A Victorian public school is refusing to allow a female student to take another girl as her date to a debutante ball, despite the school being a signatory to the state’s anti-homophobia Safe Schools Coalition.
Justin Prewett says his 17-year-old daughter, Kiana, has been told by authorities at Ballarat’s Mount Clear College she is not permitted to bring her best friend, Imogene, to the school’s year 11 debutante ball in August.
The school council, made up of students, the principal, staff and members of the public, has ruled against Kiana taking another girl because it is “deemed not traditional”, Prewett says.
“It was a bit of a surprise to me,” he said. “What difference does it make to the parents and the teachers? It should be up to the students. If it’s their formal, the decision should lie with them.”
Kiana told Melbourne community radio station Joy FM the school’s decision was “really upsetting”. “Tradition is important but at the same time you need to change with society,” she said.
The Safe Schools Coalition aims to eliminate homophobia in schools and build a supportive school environment for same-sex attracted, intersex or gender diverse students.
Research shows that gay or lesbian young people are six times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. About 80% of the bullying and discrimination they face occurs in school settings.
Prewett says the Safe Schools Coalition is intended “to combat this exact sort of thing”.
“How are you showing students that you can feel comfortable in who they are when you’re telling them they can’t go to a dance,” he said.
He says it doesn’t matter that his daughter and her friend are not partners. “That’s not the point … In some ways, it’s still pretty hard for kids, not just mine, and as a parent I want to feel that I’ve done what I can to support them.”
A spokeswoman for Victoria’s education minister, Martin Dixon, said his office was aware of the issue and that Mount Clear College was “seeking advice … as to how to make similar events more inclusive in the future”.
She said Dixon’s office had been assured by the school that the issue had been resolved, but Prewett disagreed. “I met with the principal this morning, and we had a pretty good chat … but certainly nothing is resolved,” he said.
He said the principal had agreed to reconsider the issue with the school council. If Kiana was still prevented from going to the formal with her friend, the “next step” would be taking the complaint to the Human Rights Commission, he said.
Another Victorian school, Ivanhoe Grammar, made headlines around the world in 2010 after it refused to allow a lesbian student to attend the school formal with her girlfriend.
Mount Clear College did not respond to requests for comment.
