Schoolboys placed girls on ‘rape list’
Gardaí called in after discovery of disturbing note
GARDAÍ have been called in after a disturbing ‘rape list’ with secondary school girls’ names on it was found in a Cork school – and was shared on Snapchat. According to alarmed parents the list was found on Tuesday, scrawled on the wall of a boys’ toilet at Davis College in Mallow.
It was titled: ‘The Girls With The Most Number of Ticks Will Get Raped’, and the full names of a number of girls at the school were on it, with 24 ticks in all.
The mother of one student told the Irish Daily Mail that her daughter had seen the list because it has been shared on the social media platform Snap- chat. Even more worrying, it was not only shared among many of the 800 or so pupils at the school, but it may have been sent to students at other schools.
Last night the college said it is taking the matter – first highlighted on yesterday’s Neil Prendeville Show on Cork’s RedFM – very seriously. It added that it was investigating suggestions by some students that similar lists had appeared in previous weeks. However, it said Tuesday’s list was the first one it had become aware of.
Parents told the Mail last night that they had been told by their children that other lists have been found in the same set of boys’ toilets, with one found last week, and the other found the week before.
According to one mother, the lists were each written by a different person and the schoolgirls named across all three lists varied.
Speaking through her mother, one girl told the Mail that one of the girls on one of the list was told she should be ‘happy’ to have received the most ticks. She said: ‘A boy walked past her in the corridor and told her “You should be happy. You have the most likes”.’
Names shared via Snapchat
Clíona Saidléar, executive director of the Rape Crisis Network Ireland, said the discovery of the list was ‘unprecedented’.
‘I am horrified to hear that this list existed,’ she told the Mail last night. ‘It really does concern us. It is, as far as we can tell, unprecedented. We have just never come across anything like it in this country before.
‘The gardaí really need to be involved here and I am glad to hear that the matter has been referred to them. There is no other way to see this, other than someone made a threat against a named schoolgirl that she would be raped.’
Principal Stephen Gilbert said: ‘A thorough investigation is underway to find out who may have been the author of the piece.
‘This matter has also been referred to the gardaí. The safety and wellbeing of all of our students is our top priority. We are taking this issue extremely seriously, and immediately took steps to address it with both the affected students and the student body at large.
‘This work is continuing. The list was removed the minute we were notified of its existence and we spoke to each of the young ladies mentioned to answer any questions or concerns they had. We encouraged them – as we encourage all of our students – to come to us with any issues that may be of concern so that we can support them in any way possible.’
He added: ‘There has been a spotlight nationally on this topic in recent weeks. In keeping with our ethos of caring for all our students and in light of public and media conversation, we wish to make sure that this issue is addressed among all of our students.
‘Our SPHE (Social, Personal & Health Education) teachers will be facilitating discussions on this subject with every class. We want students and parents to know that we will continue to provide a safe learning environment for our students. We remain available to all parents and students who may have concerns.’
Ms Saidléar said: ‘RCNI acknowledge that the Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton has announced a review of the sex education curriculum in all schools, ensuring consent education is available. This is clearly urgent and important. We would also urge him to ensure schools and parents can no longer exempt their children from this right to be informed.
‘The school in question appear to have responded promptly and are proactively engaging with the whole school community but it must be acknowledged they do so in a vacuum. It may be unfair to judge this schools’ response to this crisis, as no national policy or guidance exists to deal with this situation.
‘RCNI have been advocating for a safe to learn strategy since 2013 when the Action Plan on Bullying excluded sexual harassment from its area of concern. There is no blueprint for this school to follow. We would urge the Minister to address this gap urgently.’
EVEN by the prevailing standards of our sexualised culture, the news that a so-called ‘sexual assault list’ was found graffitied in the male toilets of an Irish school is profoundly disturbing. The list, which invited people to place a tick beside the name of the young woman they would like to see raped, was discovered at Davis College in Mallow, Co. Cork. All those on the list are students at the school and, even more shocking, are all minors.
In the hope of identifying the culprits, school principal Stephen Gilbert reacted to the sordid revelation by ordering an immediate internal review. He has also spoken to each of the girls on the list, assuring them of the school’s full support. His swift response is commendable, and we can only hope that the internal review is brought to a swift and satisfactory conclusion.
There will be those who argue that boys will be boys. From time immemorial, teenage boys have said and written appalling things about girls, and, indeed, other boys. It is also true that there is nothing new in sleazy slogans being graffitied on toilet walls. However, what is entirely new is that boys would deem it acceptable, even in jest, to write something pertaining to sexual violence against young women.
Surely this offers yet further proof that a new generation of young men are being brought up with a very warped view of sexuality and relationships. As many eminent academics and psychologists have recently pointed out, the greatest impact of our ‘pornified’ society is on young men. And, so long as we refuse to stem this tidal wave of online pornography to which they are routinely exposed, we should not be surprised that their sexual conduct is often so base and distasteful.
Our recent history has revealed something very sinister regarding sexual attitudes among young men. Improving sex education to include lessons in consent is all well and good. However, it is impossible to avoid the feeling that this will merely treat the symptoms rather than the cause.
Only when we have the courage to confront the pervasive presence of porn in the lives of young Irish men will we tackle this terrible problem with something more than platitudes.