A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF GREEN HOUSE, SCOTT COLEMAN
Last Friday Green House students, teachers and parents, from both the Junior and Senior school took part in the white ribbon walk to speak out against violence against women. It was inspiring to see so many students advocating for change and standing up to make their voice heard.
On behalf of Waverley College, Green House Prefect Alex Bayas was a guest speaker at the event and encouraged all men and boys to stand up and take the oath to speak up. His speech to the thousands in attendance was a powerful call to action for young men to stand up and speak out against violence.
Green House thanks the College Executive for their support of the event, Green House mentors for their advocacy for change and all other staff for their continued involvement and advocacy.
Please find an excerpt from the speech given by Green Wellbeing Prefect, Alex Bayas at the event:
“The statistics for violence against women are truly horrifying and can no longer be ignored. We as a community must strive towards ending this horrible blight on Australian society. We can change this public health issue through respect. Respect is the foundation for which we can build a society, where violence against women is eliminated. Therefore We must all, do everything we can to create a culture of respect and that starts with the men and boys standing here today and in our wider community.
I challenge you; Men and boys to stand beside women to deliver the change we all need. Remembering that All of us can make a difference, and White Ribbon Day is an opportunity for us to stand up and speak out to end violence and disrespect towards women.
We must understand that young men form opinions and often use language based on the influences surrounding them whether that be sporting heroes, music they listen to, or the language used by their mates. The actions of these various influences and the language young people hear can often be dehumanising, and objectifying towards women.
If this language breeds a culture that disrespects women, it is clear to me that in order to eradicate domestic violence men must change this type of language when talking about women. Remembering that each women is someone’s mother, grandmother, sister or daughter. Would you use this type of language when talking to them. So, I challenge all of the men in our community to be conscious of the words you use and the meanings behind them in every instance. And to call out disrespectful language you hear in the community. Together this is how we can end men’s violence against women.”
