The Herald has spoken to some of the students who made claims but has not substantiated individual allegations.
Schools including Saint Ignatius Riverview,Waverley College and Shore have told theHerald they have programs in place to teach consent.
“Non-consensual sex is a crime and this message is given unequivocally to our students as part of their education which is underpinned by the importance of human dignity,respect and equality,” said Riverview principal Paul Hine.
A Shore school spokesperson said it “has a range of dedicated programs in place to educate students about sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention”. Eastern suburbs schools Cranbrook and Scots College did not provide comment.
The 3000 students who have signed Ms Contos’ petition are calling for schools to do more,and earlier. Former Kambala students recalled visiting Cranbrook in 2015,after a male student had been involved in a sexual assault,to teach about 100 male students about respect for women.
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“The scariest thing for me was we went around in these circles and said:how many of you understand what the word consent means?” one of the former Kambala students said.
“Of the 100 boys,I would say maybe five of them put their hand up. I don’t really think that young women should have been in charge of having to talk to young men.”
Another former Kambala student described the situation as “absurd”. “We weren’t equipped at all;we barely knew what we were talking about,” she said.
Her mother said:“We had heard some horrific stories about the behaviour of the boys and I was appalled by the inaction of the schools and equally appalled that they were using our daughters to do their job.“
However,most principals say the problem of sexual assault goes beyond the school system and requires parent involvement in particular.
“We talk consent every year... We educate our parents on parties and party culture,and the perils of alcohol,young people,and the need for adult supervision,” said Wenona principal Briony Scott.
“Despite this,every year something goes wrong,somewhere... Together,as a community,as a society,we can all do so much more.”
Dr Townsend is now planning to book a speaker for St Catherine’s parents and initiate an alumni support system,in response to the petition.
She told theHerald that she believed most boys schools were working hard to address the issue. “There are so many men who are upright and respectable young men,we don’t want to lose that in this,” she said.
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“But I think it’s a difficult culture to break.”
She said parents needed to work with schools to teach their children sexual education and respectful relationships. “Parents know best when to have the vital open and honest conversations about sexual matters with their daughters and sons,” she wrote to her school community.
“As the online testimonies reveal,teenage parties can be the scene of sexual assaults,so it is important that you and your children are clear about the risks they pose and how you and they can mitigate that risk.”
Shane Hogan,the principal of Kambala,said his school would imminently provide information to its community about the importance of parental supervision and discussing consent.
“[We are] commending the bravery of the young women to call out this behaviour and calling on any Kambala girls or old girls who have experienced this to contact us to access our on campus counselling support and support,” he said.
“We may also call out to these young women to assist us in our planning for future programs.”
Support services:Lifeline 13 11 14;beyondblue 1300 224 636;Domestic Violence Line 1800 65 64 63;1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732
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