“I can imagine the corridor where it happened, his hands around my neck suffocating me,” she says. Then he put his hands in my pants … It was painful. I told him to stop. ‘
Moon says the five-hour attack took place outside the school in a secluded cottage on the south coast of England, which was rented by a friend at the elite girls’ boarding school she attended over the weekend: Benenden. She was then 15.
Boys from the two men’s schools the girls regularly visited – Eton and Tonbridge – were also there and saw her fight her attacker several times. Yet no one intervened, she says.
“We are privileged children, but despite all the money that goes into the math and licorice lessons, not a penny is spent in these schools to teach students about their right to be safe from this kind of behavior, which is a disgrace, “Moon said. remember her school days.
“And it’s important that we talk about this, because it’s the men who are going to run the country in some cases,” she adds.
Eton, who has trained several British prime ministers, including sitting Boris Johnson, and Princess William and Harry, told CNN in an email that he was hosting workshops on healthy relationships and teaching students about consent. It is said that it always takes specific accusations extremely seriously, and supports those affected and, where necessary, works with the police and child services.
“Protecting the welfare of young people is our highest priority,” Eton said in a statement. “Everyone involved in education has a responsibility to recognize that we can and must do more to bring about meaningful and sustained change for the benefit of all young people.”
The school did not address specific questions on CNN about Zan Moon.
‘Rape culture’
Like a growing number of young women in the UK, Moon expresses her experiences – and the memories of others – of destroying the stigma of a “rape culture” that they say exists in schools.
What has erupted is a chorus of anger drowning out the deafening silence that previously surrounded the issue of sexual violence among school children.
After compiling a 15-page dossier of alleged incidents at various institutions, Moon wrote an open letter to the heads of Eton, Tonbridge and others, noting the ‘chauvinism’ which she said was’ deep within Britain’s. boys’ schools are. “It’s ending now,” she wrote.
James Priory, the principal of Tonbridge, expressed ‘significant concern’ after reading Moon’s letter and said in a statement that such behavior had no place in his school. Tonbridge also said in a statement that it learns pupils’ consent and refers incidents to authorities if necessary.
” We will listen carefully to our students, staff and alumni, as well as to anyone who has contacted us directly from outside the school, to determine what we can do more to ensure that sexual harassment and abuse is never accepted not and that everyone will support them and be able to come forward if they want to, ‘it is said.
Moon’s letter follows the Everyone’s Invited initiative, a website that has garnered more than 13,000 testimonials outlining rape culture in UK schools of current and former students.
These include reports of ten-year-olds being hacked, 12-year-olds being sexually assaulted and disturbing allegations of rape – all far below the UK legal age of 16. The evidence also contains allegations of incidents at public schools and universities, highlighting the pervasive nature of harassment and violence against women in the UK – an issue recently brought to light by the murder of 33-year-old London-based Sarah Everard , attacked while walking home from a friend’s house.
“It’s much wider than just the schools nominated,” says the founder of Soma Sara, a London citizen and former student of the Wycombe Abbey girls’ school. “There is a culture in our entire society of accepting sexual aggression and harassment. It is a culture that trivializes and normalizes the worst behaviors, and that can create an environment where sexual violence can exist and flourish.”
A new helpline and action promised
“We have since received a number of reports of specific offenses.
In addition, where schools are named on this site, officers contact those schools and provide specialist support for potential victims of sexual assault, “the Metropolitan Police wrote in a press release.
“We understand the complex and diverse reasons why many victims do not contact law enforcement, but I want to personally assure everyone who needs our help that we are absolutely here for you,” said The Met’s leader for rape and sexual assault. violations said. Superintendent Mel Laremore.
The anonymous nature of the posts shared on such platforms makes it difficult to investigate claims unless they are specific.
“We are deeply shocked and appalled by the allegations that have recently come to light. The Highgate they describe is completely at odds with the values of our entire community … We are really sorry.”
King’s College School in Wimbledon, south-west London, also conducted an independent inquiry, saying it would not accept any form of abuse or discrimination.
“The school has put in place a system to handle disclosures by pupils of old or present and to provide support, and we call on all those affected by these issues to come forward,” he said.
The Everyone Invite website has since stopped posting the names of schools along with testimonials, but the debate continues. While hundreds of schools have been named on the site, some current and former students, such as Moon, have written open letters to head teachers outlining their experiences of misogyny, abuse and sexual violence.
One letter, written by former Dulwich College student Samuel Schulenburg, accuses South London boys’ school of being a ‘breeding ground for sexual predators’. The letter was written to his former principal to raise awareness of problems in Dulwich, and detailed anonymous stories about sexual violence and harassment presented by girls at James Allen’s Girls School (JAGS), Dulwich College’s sister school.
In response to the open letter and anonymous allegations, Dulwich College principal Joe Spence said in a statement: “The conduct described here is disturbing and completely unacceptable; we condemn it unconditionally.”
“While we are unable to comment on anonymous testimony, specific and proven allegations will be addressed, and we will involve external authorities where appropriate,” Spence added. “As a boys’ school, the first thing we need to do is listen to what women and girls tell us about their experiences and their concerns, but we also have a specific role to play as educators of boys.”
Victims asked to move schools
“Every time we go to do a series of our sessions on healthy relationships, we get young people coming forward and telling us about their experiences,” Brailsford said. She added that it was “too common” for schools to suggest that girls who came forward with revelations leave school, “even if it was not them who committed the sexual assault.”
Women’s rights activists believe it is no surprise in a country where sexual violence is now being prosecuted at a much lower rate than in years ago.
“I only realized quite recently that most of the sexual relationships I had when I was younger were not what I would describe as consensus,” Moon says.
“The whole private school system is set up to protect the boy’s prospects and the school’s reputation. That’s the priority,” Moon said. “What happens to our girls does not matter to them.”
Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou contributed to this report.