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Melbourne
Australian school investigating students' Instagram account featuring unsuspecting schoolgirls
Two boys have been suspended over the account.
A PRESTIGIOUS AUSTRALIAN grammar school finds itself in the centre of an online storm this morning involving an allegedly student-run Instagram account which sexualised female students.
The account, with the name ‘ys_academy_puspus’, was apparently created by a number of senior boys at Brighton Grammar, a boys-only school in the suburbs of Melbourne.
The account featured photos of girls, who were unaware they were being photographed, and invited participants to vote for their ‘slut of the year’. It has since been deactivated.
A mother of one of the featured girls, upon learning both that the account existed and that her daughter’s image was featured on it, posted a Facebook post decrying the account which quickly went viral before being converted to a private post.
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“I am writing this as a mother of a girl that has not only been sexualised but violated within our small community,” the woman wrote in her Facebook post.
I will not rest until the consequence for the crime meets the severity of the crime itself – for my daughter and all other young unsuspecting girls.
The woman told Victoria’s The Age that she had since received a threatening phone call from another male parent, using a blocked number, in which the man claimed the account “was a group of boys having fun”.
Now the school authorities themselves have become involved, with headmaster Ross Featherston saying in a statement that the school is taking the matter “very seriously”.
Two boys have now been suspended by the school as investigations continue into the matter.
“The Instagram post is disgraceful and does not reflect the values of BGS,” he said.
Disrespectful behaviour on any social media site is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Brighton Grammar regrets the distress caused to the girls and their families. The girls’ wellbeing is a top priority and Brighton Grammar has been working with these families over the weekend and will continue offering ongoing support.
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