Excellent, powerful & worrying article by @DigitalScarlett - former female pupil at @ColchesterRoyal. Scroll to the comments, to see particularly objectionable examples of the types of boys/men that exemplify the problem. https://www.scarlettmansfield.com/post/crgs-rape-culture

I'm a parent of both a boy & girl at CRGS. We've spoken at length about this as a family & all agree that the situation is just not good enough. Unfortunately, as with so much in the school setting, it starts & ends at home. Schools must provide safe & inclusive environments...

for all students, & must ensure that the conduct within the school setting reflects the kind of society that we all want to live in. Parents also have to step up our game: if your child (our son regularly has) tells you about something (s)he's heard/seen, then take it seriously:

don't do what we perhaps do when we see it in wider society & just let it slide (wife & I have definitely done this: as you get older you get more jaded, unfortunately). As a former boys' grammar boy (different school) I can say that the male exceptionalism which normalises..

this kind of behaviour was there when I was at school 25 years ago, and it doesn't sound like it's changed much in the meantime. It certainly hasn't in the workplace, in pubs, clubs etc etc. And again, as parents, it's crucial we model healthy and respectful attitudes at home...

and make it clear to our sons that anything less is just not acceptable; and equally that if they come to us (as ours has) reporting things they think are not acceptable, that we support them, demand that the school deals with it and don't become part of the problem ourselves:

Discouraging our children from 'rocking the boat' because of the potential fallout is allowing the toxic behaviour to propagate. It's not acceptable, it never has been, but has one because those who do it the most end up with the power. That's a classic bullying scenario and...

It must stop. And if you're a man who thinks somehow that there's an overreaction here, or that somehow it's 'just a joke' or whatever, then ask your daughter/granddaughter/sister/wife etc whether they've experienced this...

When they tell you 'yes' - try telling *them* they're overreacting, or that it's just a joke.

This behaviour is enabled when the bullies are allowed to act unchallenged because everyone's frightened of them: Boys' schools have always been dreadful at combatting this, but they...

Don't try because I think it's seen as part of the 'competitive edge': do what you can to get ahead, even if that means denigrating others. It's positively encouraged in some cases-e.g. in sports-so it stands to reason it's allowed in the classroom too.