Calls from digital safety experts to provide greater support and education for young people navigating the online world grew louder this week after students at Mentone Girls’ Secondary College were warned of possible criminal prosecution after reports pupils had distributed pornographic images during school hours.
The school in Melbourne’s south-east sent parents a letter, advising that students had used mobile phones to share the explicit images while on the campus.
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Members of the school community were also told that police had been informed and that an investigation had commenced.
“We were immediately in contact with the Victorian Police who presented about this very topic to our junior students recently,” the school wrote in a letter to school parents.
Police were, school staff told parents, told on the same day the school became aware of the students’ behaviour.
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The all-girls state school is one of only a handful of single-sex government schools in Victoria.
In line with current Education Department policy, mobile phone use is prohibited at the college during school hours.
“This is in direct breach of the department’s mobile phone policy, e-safety guidelines and also our duty of care as a community,” the school administrators wrote.
“We will also follow guidelines as provided by the E-Safety Commissioner.”
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The news that the pornographic material has been shared by students came just one day after school community members were invited to attend an information session for parents, aimed at encouraging students to use technology safely.
In an opinion piece in the media in May this year, Chloe Shorten – advocate, author, and Chair, Centre for Digital Wellbeing – a not-for-profit policy research and design centre focussing on technology’s impact on overall health and wellbeing, safety and social cohesion in the Australian community – shared her thoughts about the increasingly problematic issue of access to pornography and the impact it can have on young people.
“Through platforms and apps and any device, children today have unprecedented access to explicit material that can have a lasting impact on their developing minds,” she wrote.
“The allure of sex and porn to teenagers is undeniable, but the normalisation of often violent and degrading content poses significant dangers. Just as we openly discuss the risks of vaping and alcohol with our children, we can’t avoid addressing the harms of early exposure to porn. It is a form of abuse that can traumatise and ensnare our youth, jeopardising their emotional wellbeing and future relationships.”
Carla Wilshire OAM is the founding CEO of The Social Policy Group (SPG) and Director of the Centre for Digital Wellbeing.
“Restrictions on mobile phones are only one part of the solution. Children growing up in a digital world need the tools to navigate online social spaces, including how to behave ethically and compassionately online,” Ms Wilshire told EducationDaily.
And with a growing body of evidence to suggest that engagement online reduces empathy, there is more than just the transfer or explicit imagery for educators and families to worry about.
“Young people need to be supported to create ethical and safe digital spaces and teaching digital media and social skills should be part of the Australian curriculum,” she says.
“Parents and schools need more support and better tools to assist in raising a generation brought up online. This includes education around privacy, data control and the sharing of content.”
Providing children from a young age with the tools to navigate online spaces is, Ms Wilshire told EducationDaily, “crucial to promoting responsible online behaviour and to preventing harm”.
“While traditional eSafety courses have focussed on extremes, it is important to develop an integrated age-appropriate approach with a focus on ethical discussions and interactive programs.”
