For everyone Why gendered violence is union business
In a recent seminar hosted by the Victorian Women’s Trust, the audience was given a summary of new research into the rise in gendered violence in our schools. The results are deeply troubling. When Dr Stephanie Wescott and Professor Steven Roberts from Monash University conducted in-depth interviews with teachers across Australia, they found a disturbing pattern of sexism, sexual harassment and physical intimidation perpetrated by boys in our schools.
Dr Wescott said some teachers they spoke to feel that schools are no longer a safe place for women teachers, forcing them to engage in combative interactions that challenge and undermine their gender and their status. This is adding to workloads, and in some cases leading women to leave the profession altogether.
Co-author Professor Roberts says there is an urgent need for open conversations in schools where women can discuss their experiences, and for schools to develop comprehensive school-level responses rather than one-off sessions or punitive talks. So, what role can AEU members play in supporting this approach?
What can allies do to improve safety for women?
Allies, mostly men, often tell us they are looking for ways to step up, but feel unsure what actions to take. So, here are some ideas.
Develop a shared understanding. Make sure your workplace has a shared understanding of the behaviours that contribute to gendered violence and sexual harassment.
Gendered violence is any behaviour, action, system or structure that causes physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm to a person because of their sex, gender, sexual orientation or because they do not adhere to dominant gender stereotypes or socially prescribed gender roles.
Sexual harassment is a form of gendered violence. It may include comments about a person’s sex life or physical appearance, leering and staring, sexual propositions or repeated unwanted requests for dates, unwelcome questioning about a person’s private life, and so on.
Gendered violence also includes verbal abuse, innuendo, or intimidation through circling, mocking, mimicking, etc.
When they raised these incidents with colleagues or leadership, many were expected to tolerate this behaviour, with comments such as, “That’s just how boys are”.
Stop low-level micro-aggressions. It’s important to stop ‘low level’ micro-aggressions (e.g. gendered insults) at the outset. This includes behaviours inspired by misogynist influencers such as Andrew Tate – such as ‘fake respect’, rejecting women’s rights, posing a ‘women lie about rape’ narrative, asking a woman or girl to ‘make me a sandwich’, or rating women and girls’ attractiveness.
Take women’s concerns seriously. Some women teachers report being undermined in their workplace by colleagues and leadership who do not take their concerns seriously. For example, blaming a victim’s lack of skills for managing student behaviour.
The reality for women and girls is that they can too often be exposed to misogyny and sexual harassment in a classroom environment. This can sometimes involve boys with a gang mentality, often witnessed by bystanders who do not or are unable to appropriately intervene. Women and girls need to be listened to and believed when describing their experiences.
First Nations women and girls need additional support to be seen and heard. Processes for dealing with gendered violence are almost exclusively developed by non-Aboriginal people – usually without an understanding of the racism that can be inherent in those processes and without ensuring cultural safety.
Maintain a whole-school zero-tolerance approach. It doesn’t matter who the perpetrator is – whether a colleague, student, parent/carer, client, or contractor – this kind of behaviour is unlawful. Employers must not be complicit in allowing gendered violence to remain invisible. Every instance should be reported on workplace OHS systems such as EduSafe and, if necessary, local student management reporting systems such as Compass.
Gendered violence is a union issue. Work by the AEU has directly led to gendered violence being recognised as an OHS workplace hazard, but there is so much more that union sub-branches can do to help everyone feel safe, equal and respected. See my Membership Matters column for more.
Further resources from the Victorian Women’s Trust on tackling sexism in schools.
