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Since February, a group of South Australian researchers have been advertising a survey on a facebook group for Adelaide teachers. The survey asks a series of questions about what teachers have experienced in terms of sexism and other anti-social views in their schools. So far, 132 (mostly female) teachers have responded. The emerging results are eye-opening.
As one high school teacher reports: “Boys are increasingly using misogynistic language towards female students and teachers, telling them to ‘make me a sandwich’ [a well-known misogynist meme]”. Other teachers refer to boys describing women as “rapeable” or making barking or meowing sounds at female teachers and peers.
Perhaps even more disturbingly, teachers report male students are working in groups to physically intimidate their female teachers and peers. This includes rushing women down stairs or coming up to their car windows. As one teacher noted, “They do this when I am alone and there are no witnesses.”
As researcher Samantha Schulz writes today, we need to look at the whole of our society when considering how to stop gendered violence in Australia - this includes our schools. Her ongoing study is part of a growing body of research showing the pernicious impact of misogynistic online influencers, who argue men are superior to women. Schulz says we need to do more than existing consent and respectful relationships education: “we need a national response to anti-social language and behaviours in schools”.
And as violence against women is set to dominate discussions at National Cabinet today, politicians and the public alike will be wondering what can be done to solve this problem.
As legal experts Rosalind Dixon and Emma Buxton-Namisnyk write in their piece today, the issue is one of both laws and culture. Any solutions will need to be multifaceted and comprehensive, and cover both the short and long term. They write:
“Institutional change may be the only hope for our sisters and mothers and it will be cultural change that benefits our daughters.”
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Judith Ireland
Education Editor
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Samantha Schulz, University of Adelaide
Since February, researchers have been surveying South Australian teachers about sexist views among their students.
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Rosalind Dixon, UNSW Sydney; Emma Buxton-Namisnyk, UNSW Sydney
Gender violence has captured the attention of policy makers and the public. There’s many things that can be done, both in the short and long term.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The treasury will be given more resources to scrutinise investment proposals. In a speech, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will outline the guardrails around the new Future Made in Australia Act.
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Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The UK is about to force banks to reimburse payments made “because of deception by fraudsters”. Australia’s government isn’t keen.
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Colin Alexander, Nottingham Trent University
What the brevity and humble tone tell us about the resigning first ministe'rs hopes for the future.
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Patrick Usmar, Auckland University of Technology
Smartphones are undoubtedly a distraction to learning. We should keep an open mind about the school ban and give teachers and students time to see what works.
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Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Tanya Hill, Museums Victoria Research Institute
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks each year in early May, but this year it should be particularly good, thanks to dark skies and extra activity.
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Intifar Chowdhury, Flinders University
Half of romantically partnered Australians are coupled with people who don’t share their political views – particularly Generation Z and millennials. Why? Our expert has some ideas … and the figures.
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Stephen Duckett, The University of Melbourne; Fiona McDonald, Queensland University of Technology
Greater payroll taxes for GP clinics means lower profits. Clinics will seek to make up the shortfall in revenue by other means – and this could include reducing the number of patients they bulk bill.
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Erin Harrington, University of Canterbury; Edith Jennifer Hill, Flinders University; Joy McEntee, University of Adelaide; Liz Giuffre, University of Technology Sydney; Phoebe Hart, Queensland University of Technology; Stuart Richards, University of South Australia
It seems to be a time of old favourites: this month we have new seasons, adaptations, and a documentary on childhood television memories.
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Tim Flannery, The University of Melbourne; Josephine Brown, The University of Melbourne; Kale Sniderman, The University of Melbourne
The fossil record suggests Australia may be much wetter, and look far different, in centuries and millenia to come.
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Politics + Society
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Dominique Condo, Deakin University
Skinfold tests were once a staple of AFL fitness assessments, but are now banned for junior athletes. Is this a sign footballers have ‘gone soft’, or is there good reason for it?
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Shireen Morris, Macquarie University; Sarah Sorial, Macquarie University
The scheme is not working to increase transparency or prevent foreign interference. The registration site attracts little traffic, and most Australians probably don’t know the scheme exists.
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Wasay Majid, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Many people who rent or have a mortgage rely on the accommodation supplement to afford their homes. So how could the government make the scheme fairer and more effective than it is now?
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Health + Medicine
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Hunter Bennett, University of South Australia
Heart rate zones are a measure of exercise intensity based on a percentage of your maximum heart rate.
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Science + Technology
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Christopher Ferrie, University of Technology Sydney
A huge investment in building an unproven quantum computer may help local science and industry, but the results are far from a sure thing.
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Environment + Energy
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Jodi Rowley, UNSW Sydney; Damian Lettoof, CSIRO
Among the poisons found in 36% of the frogs tested, rodenticide was detected for the first time. Pesticides are considered a threat to hundreds of amphibian species.
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Arts + Culture
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Will McCallum, Deakin University; Simon Wilmot, Deakin University
Many First Nations celebrate the time when boats from across the Indonesian archipelago were not intercepted by Australian authorities.
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