by Sahar Foladi
A Keysborough-based private-school is investigating a student group chat that shared alleged abuse material, with police declining to press charges.
Reportedly a group of young Year 10 boys at Haileybury shared the explicit image involving the sexual abuse of a young girl by an adult male and discussed it using misogynist and racist language.
Principal of the prestigious school Derek Scott says the matter was reported to the police as soon as the school was notified by a parent.
“All students involved were spoken to and their families were informed.
“It has been made clear to the students that this behaviour is totally and unequivocally unacceptable. Haileybury has zero tolerance for this type of conduct.
“The internal investigations are continuing and appropriate disciplinary action will follow.”
No further investigation or criminal charges will be placed by Victoria Police.
Instead after an assessment, police recommended that the most appropriate course of action was an internal school response, with an emphasis on education and support for the students involved to ensure they understand the seriousness of their actions.
Elise Waghorn, lecturer of early childhood at RMIT University, says the lack of action by the authorities “infuriates” her.
She says just talking to the students and children about these kinds of behaviour is not the solution. In turn, it also downplays victims.
“That type of language, allowing them to get away with it, makes them think it’s okay and it’s not.
“How does it encourage women to stand up for themselves that this is not okay?
“This is why woman don’t report when they’re being victims of sexually explicit photos being sent around – they say what’s the point, nothing will be done about it.
“It’s not just boys being boys, sending photos and being silly. They’ve done something against the law, so something needs to be done for it.”
She stresses the importance for children and youth to have positive role models in their lives because children aren’t born bad, it’s about their learnt behaviour.
Ms Waghorn is eager to know of the school’s decision on how they respond.
A significant disciplinary action needs to be sought, according to her, whether it be the boys conduct community service, counselling or volunteer with organisations that work with women and girls at the “high level of domestic violence so they can see the impact of sending these sorts of images.”
She says it’s not that there’s a spike in social media or smartphone-related incidents at schools, it’s about them becoming more obvious.
“They (children) are left to fend for themselves more because parents are left to work harder due to the cost of living.
“Now you have both parents or single parents having to work more hours, allowing children to go down the rabbit hole of YouTube and those algorithms that children are exposed to is very concerning.
“A brain doesn’t fully develop until you’re 25 and latest research show early 30’s. so what we put in and what children are exposed to now is really beyond the years of their rational and appropriate response to certain situations.”
The use of the misogynist and racist language in the group chat is also another major concern raising talks around the importance of shutting down such language.
“Unfortunately, when we don’t shut children down in saying and spreading this stuff at a young age and having consequences to it.
“They grow up to be men who don’t respect women and we see on the news because of domestic violence – there is a very strong correlation between that.”
Safe Steps chief executive officer Dr Chelsea Tobins says the incident worries her but she also acknowledges Respectful Relationships programs, mandatory in Victorian public schools.
“Any kind of abuse whether stalking, coercive control, financial abuse, sextortion is all forms of abuse and what we see is new frontiers of abuse.
“Physical abuse is well known but what we see is much more pervasive, insidious and persistent types of abuse which are harder to see, whether its tech abuse or financial control.
“There’s significant effort around how to build respectful relationships, how we demonstrate what healthy relationships look like.”
However, Ms Waghorn questions the effectiveness of the program – whether schools are “glossing “over it or are they really getting into the “nitty gritty” of it.
