New South Wales police have urged principals of private schools to be more active in responding to instances of sexual assault committed against their students, advising them to hold direct conversations with victims and their parents to encourage them to formally report their cases to police.
In a crisis meeting held on Friday to address rape culture in Sydney’s private schools, Stacey Maloney, detective superintendent and commander of the NSW police sex crimes squad commander, also encouraged principals of schools specifically in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and north shore to develop closer relationships with their local police commanders.
The directives were issued to the principals of more than 100 independent and Catholic schools as well as representatives from the NSW Department of Education on Friday, as part of the response to facilitate a smoother reporting process following a viral petition drawing attention to consent education that has generated 4,000 testimonies of rape allegedly committed by high school students.
NSW police issued a statement following Friday’s meeting that the school leaders had committed “to establish a statement of intent to address the issue of sexual violence within NSW schools” that will focus on consent education, protocols on reporting, and the safety, welfare and wellbeing of young people.
One attender of the webinar told the Guardian that Maloney also used the meeting to encourage principals to be more proactive, given the slew of testimonies alleging rape that involved students from their schools that have emerged as a result of the petition.
The petition, started by Chanel Contos, a former student of Sydney’s Kambala girls’ school, has received more than 20,000 signatures and about 4,000 testimonies from students who experienced sexual assault by other students – including some as young as 13.
Stories frequently feature interactions at parties, and relationships between students from single-sex schools, and include instances of male students taking advantage of female students while drunk.
The disturbing testimonies – from some victims who say the anonymous forum is the first time they have revealed their experiences – have been submitted mostly by students who graduated from private schools over the past decade.
Students from Scots college, Cranbrook, Sydney Grammar, Waverley college, Kambala, Kincoppal-Rose Bay, Monte Sant’ Angelo and Pymble Ladies’ college are repeatedly mentioned in the testimonies.
Students describe situations in which school-age boys forced female peers to perform oral sex and other acts on them without consent, while others recount feelings of shame after being raped while unconscious.
While the petition has prompted the heads of many of Sydney’s elite private schools to call for an overhaul of their own consent education, it is unclear how this will be addressed by educational authorities.
NSW education minister Sarah Mitchell has approached Contos for a meeting, and the activist addressed the principals of 10 eastern suburbs private schools on Tuesday.
In response to the discussions triggered by the petition, the principal of The King’s school this week questioned whether boys can recall their consent education while drunk if politicians and footballers cannot.
The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AISNSW) has since established a student safety and consent team to address concerns stemming from the petition’s testimonies, while principals of some private schools have called the petition a “wake-up call”.
AISNSW president Geoff Newcombe said: “It’s clear from the disturbing accounts from students that have emerged recently that schools and their support bodies must rethink some of their approaches to these matters and make improvements where necessary”.
Newcombe said his organisation provides “extensive and wide-ranging” measures to teach consent, but added, “I am keen to explore with our member schools how we might enhance those offerings to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in our schools”.
NSW police declined to comment further.
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. International helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.
