Many of you will have seen the news coverage of the distressing report from Christchurch Girls’ High School students about the sexual harassment they face in everyday life simply for being young women.

The contents of that report unfortunately were not a surprise to those of us who work with young people every day. The experiences of the wahine toa in that report reflect the experiences of young people across New Zealand, including at Avonside Girls’ High School.

That is why it is so important that rangatahi are empowered to have a voice. We need to hear these stories so we can change things.

We strongly encourage families to use the report and subsequent news coverage as an opportunity for discussion in your households. One of the key messages in the report was that young people need a safe space to share what happens to them, and support to access help. Home is the first and generally the best place for students to get that support.

We encourage our students to firstly share any experiences of sexual harassment or assault with their whānau. We also encourage whānau to discuss these issues with the police if appropriate.

We are happy to discuss any issues with rangatahi and their families, and guide them through the process.

Students are free to approach any staff member, but we would particularly advocate for them speaking to their pouako, kaitiaki, any member of the senior team or our Hauora team. All of these staff members encourage students to also inform their parents of the issue. If serious in nature, staff will refer to the Senior Team and Hauora team and they will encourage the student and whanau to contact the police. We have a strong Vulnerable Children’s Policy that supports this process.

In many cases, the young person doing the harassment is a student at another school. If we know who the harasser is, we raise our concerns with that school so they can follow up through their discipline processes. However, in serious cases, whānau must take issues to the police.

We are genuinely humbled by the courage of the young people who regularly approach our teams for support. We work hard to ensure our students are open with us about the struggles they face. Next term, we will remind students of the support available to them here at Avonside Girls’ High School and encourage them to raise their concerns with us as needed. It is by speaking out against these issues that our young people will be able to begin to take control of the problem and make the societal change necessary.  

Tanya Clegg
Acting Principal