Testimonies

I was 14 and he was older than me. He took me to a park near my house and behind a tree, ripped my clothes off me and raped me.

I was in year 7 and was catching the train home from school in my uniform, it was pretty packed and hot. I saw a man staring at me and moving weirdly and I realised he was masturbating and staring directly at me. I was sitting at the window with a man next to me so couldn't just get up and was in too much shock to ask him to let me through. When I did get up at my stop I saw other people staring at me and I realised that they all knew it was happening and just didn't do anything.

I was invited to a apartment party by boys from X, I was drunk and was vomiting and sliding around the bathroom when I was separated from my friends and locked in a room where I was videoed naked and forcefully stripped as 5 boys digitally raped me and proceeded to film it on their cell phones. I had gotten myself out of the apartment blood covered in my lower area and the next day received threatening text messages from one of the males saying 'i wanted it' and 'if you say anything to anyone or contact the police your gonna get it'. I live in fear of going out and going to parties as they were in a sports team and are extremely well known.

I am lucky I managed to get out a lot of situations where this happened but that doesn't other stuff hasn't happened I have been groped countless times and the first time I got cat called was at the ripe old age of 11. When I casually bring up oh yeah that creepy man followed me again it doesn't seem to phase anybody. I have been on a bus where there were X and X kids who where intoxicated and where making jokes on who could force me into bed. And a lot of the stuff I haven't come forward about because I am terrified of what will happen and re living that trauma day after day. I moved to a co Ed school and had this boy continue run his hand up my leg and touch my vagina and arse. When I brought it up with some mates they did and continue to pressure me to come forward but not because what he did was disgusting but because it would benefit them cause they don't like him.

I personally witnessed one incident at a party where a boy in my year pressured a girl into 'going on a walk' with him so they could make out. Both before and afterwards, the girl was obviously uncomfortable with the situation, but from the boy's perspective, she 'was into it' and he 'could've gotten to third base with her'. I have heard stories of boys I know coercing, pressuring, or even blackmailing girls for sex and they may not even understand what they're doing is wrong

As I enter my mid twenties I realise all my friends me included have been assaulted by boys from the same school of the same graduating year. I didn't understand the true meaning of rape and the nuances until now.

I was sexually assaulted by a boy when I was 16. I was at a party with friends and we went upstairs. I told him a number of times I didnt want to have sex with him, but he wouldnt let me go back down until we had. He messaged me in the morning and told me he "couldnt guarantee i wasnt pregnant". None of my friends could understand how it could have been non consentual and I had to justify myself for a long time afterwards. In particular, I was told by a few of my guy friends that it "couldnt have been that bad". It took me a long time to be able to realise that what had happened was wrong, mainly because no one around me was able to identify that it was either and they werent supportive as a result. This has had a huge impact on my mental health over the years and my ability to have relationships with people and be vulnerable.

I went on a couple dates with a guy from X and he was really nice until I brought him over to my house one night. We were hooking up on my couch and he started to try and finger me but I told him no because my parents were going to come home soon. This didn't matter to him. He kept grabbing me and grabbing my hand and putting it on his dick. Every time I moved it away and said no, he would put it back and say yeah come on it'll be quick. I got up and made him leave. Doesn't matter how nice a guy seems, this still happens

I was speaking to a boy. He was the grade above me and groomed me into doing favours for him. I told him I was interested in a relationship with him, and his response was to take me to parks at night time to perform sexual favours for him. I would always ask to go somewhere nice with him instead and he declined. When at the park at night, he would force me to perform oral sex on him and directed everything I did. I was alone, in the dark, in a park, and was scared. I obeyed what he said to avoid being hurt, and to prevent him from thinking I was 'frigid', even though I had never performed oral sex before. He continued using me like this until I eventually stood up for myself and said it wasn't what I wanted.

The biggest failing for me in terms of sexual education was that even though I understood what rape looked like, I never knew where to go or what to do once it happened to me in Year 10. I was never taught that the shame and stigma around the assault would encourage me to stay quiet by choice. I didn't speak up about it until years later at university, and I regret that to this day.

I was at a party and I really liked this guy who I'd gotten with before. He said he'd sleep with me if I also slept with his friend- I agreed and we did so. The boys filmed the incident without my consent and showed it to boys at their school. They refused to delete the video and my friends and I had to drive to one of the boys house and watch him delete it from his computer.

I don't know if a single group I went to school with that hasn't had some kind of sexual assault or rape occur. Except back then we didn't know that's what it was. We grew up in the late 90s where drinking in parks and house parties with copious amounts of alcohol was normal/ Where the girls were always 2-4 years younger. Girls as young as 13 giving blow job in parks or movies because we didn't know any different and then the whole year would know about it but we were the 'sluts'. One of my friends was assaulted in her own home at 14 by a group of our so called friends from a local private boys school. She was slut shamed for her entire schooling period after that yet she has no recollection of it happening. I wish for better for my girls now 10 and 7. This has to change. Conversations in our house will happen early because I'd rather that than them never knowing consent

When I was 16 I worked with an older boy. He would make disgusting sexual comments to all the girls at work including asking if we had threesomes, saying he would love to see us double team it and say that's what she said to any comment that someone said that was remotely sexual when taken out of context. He was also the team leader of the organisation and was my superior. On shift he would walk past me and touch my butt, pretending that it was an accident because he had to squeeze past. Eventually I told the managers, along with some other girls, and they just moved his shifts so they weren't on at the same time. He continued to work here for 3 years without any action taken.

One time in year 12 I went to a male friend's birthday party. I was a boarder and was under the impression that many people would be staying the night, so I got permission to stay out overnight from my parents and the school. However, I ended up being the only girl who stayed the night, and the other people who stayed over was the birthday guy's older friends. Because it was his 18th, they all went out clubbing but I had an early morning the next day so decided to stay in and go to sleep on the couch. When they got back from the club, a boy came onto the couch I was sleeping on and started cuddling me. This is despite being friends with my at-the-time boyfriend. For context, I am short in stature and this guy was a tall and muscly sportsman. He told me it was fine because he and my boyfriend were friends and the 'cuddle' was just platonic. He then fell asleep while I was essentially pinned under his arms. I was incredibly uncomfortable but didn't say anything because I was terrified - not only of offending him but because I was in a physically compromising position and didn't want to anger him. I barely slept that night. At the earliest possible moment I left without saying goodbye to anyone and didn't tell anyone about what had happened. Even thought nothing sexual actually happened, I felt helpless in the moment and wished that a) I had been able to tell him how uncomfortable I was or that b) he had realised how inappropriate he was being. I know that this story barely compares to the horrible things that other people go through, but I still think about it a lot.

When I was 14 I was infatuated with a boy in the year above. At a party he took me away to a nearby playground and at this point I had only ever kissed one or two boys but because I liked him so much I decided to go. He started fingering me and I asked him to stop as it was painful and he said I can either finger you or you can give me head. I started to get more and more frantic and wanted to leave. He had his two friends standing by the park so that I couldn't run away. He grabbed my head and hair so that I couldn't run away and began to have sex with me. It was really painful and I was crying and asking him to stop but he told me this was normal, that I had lead him on by kissing him as this is what he expected would happen and if I wanted a boy to like me it's what I would have to do. I lost my virginity that night and some of my friends were so excited and others placed a lot of shame on me due to my young age but none of them knew what really happened. He continued to message me for weeks asking me to come to his house/go to a party with him, and I honestly believe he didn't even understand what he had done. It completely ruined any kind of sex and all my past relationships have struggled because of this.