Deputy Principal

Usually, I would start the term on a more uplifting note, however I cannot neglect the biggest social problem facing this country today and that is violence against women. At the end of last year, I wrote in the Especean that I had spoken to all year groups about what our young men can do to make a change to the current situation. I feel given what we are seeing at the moment that we need to revisit this conversation.

As of this week, 27 women have had their lives taken from acts of domestic violence in Australia this year. That is, one woman has died every four days this year because of domestic violence. The figures of women dying does not consider the women who have taken their own lives that the coroner has classified as suicide, as they feared their partners being released from custody. It also does not consider the survivors of domestic violence or those that are currently living in a domestic violence situation.

We as educators in schools have a role to play and we talk to our students about these issues. However, the biggest impact we can have as a community is if our parents and in particular our fathers and male role models have a conversation with their sons. As a father of one son and two daughters, it is imperative that I educate my own children. As fathers (male role models) we must lead by example, and it is up to us to never raise our hands or our voices to the females in our lives. Our children pick up on the examples that we show them and remember we are the biggest influence on their lives.

The Bishop of Broken Bay, Most Reverend Anthony Randazzo set out the theme for Safeguarding Awareness for 2024 as ‘The Voice of the Vulnerable’ with a focus on ‘Domestic Family Violence’. He wrote to his clergy and parishioners last month where he said that ‘our homes should be reflective of communion in God’s self-sacrificing love’. He went on to say that ‘we must be intentional in teaching and mirroring to our children and young people safe, respectful, and life-giving relationships’. As he says, every person deserves human dignity.

I sat down with my seventeen-year-old son last week and reinforced with him no matter how upset or whether he is in an argument with a female, he never has the right to hit or verbally abuse her. I talked to him again about calling out his mates if they make derogatory comments towards a female in person or online. Our sons must be upstanders and call out poor behaviour. We must do something about this issue, and we must act now. I do not want my daughters growing up in a society that accepts violent behaviour by males. I do not want them to be a statistic. 

I want my son and daughters to grow up knowing what a respectful relationship looks like. As parents we must have these tough conversations so that we and our children can be agents of change. The alternative is to do nothing and to say nothing and that is not an alternative that I am willing to accept. Please have a conversation with your son this week. We must work together to ensure that we can be agents of change.

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal