THERE is more pressure to take naked photos of yourself on your mobile and distribute them, than to get drunk according to these teenagers.
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Year 10 MacKillop College students Niamh Mullen, Katie Rudgley, Brittany Reece and Chelsea Stephens were part of a school-based domestic violence and sexual assault program last week.
The Love Bites course is run by the Bathurst Women And Children Refuge, with guest speakers from NSW Police, headspace, Veritas House, Centrelink social workers and community health.
“I know a lot of people who do it,” Brittany said of the sexting fad where people take photos or videos of themselves on their phone and send it to someone else.
The four girls said they all know at least one person who has sexted naked images of themselves to other students either in their school, or at another school.
Students were told that one in three women and one in six men across Australia report unwanted sexual experiences during their childhood.
“There’s a lot of peer pressure about having sex,” Niamh said. “I was surprised how high the statistics were for men [being sexually assaulted].”
The girls said the course was a benefit and helped them understand how to try and avoid being sexually assaulted.
“But, statistically one of us will get sexually assaulted at some point,” one of the girls said.
Nationally, one in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, with younger women more at risk.
Bathurst Women And Children Refuge’s Sandra Doueihi said Love Bites provides vital information for what are quite often “hidden” problems.
“It’s important to educate young people to get this knowledge that is correct and so they can access services,” she said.
Guest speaker Senior Constable Matthew Holden said the day is about giving students the tools to know what to do.
“There’s lots of different myths and it’s never the victim’s fault,” he said of sexual assault and domestic violence,” he said.
“The harsh reality is we live in a world where people do the wrong thing ... we can’t just stick out head in the sand and think it doesn’t happen.”
MacKillop College assistant PDHPE co-ordinator Suzanne Reid said they allocate time for the course annually for Year 10 students.
“Being an all girls school we want to empower them and give them the knowledge, power and skill to protect themselves,” she said.