being the female’s fault of having short skirts” one student told SBS. “They were also saying the length of your skirt defines your morals – then use the uniform policy in response to back themselves up.”
“[The girls] all feel awkward to be at school now, and feel like they're getting judged,” they said.
The mother, who runs self esteem workshops for adolescents, said the school's messaging was appalling.
“They were informed that this was to ‘protect their integrity’” she said.
‘Skirt lengths don’t define them and they don’t dress for the boys’
Assistant Principal Jo Wastle said in a statement that instructions relating to the uniform policy were given at a special assembly.
“Yesterday we held an assembly where we separated the boys and girls and spoke to them about dress codes, sexting, social media and respect. We chose to separate boys and girls and different years to create smaller groups and encourage open dialogue,” he said. “Anyone who saw the Revolution School series will see how seriously we take uniform policy here at Kambrya College.”
“We also used this assembly to discuss our school being named in recent reports about a website which allegedly contains indecent images of girls from schools across Australia. As far as we know none of our students were affected, but they had heard about it and we wanted to set their minds at rest,” the Assistant Principal said.
Kambrya’s uniform policy states that skirts should be on or below the knee and only light make up should be worn.
The mother said on Facebook that it was an inappropriate time to be discussing uniform policy.
Kambrya was the subject of an ABC documentary series, Revolution School. Source: ABC Australia
“As a parent, I am MORTIFIED that my daughter was subjected to such appalling messaging at the hands of those entrusted to care for her,” the mother wrote.
“The problem is not with the girls and the length of their skirts, nor whether or not they choose to share photos with their boyfriends or anyone else. It’s with the boys themselves; their sense of entitlement and sexist attitudes towards women and girls, their lack of respect, and the trust they CHOOSE to break,” she wrote.
“A number of girls got together afterwards to document their justifiably outraged reaction to this lecture, stating that their skirt lengths don’t define them and that they don’t dress for the boys, but they were ordered by another teacher to shut it down as she walked into the room,” she wrote.
“Twenty-four hours later, and I’ve received messages from the girls telling me they are feeling extremely uncomfortable at school. They feel judged and victimised by school staff, like all eyes are on them, and they don’t feel comfortable around their male peers,” she said.
“They feel their school has sexualised and demonised them, and compounded the problem by sending a strong message that it is them, the girls, who are responsible for the boys’ behaviour, and that the boys are the victims here,” she said.
The mother did not name the school in the post. She told commenters that the name of the school wasn't the point.
The Feed speaks with a victim of the image sharing site
In a statement, the Department of Education said it was working with schools affected by the pornographic site to ensure support is available to any students and staff who need it.
“It is disgraceful to see Victorian students being targeted by this highly inappropriate website,” they said. “The Department is assisting police with their enquiries.”
The school posted an earlier message relating to the pornographic website on Facebook on August 17.
“[T]o the best of our knowledge, none of our current students are implicated in this matter,” the message from principal Michael Muscat reads. “We are aware that a former student who graduated some years ago made a comment on the website thread and named our school. However, no other comments or concerns regarding our students have been reported.”
“We will be working with our students over the coming days to reiterate the importance of cyber-safety and respect. I have liaised with the Department about this matter,” the message read.
The school has been the subject of a documentary series on ABC which has focused on innovative teaching techniques.
“Change is challenging and confronting for students and teachers alike, however by applying simple low cost ideas in the classroom Kambrya undergoes a dramatic transformation,” a blurb from the ABC website says. “Ultimately this is a lesson for all schools in Australia, identifying what they can do to improve standards at this critical time.”
Full Facebook post:
I received a furious text from my daughter yesterday about a meeting all year seven to ten girls were ordered to attend. Her state school was one of the seventy schools implicated earlier this week in the expose about school boys sharing intimate and often non-consensually acquired images of their female counterparts over an internationally run social media platform.
Undoubtedly like many others, instead of laying blame directly where it falls – with the perpetrators – it seems her school decided the best line of defence was to haul the girls into a meeting and not just police their appearance, but thoroughly insult and denigrate them. Nice job, revolution school. At the assembly my daughter and her friends said they were told they had to check the length of their skirts, and that anything that doesn’t touch their knees or below by Monday morning would be deemed inappropriate. They were informed that this was to ‘protect their integrity’. They were also told not to post photos of themselves online, and to refuse any request from a boyfriend for a ‘sexy selfie’, as their boyfriends will only be around for a couple of days; maximum a year; but definitely not in ten years’ time. They were told the boys are distracted by their legs, and that boys don’t respect girls who wear short skirts.
A number of girls got together afterwards to document their justifiably outraged reaction to this lecture, stating that their skirt lengths don’t define them and that they don’t dress for the boys, but they were ordered by another teacher to shut it down as she walked into the room. Talk about silencing the revolution.
As a parent, I am MORTIFIED that my daughter was subjected to such appalling messaging at the hands of those entrusted to care for her, and as a provider of a successful respectful relationships program (seedworkshops.com.au) that effectively addresses this very issue, I am disappointed that despite offering my program free of charge, as yet this opportunity hasn’t been taken up by this school. This is not the first time it’s been made very apparent to me that these students would benefit greatly from it.
The problem is not with the girls and the length of their skirts, nor whether or not they choose to share photos with their boyfriends or anyone else. It’s with the boys themselves; their sense of entitlement and sexist attitudes towards women and girls, their lack of respect, and the trust they CHOOSE to break.
Twenty-four hours later, and I’ve received messages from the girls telling me they are feeling extremely uncomfortable at school. They feel judged and victimised by school staff, like all eyes are on them, and they don’t feel comfortable around their male peers. They feel their school has sexualised and demonised them, and compounded the problem by sending a strong message that it is them, the girls, who are responsible for the boys’ behaviour, and that the boys are the victims here.
Please share this and demand that schools stop slut-shaming and victim-blaming. Stop letting boys off the hook for their appalling behaviour. Address the culture that encourages sexist and misogynist attitudes, but don’t demonise our girls. Beware of language (and indeed programs and guest speakers) that inadvertently or otherwise blame girls for the abuse they experience.
This school has failed miserably by fighting sexism with sexism. When will they ever learn?
READ MORE
Share
Through award winning storytelling, The Feed continues to break new ground with its compelling mix of current affairs, comedy, profiles and investigations. See Different. Know Better. Laugh Harder. Read more about The Feed
Have a story or comment? Contact Us
