The Victorian premier says she was “utterly devastated” by a “disgraceful” and “disgusting” spreadsheet compiled by a group of boys at a private school in Melbourne’s east that ranked their female classmates.
Three male students at Yarra Valley grammar in Ringwood have been suspended after they compiled a spreadsheet of photos of their female classmates and reportedly ranked them from top to bottom as “wifeys”, “cuties”, “mid”, “object”, “get out” and lastly “unrapable”.
The school’s principal, Mark Merry, said the students were suspended after staff discovered a screenshot of the document, which had been shared online. He said he was “shocked and outraged” by the offensive terms used.
“When it was brought to my attention, I just could not believe that anyone could A – objectify our young women like that, they’re their fellow students like that and B – be so cruel,” he told ABC News Breakfast on Monday.
“We’re attempting to pick up the pieces now. What has been said can’t be unsaid and now we’re facing the consequences of it here at the school.”
The premier, Jacinta Allan, told reporters she was appalled by what had occurred at the school, amid the national debate on violence against women.
“The behaviour that’s been reported today at the school in Ringwood is misogynist, it’s disgraceful, it’s disgusting and it’s utterly unacceptable,” the premier said.
She said her thoughts were with the young women targeted in the document and that she was “utterly devastated” when she learned about it.
“To think that you’re sitting in a classroom with classmates who not just hold these views, but write them down and share them,” Allan said.
“This is no joke. Respect for women has to be at the forefront of every classroom, of every household, of every part of our community, because … too many women [are] subjected to violence, too many women [are] losing their lives.”
She said the disrespect of women “has to stop”.
Speaking on Nine’s Today show, the federal education minister, Jason Clare, called the incident “disgusting and appalling”.
“It demonstrates that there is still a lot more work to do, it’s a job not just for schools, but for parents and political leaders like me as well,” he said.
The school on Monday will hold an assembly with the entire year level, as well as the parents of the female pupils named in the document.
Merry said suspensions “may not be the end of it” and investigations were ongoing to “work out exactly who did what”.
Meanwhile, support would be offered to affected students, he said.
“We have lots of students in that year level who are outraged, who feel sad, who feel angry, and they are rallying around the support these young women,” he said.
The incident follows rallies across the country calling for cultural and legislative changes to protect women, after nearly 30 women have died at the hands of a man since the start of 2024.
After a national cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the federal government announced the “leaving a violent partner payment” of up to $1,500 in cash and up to $3,500 in goods and services, as well as measures to tackle violent online pornography and misogynistic content targeting children and young people.
Yarra Valley grammar is a prep to Year 12 school with about 1,300 enrolled students. It’s school fees for Year 10 to 12 cost about $30,000 each year.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
