PRINCIPAL REPORT
From the College Principal
Dear Parents, Carers, Students, and Staff,
You may well be aware that it was reported in the media earlier this week that a past student of our school was alleged to have committed a sexual assault. The source of this information was an online petition created a few weeks ago, in which thousands of former school students from across Australia have testified, anonymously, that they were victims of sexual crimes. The identity of the victim and alleged perpetrator are not known.
It is shattering to us to think that a member of our community may have done such a thing. Our heartfelt thoughts of support, care and sorrow go out to the alleged victim and their family and friends. We acknowledge that sexual discrimination, harassment and assault against women is widespread, and is a scourge in our society that needs to be stamped out.
This school has long-standing, and very well-developed education programs which address respect for women and, specifically, sexual consent. Education about consent and relationships is prominent within the PE/Health curriculum as well as a long-standing SECASA Year 8 program Respect, Protect, Connect. As indicated in the brief note sent last week, we are working with SECASA as they go through changes of staff and programs to find the best educational options for the future. The college has also implemented the Education Department’s Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships program as an integral component of PEP.
It is perplexing and disturbing that, in spite of these efforts, there are examples of student/ex-students behaving in ways that abuse and diminish women. We will continue to review our programs that deal with this challenging material to ensure that we are doing everything we possibly can to ensure that all young people graduating from BSC are in no doubt about the rights of women and their obligations under the law about gaining consent before engaging in any sexual activity with anyone.
I often write about the partnership between parents and the school. As parents, we need to remember that we are the first, primary, and most important educators of our children on matters of ethics and morality. We imbue our children with our core values and beliefs, both good and ill.
Talking about sexual consent can be an incredibly challenging thing for us as parents to do, and as a school we in no way shirk from our important role in this educative process, but I urge parents to talk about these matters with their children, and to model the respectful behaviours which we all desire our children to exhibit.
I have included two sources of information for those in our community who may have suffered sexual violence, or from related mental health challenges caused by it. One is information to support victims of sexual assault. The second is for more general support for mental health. I also include a link to an interesting piece the respected child psychologist, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, has written on the current environment we are in, and the role of parents.
https://au.reachout.com/articles/sexual-assault-support
https://www.mhvic.org.au/getting-help
Finally, I urge everyone in our community to call out misogyny, sexually harassing behaviour, or sexual assault whenever it is safe for you to do so.
Yours sincerely,
Richard Minack
Principal