Positive Gender Relations – Student Forum

On Thursday 21st November year 11 student leadership representatives Chloe Robins and Charlie Hann attended the Positive Gender Relations – Student Forum. Both students represented Ballarat High School with eagerness and motivation to explore change that could occur within Ballarat High School and our local community in regards to ongoing concerns around Gender Based Violence. 

The event was hosted by Christian Brown and Trevor Edwards who oversee the development and implementation of the Respectful Relationships curriculum within the Central Highlands Area. They were joined by Deb Harris from Women’s Health Grampians (CoRE Consultant and Youth Lead) to lead a session focused on defining respect, and challenging the bystander effect when it comes to Gender Based Violence.

Walking away from the event where they were responsible for leading conversations with Grade 5 students from Alfredton Primary School and Sebastopol Primary School both students shared their vision of targeting Gender Based Violence at Ballarat High School through the reduction of stigma surrounding this subject.

As we now enter the 16 days of Activism it is a crucial time to reflect on the right for all people within our school community and the Ballarat community to feel safe. The 2024 focus of the 16 days of activism is ‘Respect’ and our students hit the nail on the head when brainstorming what respect is, linking it to kindness, empathy, equality and compassion. 

It is uplifting to see the amount of passion emanating from our students in this topic and how they seek to pave the way for change within not only Ballarat High School but the wider Ballarat community. 

Georgia Gregor

Mental Health Practitioner