Boys are to blame
Now this is an article that will rock your socks.
He said schools were constantly having to keep on top of new technologies and seek clarification from police when images being shared involved students under the age of 16.
Of course you’ll remember a few years back the last labour government wanting to lower the age of consent to 13 years of age.
“We’re at the point where principals are proposing that parents be prosecuted for parental negligence when they’re aware of the inappropriate and sexual behaviour going on with their children online, yet choose to do nothing about it.”
I’ve copied the article in full below, it’s mind blowing stuff.
School leaders are blaming social media and a lack of parental supervision for the increasing numbers of primary school children being stood down from school for sexual misconduct.
Stand-downs for sexual misconduct in primary schools rose 31 per cent from 2000 to 2013, and in secondary schools they rose 21 per cent, Ministry of Education figures show.
Former Secondary Principals’ Association president Patrick Walsh says the way young boys treat girls, objectifying and sexualising them, has taken “a great leap backwards”.
“It’s a disturbing trend and it’s starting in primary schools.”
Primary school stand-downs for sexual misconduct had gone from 44 incidents in 2000 to 58 last year. Walsh said schools were not resourced to deal with the range of issues the advent of social media had brought on them.
“We’re at the point where principals are proposing that parents be prosecuted for parental negligence when they’re aware of the inappropriate and sexual behaviour going on with their children online, yet choose to do nothing about it.”
He said one North Island school was shocked late last year when a group of boys took a photo of themselves with a group of heavily intoxicated girls who had their genitals exposed.
“It’s difficult to understand the mentality of the boys doing it, but when the school found out and spoke with the parents of the boys who took the pictures, they were not even concerned the images had been shared on social media. Instead, they just accept it as normal behaviour for teenagers.”
He said schools were constantly having to keep on top of new technologies and seek clarification from police when images being shared involved students under the age of 16.
“It’s murky and bordering on sharing child pornography.”
Walsh wants the ministry to undertake consultation with schools to measure how big the problem is and resource those schools needing assistance.
A recent review of sex education guidelines had not gone far enough to deal with schools’ concerns around social media and the role it played in teenagers’ lives, he said.
Hastings Intermediate School principal Andrew Shortcliffe said some parents’ response to sexual misconduct incidents included excuses of being too busy to deal with it, it not being a school matter or “it’s just kids being kids”.
“In those cases I understand exactly what [Walsh] is saying about parental negligence.”
Shortcliffe said in the past five to 10 years sexual misconduct had become more prevalent in primary and intermediate schools. “Kids are exposed to things that possibly parents don’t even know about. Unless parents are actively monitoring things like Facebook and Snapchat, they’d have no idea what is going on.”
The onus was put on schools to deal with it as there was little support from other organisations, he said.
“The reality is victims of this are only a short step away from youth suicide but we don’t have the health sector working with us on it.”
Although Facebook required account holders to be at least 13 years old, Shortcliffe said most 10 and 11-year-olds found a way around the restriction, and arrived at intermediate school with an account. Pupils even younger were also engaging with it.
“There’s been instances where the police have turned up at schools aware of intermediate students communicating with 17 and 18-year-olds on social media and the school and parents aren’t aware. The police consider that to be sexual grooming.”
