“I can imagine the hallway where it happened, his hands around my neck choking 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 of school in a remote cottage on England’s south coast rented for the weekend by a friend from the elite girls’ boarding school she attended: Benenden. She was 15 at the time.
Boys from the two all-male schools the girls often interacted with – Eton and Tonbridge – were there too, and saw her fight her aggressor multiple times. Still, no one intervened, she says.
“We are privileged children, but despite all the money spent on the math and lacrosse classes, not a penny is spent in these schools teaching students about their right to be safe from this kind of behavior, which is a shame, Moon remembers her school days.
“And it’s important that we talk about this because these are the men who are going to run the country in some cases,” she adds.
Eton, who has trained numerous British Prime Ministers, including incumbent Boris Johnson, and Princes William and Harry, told CNN by email that it does run workshops on healthy relationships and teaches students about consent. It said it always takes specific allegations extremely seriously, supporting those affected and cooperating with the police and children’s services where necessary.
“Protecting the wellbeing of young people is our top priority,” Eton said in a statement. “All those involved in education have a responsibility to recognize that we can and must do more to bring about meaningful and lasting change for the benefit of all young people.”
The school did not answer CNN’s specific questions about what Zan Moon was claiming.
‘Rape culture’
Like a growing number of young women in the UK, Moon speaks out about her experiences – and recalls the memories of others – to break the stigma of discussing a “rape culture” they say in schools. widespread.
What has erupted is a chorus of anger, drowning out the deafening silence that previously surrounded the issue of sexual assault among schoolchildren.
After compiling a fifteen-page file of alleged incidents at multiple institutions, Moon wrote an open letter to the heads of Eton, Tonbridge and others, informing them of the “chauvinism” that she says is “deep in the world. private boys’ schools in the UK ”. “‘It ends now,’ she wrote.
James Priory, Tonbridge principal, expressed his “grave concern” after reading Moon’s letter, saying in a statement that such behavior had no place in his school. Tonbridge also said in a statement that it teaches its students consent and refers incidents to authorities if necessary.
“ We will listen carefully to our students, staff and alumni, as well as anyone who has contacted us directly from outside the school, to determine what else we can do to ensure that sexual harassment and abuse never occur accepted and that everyone will feel supported and be able to come forward if they want to, ‘he said.
Moon’s letter follows the Everyone’s Invited initiative, a website that has collected more than 13,000 testimonials about the rape culture in UK schools from current and former students.
They include reports of 10-year-olds being coaxed, 12-year-olds being sexed and disturbing rape allegations – all well below the legal age of 16 in the UK. The testimonials also include allegations of incidents in public schools and universities, highlighting the ubiquitous nature of harassment and violence against women in the UK – an issue recently sharply relieved by the murder of 33-year-old Londoner Sarah Everard, who was attacked. while walking home from a friend’s house.
“It’s much broader than just the schools mentioned,” said Everyone’s Invited founder Soma Sara, a Londoner and former student at Wycombe Abbey girls’ school. “There is a culture throughout our society of acceptance of sexual aggression and harassment. It is a culture that downplays and normalizes the worst behavior and can create an environment in which sexual violence can exist and thrive.”
Promised a new helpline and action
“We then received a number of reports of specific offenses.
In addition, where schools are mentioned on this website, agents are contacting those schools and providing specialist support to potential victims of sexual assault, “the Metropolitan Police wrote in a press release.
“We understand the complex and varied reasons why many victims of victims do not contact the police, but I want to personally reassure anyone who needs our help that we are absolutely there for you,” said The Met’s rape and sex offense investigator. Chief Inspector Mel Laremore.
The anonymous nature of the messages shared on such platforms makes it difficult to see claims unless they are specific.
“We are deeply shocked and shocked by the allegations that have recently come to light. The Highgate they describe is completely against the values of our entire community … We are really sorry.”
King’s College School in Wimbledon, South West London, also commissioned an independent investigation and said it will not accept any form of abuse or discrimination.
“The school has put in place a system to handle past or present disclosures from students and to provide support, and we urge anyone affected by these issues to come forward,” he said.
The Everyone’s Invited website has since stopped putting the names of schools next to testimonials, but the debate continues. While hundreds of schools were mentioned on the site, some current and former students – Like Moon – have written open letters to headmasters describing their experiences of misogyny, abuse and sexual assault.
A letter written by former Dulwich College student Samuel Schulenburg accused the South London boys’ school of being a “breeding ground for sexual predators.” The letter was written to its former principal to raise awareness of the problems in Dulwich, and detailed anonymous stories of sexual assault and harassment by girls at James Allen’s Girls School (JAGS), Dulwich College’s sister school.
Responding to the open letter and anonymous allegations, Dulwich College Director Joe Spence said in a statement, “The behavior described is disturbing and completely unacceptable; we condemn it without reservation.”
“While we cannot comment on anonymous testimonials, any specific and proven allegations will be addressed and we will engage outside authorities where appropriate,” added Spence. “As a boys’ school, we must first of all listen to what women and girls tell us about their experiences and concerns, but we also have a special role to play, as educators of boys, to make a difference.”
Victims asked to relocate schools
“Every time we do a series of our sessions on healthy relationships, we’ll bring young people up and tell us about experiences they’ve had,” Brailsford said. She added that it is “too common” for schools to suggest that girls who come forward with revelations leave school, “even though they are not the ones who committed the sexual assault.”
Women’s rights advocates say that is no surprise in a country where sexual violence is now much less prosecuted than in previous years.
“I only realized quite recently that most of the sexual relationships I had when I was younger were not what I would describe as consensual,” Moon says.
“The whole private school system has been set up to protect the boy’s prospects and the school’s reputation. That’s the priority,” Moon said. “They don’t care what happens to us girls.”
Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou contributed to this report.