Call for external review into harassment at Brisbane boys’ school

A union is calling for an independent external review into a “broader culture of harassment and sexualised behaviour” after female staff made claims of ongoing sexual harassment at a Brisbane all-boys Catholic school.

Accounts from teachers and staff members at Marist College Ashgrove, tendered to the Queensland Supreme Court in late April, have provided more details of events linked to a claim for damages filed in July last year.

Drama teacher Victoria Sparrow alleged she was surrounded and pelted with food by hundreds of boys on October 27, 2023, while she was employed at the school.

Independent Education Union Queensland branch secretary Terry Burke said the union had formally requested details from Marist about how it was addressing the issues raised by staff, including meeting legal responsibilities laid out in the Work Health and Safety Act.

The union had contacted the school in 2023 about “a specific incident”, Burke said, but also around a “broader culture of harassment and sexualised behaviour”.

“Three years later, we still are receiving reports of objectionable behaviour and harassment,” he said.

“Serious issues persist at the school and in the absence of meaningful intervention to address the issues, we have now called on Marist Schools Australia to commission an independent external review to address the cultural and behavioural situation at Marist Ashgrove.”

The school confirmed it had responded to Burke’s request for information, and was looking forward to additional discussions with the union.

In early May, Sparrow’s barrister Gerard Forde said the reports from colleagues, and documents procured by Sparrow’s legal team from the school illustrated a “culture of misogyny” had been fostered in the student body.

“These are examples of mistreatment of women leading up to what occurred, and so the school would have been aware of it,” Forde said.

In response to Sparrow’s claim, a spokeswoman from Marist said the matter was dealt with under the school’s student behaviour management policy.

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