Christchurch girls school students seek end to abuse after revealing harassment and rape

Monday, 28 June 2021

Students at a Christchurch girls school hope to spark an end to abuse and inequality after revealing thousands of instances of sexual harassment – with 20 alleging they have been raped.

More than half the 725 students at Christchurch Girls’ High School who replied to a survey said they had been sexually harassed. A quarter of girls who said they had been harassed** said it had happened on 10 occasions or more.

Student described being grabbed on buses, offered money to allow them to be touched, being slapped in the face when having sex against their will, and being forced to touch boys.

The survey, carried out in mid-May, estimated there had been 2677 incidents of sexual harassment on 381 students so far this year – more than 18 a day, or seven per pupil.

**READ MORE:

* Students pushing for better education around sex, consent and rape culture

* Why so angry? Because the coward wins, every time

* Students protesting sexual harassment turned back from boys' school by police

**

Head girl Amiria Tikao believed the survey would “spark change”, and said she was proud of students for speaking out.

“They have every right to use their voice and I encourage them to. We are starting to control this issue in talking about it. Yes, we’re upset, but we’re hopeful.”

Pupils began raising concerns in March, with chalk graffiti messages at Christchurch Boys’ High School supporting women and LGBTQIA+ rights, followed by a protest involving more than 100 girls’ high students the same week.

The school, which has a roll of nearly 1240, released survey results to staff and students in assembly on Monday morning, with parents informed by letter.

Police were also at the school to ensure students knew how to report any allegations.

In a statement, Canterbury district crime manager Detective Inspector Greg Murton said police were “concerned” by the survey’s findings, “particularly the allegations of rape and sexual assault”.

Murton said police had worked with girls’ high since the student protests, meeting them to “discuss the issue and provide a pathway for any complaints of criminal behaviour”.

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft called for “urgent action” on consent and gender equality education for boys.

Becroft said there was growing evidence about the extent of sexual violence against girls and LGBTQ+ teenagers.

“It’s time for New Zealand to admit this is an epidemic – and it needs a national epidemic-level response.”

He called for a national survey that would help provide solutions, including funding better preventative measures for men and boys around consent, healthy relationships, and gender equality, and creating safe ways for girls to report.

The survey, conducted by researcher Liz Gordon, said it was possible some individual rapists had committed the same acts before or since.

“None of these incidents were reported to police, and most never disclosed at all,” the survey said.

“If the students continue to hide their experiences, it leaves perpetrators free and clear to do it again.”

Principal Christine O’Neill said it became clear the school needed to know what was actually happening, how prevalent it was, and “how our young women and rainbow community deal with it”.

“The number of incidents, as well as the lack of reporting and the fact that our students have normalised this totally unacceptable behaviour, are all very concerning.”

There was “quite a sober mood” at the school on Monday, she said, and the priority was supporting students.

“They’ve been brave and strong. Most of the students would say, ‘We know this already, this is our report, this is our lives’.

“I guess we hope it's the beginning of lifting the silence for [students].”

Tikao said she also believed it would encourage students to go to police but felt more research and education was needed, and said the problem needed to be taken more seriously.

“These issues are so much bigger than secondary schools and Christchurch Girls’ High School. It’s a wider societal problem.”

Nic Hill, principal of Christchurch Boys’ High School – whose students have been accused by those at girls' high of inappropriate behaviour – said his school had in recent years “actively encouraged discussions on the importance of diversity and inclusion in our community, and in society”.

“The school has been working incredibly hard with our students and community to talk about, take action on and lead on the issues of female safety.

“Our senior boys in particular have shown strong leadership in this area, and we will continue to support efforts to in calling attention to, and stopping behaviours and actions, that work against diversity and inclusion.”

Cat-calling and body-shaming

The survey, carried out in May, asked students to describe their “worst” incidents of sexual harassment.

More than 20 said they had been raped by individuals or groups, while 430 suffered verbal, physical and sexual harassment outside school, while out socialising or around town. Online incidents were also common.

Many said they felt powerless to stop the abuse.

Students gave vivid accounts of the harassment they had suffered:

• “When I was Year 9 … when I would try to get off the bus it was full of boys standing up and I would always get my a.. pinched so now I don’t bus.”

• “Being slapped in the face when having sex with a person I didn’t want to have sex with.”

• “When a boy in the year above me tried to rape me after a party while I was sleeping.”

• “A man came up to me in Kmart when I was 11 and tried bribing me so that he could touch my but then when I said no he [kept] insisting and got closer but then left me alone.”

• Others recounted being called a “slut”, being forced to touch a boy, being taken advantage of while drunk, being asked for nude photos or being sent unwanted “dick pics”, and being followed while running in Hagley Park. One person was offered money to allow herself to be touched.

Fewer than 10 per cent of students received any help or support, and most did not mention asking for help. None of the 20 experiences of rape described in the survey were reported to police.

“If the students continue to hide their experiences, it leaves perpetrators free and clear to do it again,” Gordon said.

Many incidents involved young males at social events, on streets or on public transport. Egged on by friends, “many comments were extreme and terrifying”, O’Neill said.

Students were also harassed by older males, either alone or in groups.

Men constituted 91 per cent of the identified sexual harassers and the most common abuse entailed cat-calling, body shaming and being rated on looks.

Students reported being “uncomfortable, nervous, degraded, upset, embarrassed and afraid, among other feelings”.

After being harassed, many changed their behaviours, the survey found, dressing in baggy clothing to hide their bodies, travelling different routes and changing their social lives to avoid their harassers.

More work must be done to establish how young people experience and deal with sexual harassment, Gordon said.

She recommended that the school have a strategy of safe disclosure of all sexual harassment, and for students to be “encouraged to report all incidents of sexual harassment and to do so safely”.

Students should also use cameras and videos on their phones to record abuse, Gordon suggested.

Police will this week meet each year group at the school to ensure students knew how to report sexual or physical assault and what support is available.

“We know coming forward to report a sexual assault can be incredibly difficult, so we can provide absolute assurance that any report will be treated seriously and sensitively, and thoroughly investigated,” Murton said.

‘The right side of history’

Among those fighting sexual harassment and “rape culture” is student-led group Culture CHCHange.

An administrator of the group, who did not want to be named over concerns for their safety, said the group had received criticism saying students at Girls' High were “just exaggerating”.

The survey reiterated “how big the problem is and have our own evidence to back that up,” they said, and hoped it would trigger action among school leaders across the country.

“It's really amazing to see our work, not just starting conversations, but prompting action.

“It is a step forward … seeing action being taken is so grounding, that we are on the right side of history.”

Education Ministry deputy secretary Ellen MacGregor-Reid said delivering relationships and sexuality education was a legislative requirement for years 1–10 students in all state and state-integrated English-medium schools. It was “strongly recommended” schools deliver this education for years 11-13.

Education Review Office chief executive Nicholas Pole said the survey findings were “deeply concerning”.

The office’s previous research on sexuality education found that it needed to be more comprehensive and less variable across schools.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there were steps the Government 'could and should be doing, right up front'.

ACC supported a programme called Mates & Dates, which educated young people about healthy relationships, she said. More funding had been been given for wellbeing programmes within the school curriculum.

The concerns highlighted in the survey were a problem 'for all of us' to tackle, Ardern said.

'These are really hard issues to deal with, and I don't think any education provider should feel left alone in dealing with some of these issues.'

Where to get help for sexual violence:

• Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00, click link for local helplines.

• Victim Support 0800 842 846, text 4334, webchat safetotalk.nz or email support@safetotalk.nz.

• The Harbour Online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse.

• Women’s Refuge 0800 733 843 (females only)

• Male Survivors Aotearoa Helplines across NZ, click to find out more (males only).

• If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.

If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation, click the Shielded icon at the bottom of this website to contact Women's Refuge in a safe and anonymous way without it being traced in your browser history. If you're in our app, visit the mobile website here to access Shielded.

* CORRECTION: An initial version of this story said in the headline that 20 per cent of girls at the school had been raped, rather than 20, before being immediately corrected. June 28, 2021.

**CLARIFICATION: This sentence was amended to make it clear that a quarter of those who said they had been harassed said it happened more than 10 times, not a quarter of all respondents. (July 1)