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Earlier this week, a Melbourne private school hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, after male students created a spreadsheet that ranked their female peers using derogatory terms such as “wifey” and “unrapeable”. The outcry was swift and fierce: two students were expelled and the school went into damage control.
As the dust settles around what must be every principal’s worst nightmare, education experts Stephanie Wescott and Steven Roberts move past the initial outrage and look at the bigger, much more disturbing picture in Australian schools.
Teachers interviewed as part of the authors’ research say they are seeing the impact of online figures such as “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate on their students’ attitudes and behaviour. One teacher told them about a boy she taught in Year 7 who was a “wholesome, creative” child who did dance competitions. Now he writes “disturbingly misogynistic messages”.
This is all happening within a broader backlash against #metoo. As our authors note, “Teachers in our study said their students believe women have achieved unequal power over men.” They also report that responses from school leaders are not strong or urgent enough.
As Australia grapples with its shocking record on violence against women, Wescott and Roberts say our schools need to do more, and governments need to step in to help them do so. This includes a national campaign against gendered violence in schools, and guidelines about how schools should respond and what standards are expected.
Putting it simply, Wescott and Roberts conclude we need a zero-tolerance approach, and we need it now.
This is just one of the many crucial issues on which our authors use their research expertise to help everyone in society make better decisions. If you value this work, now is the time to make a tax-deductible donation. A big thank you to all those generous readers who have already given.
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Judith Ireland
Education Editor
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Stephanie Wescott, Monash University; Steven Roberts, Monash University
Our ongoing research has found sexism, sexual harassment and misogyny are rife in Australian schools. The federal government needs to lead a national campaign against this.
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