‘Screenshot abusive messages sent by boys to change their behaviour’
THE woman behind a new online campaign to highlight rape culture in schools said she wants it to be a “deterrent” against harassment by boys.
Zan Moon is encouraging girls to screenshot abusive messages from boys on their phones and is then publishing them anonymously online.
Disturbing messages reported to be from boys at schools including Eton, St Paul’s and Tonbridge School have already been published.
Ms Moon, 24, said some boys were already deleting messages from their phones and she hopes it makes them think twice about sending abusive messages in the future.
She also wants to increase pressure on schools to act by tagging the name of those the boys attend in the posts.
It comes after more than 14,500 testimonials of abuse and harassment were published on the website Everyone’s Invited, sparking a national conversation about rape culture in schools.
I have heard that boys are now rapidly deleting things off their phones in fear of being screenshotted Zan Moon
Ms Moon, who has also published an open letter about rape culture in leading private schools, said she set up the @screengrabthem Instagram account because she found that the most powerful and compelling testimonies were ones with photographic evidence.
She said: “I want it to act like a deterrent so boys are too scared to behave in this way because they fear being publicly shamed. I have heard boys are now rapidly deleting things off their phones in fear of being screenshotted.”
Ms Moon asked girls to search their chats on WhatApp and Facebook for abuse “buzzwords” and take a screenshot, and the messages came “flying in”.
She said she was not shocked when she read the messages sent to her, but added: “I feel incredibly angry every time I see them.”
She said so far about 70 girls had sent messages to the site and she wants it to grow so pressure is increased on boys to change their behaviour.
She said: “Social media has been part of the problem for far too long and it’s now time to use it to fight back.
“It’s important that boys see this is going on. I have had a lot of boys respond saying ‘I am absolutely shocked.’ Why are you shocked? This is something that’s so clear to us. It’s important that boys see our reality.”
A statement from Eton said: “Eton always takes specific allegations extremely seriously, does all it can to support those directly affected, takes disciplinary action where appropriate and works with the relevant authorities.
“Safeguarding the welfare of young people is our highest priority.”
James Priory, headmaster at Tonbridge, said: “We are treating the messages posted on this site with the
utmost seriousness. These behaviours have absolutely no place at Tonbridge, or in society. As a school we follow safeguarding policies and procedures in respect of all allegations brought to our attention, including notifying the relevant authorities.”
A spokeswoman for St Paul’s said: “The school completely condemns the actions described on the Everyone’s Invited and @screengrabthem sites, and we take them extremely seriously. We investigate any matters of this nature brought to our attention, liaising closely with external agencies as appropriate.”