Parents of girls named in a Cork school’s "rape list" have asked for privacy as Davis College in Mallow investigates.
A Co. Cork school is investigating the appearance of a list in the boys’ bathroom which stated that the “girls with the most number of ticks will get raped.” Davis College in Mallow, Co. Cork, removed the list as soon as they were made aware of it and parents have commended their actions in speaking with the girls named on the list directly.
The incident was brought to public attention on Cork radio station Red FM when a parent of one of the school’s students spoke on the Neil Prendeville Show and claimed that this was not the first time the list had appeared.
Other parents have criticized the station’s decision to cover the list after requests to respect the privacy of the students involved.
“The minute that the school was made aware of this incident, they acted quickly to have this list removed and sat down with each of the students directly affected, including my daughter,” one parent said.
“Following her conversation with her teachers in the school she was ready to move on and put this unpleasant incident behind her.
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Davis College in Mallow, Co. Cork.
"When we were made aware that a parent, not directly involved, was going to go on air to discuss this issue, it was something which my daughter and I were categorically against, and requested that the radio station not run a piece, which would open old wounds and put my daughter in the spotlight.
"My daughter and our family do not want her personal life talked about in the media, on radio, print or online. This is something which was upsetting enough for my daughter at the time, and who now is distraught after hearing about it being talked about across the airwaves.
“While her name may not be mentioned, as you know in small communities, this type of information cannot be kept secret for long. I would really appreciate if you could respect the privacy of my daughter, a minor, and not give any more media publicity to an issue which is being handled effectively by the school.”
Davis College has also asked the media to be sensitive to the issue as it could drastically affect the welfare of the students.
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Davis College in Co. Cork where a "rape list" was found in the boys' bathroom.
The school also refuted claims that this was not an isolated incident and has said that Social, Personal and Health Education teachers will be discussing the issue in every class of the college.
“We are taking this issue extremely seriously, and immediately took steps to address it with both the affected students and student body at large. This work is continuing,” said Principal Stephen Gilbert.
"The list was removed the minute we were notified of its existence and we spoke to each of the young ladies mentioned to answer any questions or concerns they had.
"We encouraged them – as we encourage all of our students – to come to us with any issues that may be of concern so that we can support them in any way possible.
"There has been a spotlight nationally on this topic in recent weeks. In keeping with our ethos of caring for all our students and in light of public and media conversation, we wish to make sure that this issue is addressed among all of our students.
We've started a conversation now about rape, consent, sex, porn. If you are a parent, older sibling, SPHE teacher, principal... please look at what you can do to further that and eradicate this. This is rape culture. https://t.co/dkD2y2IKNR
— Sinead O'Carroll (@SineadOCarroll) April 12, 2018
"Our S.P.H.E. (Social, Personal & Health Education) teachers will be facilitating discussions on this subject with every class.
"We want students and parents to know that we will continue to provide a safe learning environment for our students. We remain available to all parents and students who may have concerns in relation to this issue.”
The daughter of the woman who spoke on Red FM had not been named on the list but spoke of her concern.
"What goes through the minds of young men to do this? I can't even imagine what is inside someone's heads that can write something like that given the high-profile case that we have been looking at over the last couple of weeks,” she said.
"It is so clear that this case has had a massive impact on the country, these boys think it's funny and put girls names on the wall."
"The thing about it is that this is the third time that this type of thing has gone up on a wall in the last couple of weeks.
"I was told. I don't know if it's the same names, but it's the same thing."
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