Boys from Brighton Grammar School set up an Instagram account which objectified young girls.
Boys from Brighton Grammar School set up an Instagram account which objectified young girls.
WARNING: Adult content
Boys from an elite Australian school will be investigated by police after setting up a secret Instagram account to "slut shame" young girls.
The account, which has now been deleted, was filled with incriminating pictures of young girls, giving other boys the opportunity to vote for "slut of the year".
Two senior students from Brighton Grammar School in Melbourne's Bayside suburb featured girls as young as 11 and 12 on the Instagram account, according to Fairfax Media.
Some girls were dressed in school uniforms while others were more provocative - one young girl was wearing bikini bottoms and a white singlet.
Students who posted the photo also wrote a caption describing sexual acts the girl was accused of doing.
The school suspended the two boys involved and will make a final decision on their enrolment at the end of further investigations.
The girls on the Instagram page were unaware their photos were being judged publicly and a mother of one of the girls took to Facebook to express her disgust.
"I am writing this as a mother of a girl that has not only been sexualised but violated within our small community," she wrote in a post seen by Fairfax Media.
"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."
On Monday the school met with the students involved, their parents and two girls who had their pictures posted on the account.
This comes after a Facebook page, made by some Melbourne University students earlier this year, was said to promote a rape culture.
The "Hotties of Melbourne University" page posted pictures of attractive university students and invited people to rate their appearance or sexual performance.
A Facebook account was set up by students at Melbourne University to rate the appearance of female students. Photo / Facebook
University of NSW was also criticised after a video was leaked of Baxter College students "glorifying rape" by chanting a song.
"I wish that all the ladies were little red foxes and if I were a hunter I'd shoot up in their boxes," they said.
A toxic culture at Sydney University was also revealed this month when statistics found there were 340 sexual assaults on the campus every year.
Another elite private school, Xavier College in Kew in Melbourne's east, was accused of being privileged last year when students taunted others from a public school ahead of the VCE English exam, calling them "povos".
Cyber safety expert Susan McLean said not all private school boys could be tarnished with the same brush, but said there were still some who were privileged.
"There would be many private school boys absolutely appalled by this behaviour but I think some of the boys have a sense of entitlement and I think it's about how they were brought up and raised," she said.
"The parents of those boys (who created the Instagram account) should be absolutely mortified their sons have done this.
"There is still this jock mentality and you see it especially in college campuses in America and this is a continuation of that. Kids have to be taught what respect is."
Ms McLean said the mother who posted on Facebook about the Instagram account was "totally in the wrong" because it didn't teach young people about respect on social media.
She said every person who liked, shared or posted a picture did something wrong.
"What people have to understand is taking a photo without permission is not a crime, it's what happens to the photo and how it's used," she said.
Brighton Grammar School confirmed that over the weekend it was made aware of an unacceptable social media posting involving two Year 11 boys.
Headmaster Ross Featherston and the senior staff were taking this matter very seriously.
Mr Featherston says the Instagram post was disgraceful and did not reflect the values of the school.
"Disrespectful behaviour on any social media site is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated," he said.
Brighton Grammar said it 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," the school said in a statement.
"Respectful relationships are a critical part of the culture at Brighton Grammar School with various programs in the curriculum addressing this issue.
