A teenage girl at the school where a depraved “rape list” was posted in the boys’ toilets, has said teen boys need to urgently understand consent and learn that sex assault is not to be joked about.
On Thursday, it emerged a list of girls’ names was written on the wall of the toilets in Davis College in Cork - inviting lads to ‘tick’ named students.
It included a sick message that the one with the most ticks would be raped.
Gardai are now investigating who pinned up the notice at the co-ed school in Mallow.
The female teen student, who was not one of the girls named, yesterday emphasised that she hoped the story would educate parents and pupils around the country.
She said: “Threatening rape is just so serious. Boys need to learn that they can’t talk about girls like that. A guy sent (the image) to one of the girls on the list to show her. He was like ‘Look at this - it is up.’
“I think their whole mentality is based on attractiveness or something and they are not realising how serious this is.”
The student said it was important not to “paint over” the gravity of the issues involved. She stressed that it was vital that the issue be talked about rather than buried.
She told the Neil Prendeville show on Cork’s Red FM: “I think that people need to understand what is going on and actually be concerned for the safety of us girls.
“It had to be talked about. I was talking about it with my Mam last night. When she was growing up she wouldn’t have known what rape was. But now for me growing up, and especially over the last few years, girls have been told to dress modestly, don’t go out alone. “Don’t be out at night. Don’t drink alcohol. But boys have been told nothing. They get some of it from games and television shows. But in real life they are not being taught about what is right or is wrong.
“They just see people doing this and they think it looks fun. They are not being taught about what consent is. That is a huge problem.”
She said parents talk to girls about rape and they read articles online about what to do if you get in a dangerous situation.
“You see it as well in TV shows. They are saying ‘you shouldn’t have been out alone. You shouldn’t have been wearing this.’ There is great stuff in our school. Nobody is denying that at all. But lately this stuff keeps happening.”
She said teenage boys often underestimate the gravity of their actions.
“A lot of the boys don’t realise how serious this is. I hope that whoever did this is understanding the impact their actions have.”
The student added that this wasn’t an isolated incident and that it had occurred before - something the school has denied.
“If I was on the list I probably wouldn’t want people seeing the list. Some of the girls may be afraid that it might get out. I don’t mean by the media but on social media.
“The reason I saw the list is because it was shared on Snapchat. The reason I saw it is because a boy sent it to a girl to show her what was going on.”
The girl students named on the list issued a statement yesterday saying they were “disappointed” by media coverage of the list which they claimed did not consider “the impact this publicity would have on us as individuals”.
They added: “When we reported the information to school management we were happy with how the situation was dealt with as it was dealt with discreetly and our privacy and dignity were kept intact.”
