From 27 July to 8 September 2023, the ABS undertook phase two of the 2026 Census topic consultation. This consultation invited feedback on proposed changes to Census topics.
During this consultation, the ABS specifically sought feedback on topics where further information was required to help inform our assessment and recommendation. These topics included:
Ancestry and Ethnic identity
Labour Force status
Main language other than English used at home
Number of children ever born
Number of employees (employed by owner managers)
Number of motor vehicles
Religious affiliation
Status in employment
Unpaid work – domestic activities
Published responses
Only answers from respondents who gave permission are published. However, all responses are included in the analysis of this activity.
Aleph Melbourne was established in 1995 to provide a safe place for gay and bisexual Jewish men in Melbourne. Since then we have expanded to include LGBTIQA+ people, families and allies.
In all the years of the group’s existence we have lived in relative harmony with the wider LGBTIQA+ community.
However in recent weeks, since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and the ensuing war, many of our members, their family members and their friends have contacted me regarding reports of feeling unsafe in the LGBTIQA+ community.
These people have reported being scared of presenting as Jewish in public and on social media. There have been reports of antisemitism and calls for boycotting Jewish organisations by LGBTIQA+ people. There have been reports of feeling unsafe in LGBTIQA+ venues.
Aleph Melbourne’s purpose has always been to stand up for LGBTIQA+ people on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Now I am finding I need to support our members on the basis of their Jewish identity. This takes a personal toll on me, as it means I need to spend many more hours of my personal time fighting a different sort of intolerance.
I ask you, my friends, my community members, the leaders of the LGBTIQA+ community, to think of the ramifications of taking sides, especially when it has direct impact on the very people you care most about.
If LGBTIQA+ people are hurting in Melbourne or elsewhere in Australia because of antisemitism, or Islamophobia, or any sort of intolerance, then we are no longer a cohesive community. Together we stand. Divided we fall.
Please think hard before you take any side, especially if it’s going to cause division amongst your peers, friends, family (chosen or otherwise) or community.
Chanshi is a dark comedy television series about a Jewish girl from Brooklyn who runs away to Israel to become the free, adventurous woman she was born to be. Unlike her peers, Chanshi carries with her a fantasy that good religious girls like her shouldn’t — a fantasy involving Israeli soldiers. She takes off for Israel under the guise of surprising her best friend, who has upcoming nuptials of her own, but her friend confesses that she thinks she is making a mistake and she’s a lesbian. Together they rebel against their traditional upbringings and find new ways of being young Jewish women.
All I Can Do is a powerfully moving and incendiary courtroom drama focusing on the legal aspects of sexual violence. Reut, a young prosecutor, reluctantly takes over a sexual assault case, based on the sole testimony of Efrat, a rebellious yet fragile victim who lives with her wild female partner. As the case evolves, Reut’s personal life resonates with the challenges of the case and the courtroom. Both women must learn to work together to learn the true nature of strength, love and sisterhood.
I was recently approached by Hashy to deliver a talk at their 2023 Queer Night, having done so at their 2022 event. I was delighted to be invited back, and warmly accepted the offer.
I asked the date and was told it would be Sunday October 15. That’s going to be a big day for the country, being the day after the referendum. I had to come up with a topic for my talk and after a few minutes I realised I had lived through a moment in history that perfectly connected my journey with Aleph with where we are today with the Voice referendum, and that would inform my talk.
Let me explain.
In 1998 Aleph Melbourne approached the Jewish Community Council of Victoria about applying to become an affiliate of the council. The rationale for wanting to join the council was to be a voice for gay and bisexual men (as that was who we supported at the time, prior to us representing LGBTIQ+ people in 2007). We wanted to have a place at the table, to talk about how we were discriminated against, faced unique health issues, suicide, stigma, taboo, etc. We felt that if we had a voice at the council people might understand our issues better, and be more open to helping us defeat the hurdles and setbacks that challenged us.
Our application was supported by their executive and the then-president Philip Bliss. We were also forewarned the journey might be difficult. Our committee resolved to proceed with the application, which set in motion a chain of events that led to one of the biggest controversies the Melbourne Jewish community has ever experienced. Once the news of our application hit the Jewish media there was constant media coverage, with many in the community – notably schools and youth groups – showing support, and (not so) many claiming a homosexual group in the Jewish council would divide the community and cause irreparable harm. Orthodox Rabbis and conservative community stalwarts spoke stridently about how we had an agenda, and how halacha (Jewish law) considered homosexuality a sin, and Aleph was an organisation that was not deserving of a seat at the community table.
At one stage a collection of mainstream organisations threatened to withdraw their membership if Aleph became a member. And then Rabbi Lubofsky stood up at the fateful meeting in May 1999 and wove a hurtful story of how Aleph wanted to go into schools (yes, we wanted to give educational books to school libraries), and how parents should fear our agenda. We were apparently going to split the community, infiltrate schools, run rampant through the community and wreak harm at every step of the way. I do remember in particular a young Gabi Crafti spoke up and eloquently spoke in favour of Aleph’s membership application. She was the voice of reason, the voice of humanity, and the voice of a generation who understood why it was important for gay and bisexual men to be included, not excluded.
We failed in our opportunity to become a member of the council in 1999 at a vote of the plenum, but not by much. In 2015 the now-defunct Keshet LGBT group did become a JCCV member, a sign of how times had changed. In 2017 the JCCV affiliates voted unanimously to support the civil marriage equality campaign. Being queer in 2017 was no longer the problem for the mainstream Jewish community that it was in 1999.
We reaffirm our full-hearted support for: – amendment of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Constitution;
Aleph represents people who face discrimination, marginalisation and health challenges. Our people also have a lot to offer society. And on that basis we stand up alongside other communities who face similar challenges, have similar ideals and aspirations, and who want to live their lives to the fullest. We all want gaps closed, disadvantages turned around, and lives celebrated.
To that end, with our history in mind, and having committed in 2020 to supporting a First Nations Voice, we stand strong in believing that a constituted voice will do more good than bad for first nations Australians. The Voice is simply an advisory committee to the Parliament and the Executive Government, and amounts to a place at the table.
If you’re voting in the referendum, I urge you to take time to find out the facts and make an informed decision. I certainly won’t tell anyone how to vote, but I know in my heart, having come on this journey, that it makes for an easier time if you have a voice at the table than if you don’t.
From co-ed camp rooms to degendered Hebrew, non-binary inclusion is becoming a high priority for some Jewish youth movements. RUBY KRANER-TUCCI reports.
Attending a youth movement is a rite of passage for many Jewish Australians. Finding a like-minded tribe, connecting to community and creating memories that last a lifetime – youth movements are often bonding experiences.
For those who identify as non-binary, finding safe and welcoming spaces to explore one’s identity is particularly important. Thankfully for them, Jewish youth movements in Australia are responding in spades, prioritising inclusion in all areas of programming, policy and leadership.
Federal Chairperson of Netzer Australia Avishai Conyer, 21, believes his generation is leading the way. Jewish youth movements “should serve as an example to the rest of the community on inclusivity”, he said.
“Youth movements are such special places for young Jews to build their identity, so it is our role to create safe spaces for kids to be themselves, feel included and grow to become active and passionate values-driven members of our community,” Conyer told Plus61J Media.
For Netzer Australia, this comes in the form of queer programs including LGBTIQ+ sex education; asking participants and leaders to introduce themselves using their preferred pronouns; and co-ed camp bunks for those in year 11 and above.
“As we do not split chanichimot [campers] by gender in any other aspects of our programming, it no longer made sense to do so with rooming arrangements for our older participants,” Conyer said.
“[We] will support kids below that age with different rooming preferences to find an arrangement that everybody is comfortable with.
“We have found that this leads to fewer social splits based on gender, promotes dignity and increases respect between kids of different genders, and supports non-binary participants to feel more included in Netzer spaces.”
“I’ve never felt at odds between my Jewish identity and my non-binary identity at Netzer. If anything, it’s celebrated.”Theo Boltman
Theo Boltman, 17, has been attending Netzer since grade five and identifies as non-binary. They say the offering of co-ed bunks for older participants “makes it easier” – an experience that differs from other circles of their life.
“When I go on school camps, I have to send a list of girls’ [names] I’m comfortable sharing a room with, and then the school has to get approval from those girls’ parents,” Boltman said.
“While at Netzer, it’s never an issue. I never have to worry about being uncomfortable because I know everyone is in the same boat, it’s been amazing.”
Raffy Blay is personally aware of the impact of inclusive leadership in Jewish youth groups. Blay started attending Hashomer Hatzair – affectionately termed Hashy – at 13 years old and “instantly found connection and purpose”.
Almost a decade later, Blay is now its Central Coordinator and identifies as non-binary, helping to represent gender diversity in Hashy’s upper echelons.
“[It is] a huge privilege to be the leader of the movement and non-binary, and to take up space in the community holding this identity,” Blay said.
Like Netzer, Hashy runs a number of initiatives to promote inclusivity, from using gender neutral Hebrew suffixes to permitting co-ed rooms on camps.
While on the whole, the youth group has experienced little pushback about its welcoming agenda from the broader Jewish community, Blay identified some negative engagement on social media when endorsing Hashy’s annual Queer Night event. Thankfully, Blay said “nothing eventuated from it”.
“Letting kids be kids and not emphasising their gender as a point of difference works to build respectful relationships,” they added.
“The years spent in a youth movement are incredibly formative and important, and everyone should have the opportunity to have that experience.”
The visibility of non-binary leaders resonates with Boltman, who says embedding inclusion from the top down has helped to form an “incredibly supportive” environment for participants at Netzer.
“The whole point of Jewish youth groups is that it’s the space where Jewish people can find each other in a sea of, for lack of a better word, goys – a sea of people who aren’t like you,” Boltman said.
“It can be so hard, especially for Jewish kids going to public schools, to find [other] Jewish kids in the first place and for them to be non-binary too. It’s so important that their identities be prioritised.
“I’ve never felt at odds between my Jewish identity and my non-binary identity at Netzer. If anything, it’s celebrated.”
While co-ed bunkrooms have been accepted as a standard offering by some Australian youth groups, the US scene has been slower to embrace them. Only a handful of Jewish camps surveyed in the US have non-gendered bunk rooms as an option, let alone a standard offering.
Hashy campers (supplied)
Of 153 Jewish overnight camps surveyed recently in the US, 90 say they welcome transgender and nonbinary campers. Most allow them to choose the bunk that best fits them but don’t offer a non-gendered option.
Another way inclusion is expressed is through changes is language, an issue that is even more potent in the heavily gendered Hebrew language than in English.
Netzer’s global parent movement, Netzer Olami, recently implemented a gender-inclusive form of Hebrew through an Israeli-led initiative that aims to de-gender language.
Conyer uses the mixed gender term chanichimot, a blend of chanichim (male campers or student) and chanichot (female), where previous generations would have followed the language convention of subsuming females under male language and ignoring those who didn’t fit.
But when it comes to prioritising other forms of inclusion, such as disability, youth groups are still struggling.
Netzer has policies around choosing physically accessible campsites and spaces for activities, but Conyer says its volunteers lack much-needed practice and understanding.
“While disability inclusion is very important to us, our young volunteers do not have much experience working with kids with disabilities,” he said.
“We try to provide as much training as possible and would like our programming to be accessible to all, [but] our lack of professional experience means there are some people we do not yet know how to fully include, despite our best efforts.”
Blay said many members of Hashy have been active in vocalising their desire to increase disability inclusion by making its building more wheelchair accessible and hiring Auslan interpreters for events, in addition to the camp sensory room and fidget toys already on offer.
“No one should miss out on Hashy if we can help it. We work hard to find ways to include everyone in our activities and accept everyone for who they are.”
Photo: Hashy campers with a rainbow version of the youth group flag (supplied)
David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (14:54): I rise to make some comments on the motion before the house today:
That this house affirms its support for the Safe Schools program and acknowledges that it critically:
(1) supports the well-being of all young people; and
(2) provides valuable resources and support for teachers to foster an inclusive learning environment where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
I think we would all agree that every single child should feel safe. It is the right of every child to feel safe and there is an obligation on all of us to provide a safe environment for these kids.
Today is IDAHOBIT, which is a day against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia, and it is appropriate for us to be talking about this as part of the very important element of what many of our young children, particularly those from an LGBTQI+ background, experience at school and what we need to do to ensure that they have a safe environment. Can I say to every LGBTIQ+ Victorian: you are worthy, you are accepted, you are loved, and you and your kids deserve nothing less than to be embraced by all, including the schools, teachers, friends and communities. We must embrace, support and provide every single opportunity for every child no matter who they are, no matter where they come from and no matter what background they are also from. That extends more broadly to both their ethnic background and their faith, and it is something that I have raised on many occasions, as you know, Speaker, particularly in my community where we have unfortunately an increase in antisemitism and we have seen kids targeted at schools because of their faith background as well.
On this motion I wanted at the outset to just raise a few people in terms of their being staunch advocates in this space, particularly Michael Barnett from Aleph. Michael has been a staunch supporter and has been able to work with and support many of the schools. Very early on he worked with Bialik College and King David, just to name a few, and Mount Scopus has been involved in that, in terms of Jewish schools, but we also have a number of other schools that have been involved in terms of being able to provide a safe environment. There is no question that non-heterosexual Australians experience anxiety at 2½ times the rate of heterosexual people. For depression, the figure is four times the rate of heterosexual people. One in six LGBTIQ+ people have attempted suicide and one-third have harmed themselves. They are alarming figures and say that we must do more to support those who do not feel that they belong and those who feel that it is tough just to be able to get on with their daily lives. We have seen that in many instances. We have seen with organisations like Beyond Blue that 61 per cent of young non-heterosexual people have reported experiencing verbal abuse and 80 per cent have reported physical abuse. We have seen another study that showed 33 per cent of trans people reported discrimination in employment as a result of being trans and the unemployment rate of 19 per cent was more than three times that of the national rate.
We have a great state. Victoria is a state that should be embracing everybody no matter who you are, no matter where you come from. We should not be using politics as a way to fight against things like this. We should be coming together and working in ways to actually help people. I have got to say that certainly during question time today I did not feel that that was doing anything to help anybody, particularly those from the LGBTIQ+ community. I know many from our party, the Liberal Party, the Pride branch which is the fastest growing branch in our Liberal Party, of which I am proud to be a member, would feel pretty alarmed about the way that Labor members attacked the Liberal Party today because that does nothing. That does nothing to try and help people belong. The LGBTIQ+ community should not be used as a political football. We should not be using people and targeting them in that way. We should be talking across the chamber about how we do more. We should absolutely do that.
I am very proud that the Leader of the Opposition the member for Hawthorn, the Manager of Opposition Business the member for Brighton, the leader in the upper house Georgie Crozier and a number of others went to the Pride March not only on this occasion but on a number of occasions and stood side by side with the LGBTIQ+ community. We will continue to do so, whether it is popular or whether it is not popular. We will do it because we care, and we will do it because we do not want this to be seen as a political football. So I say, and I implore those opposite: let us look at how we can work together. Let us look at how we can come together on these things.
Belinda Wilson interjected.
David SOUTHWICK: Well, again I say – and I am trying to do this as calmly and as fairly as I possibly can – that ultimately this is not something that we should be trying to score cheap political points out of. It is something that we should be working together on. And that is where I very proudly stand alongside many of those within my party, as I said, including the Liberal Pride branch, who have been absolutely actively providing a very inclusive part of our party so people can feel welcome and so people can feel supported. And if those opposite did not hear me the first time, it is the fastest growing branch we have within our party. So it is certainly something that we celebrate.
Can I also just move on to some of the schools, particularly, that I want to make mention of today, which do some great work. Unfortunately, only a week or so ago we had a report that our great school, Glen Eira College, had what was labelled a toxic and bullying situation where there were almost 10 social media bullying pages on TikTok and Instagram with students posting –
A member interjected.
David SOUTHWICK: Excuse me – posting cruel memes mocking other students and teachers before flashing identifiable photographs of their targets. Can I say the school takes these things very seriously, and I rang the principal as soon as I was made aware of this and was comforted to know that they were acting immediately on this to ensure that kids feel safe – immediately – and so they should. Looking at Glen Eira College’s Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy, one of the things that I think is very important is, within this policy, it talks about all kids feeling safe, whether they be from different backgrounds, whether they be students with disabilities or whether they be from the LGBTIQ+ background. It says this, and I note:
Every person involved in our school has an important role in promoting child safety and wellbeing and promptly raising any issues or concerns about a child’s safety.
That is where we need to be. It is something that we all need to work together on. Whether you are at the school, whether you are a parent at the school or whether you are part of the broader school community, everyone needs to work together to ensure that they feel safe. If you see something wrong, you need to tell somebody. We certainly saw that in a number of inquiries that we had here in this Parliament. We led the way in terms of that in the child safety area, particularly in the child abuse work that was done here in this Parliament, and I think that is something that we must continue to do to ensure that we have kids that feel safe.
At the moment we have issues that are still before the courts. I will not make comment on specific details regarding Brighton Secondary College, but it was absolutely appalling that we had a number of kids that were targeted – a number of kids that saw over that time, because they have Jewish backgrounds, antisemitic attacks. The government has spent literally millions of dollars of taxpayers money trying to defend the school, and these poor kids have again had to endure a horrific time at the school. It has been appalling the way those kids have been treated, and I hope that the government ensures that there are systems in place and that kids of all backgrounds are safe, because that is what kids need and expect.
Panellist, The Making Homes series, MPavillion – Architecture Commission.
There was a time in the not-too-distant past, when a woman could not get a bank loan on her own without a man to sign for her and a father could be granted custody of his children simply because their mother was a lesbian.
“In the past I had to be closeted if I wanted to keep my job” Anneke Deutsch told J-Wire.
While these days life is more open and accepting for lesbians, the largest marginalised group in Australia are still older women.
Anneke Deutsch founded Matrix Guild of Victoria in 1972 as a charity to help older lesbians. She is proud that WINC – older women in Cohousing – has bought land in rural Victoria where it is hoped they will be able to build 32 dwellings.
She explained that cohousing can mean common facilities like community gardens and a different range of mixed tenure, a different way of giving ownership to women of limited means.
FORMER MOUNT SCOPUS STUDENTS HAVE CALLED ON THE SCHOOL’S PRINCIPAL RABBI JAMES KENNARD TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY AFTER AN EXPLOSIVE REPORT INTO THE HANDLING OF CHILD SAFETY COMPLAINTS.
Former Mount Scopus students have called on the school’s principal Rabbi James Kennard to resign immediately in the wake of a damning report into the school’s handling of child safety complaints.
More than seven former students detailing serious allegations of bullying, complaints about attitudes to sexuality and academic discrimination have spoken to the Herald Sun.
It comes after the Herald Sun revealed the full findings of the Child Wise review into the culture at the school earlier this week. The report revealed a “lack of appropriate response by leaders to serious complaints and allegations” regarding child safety over several years.
The school said Rabbi Kennard will remain in place to implement the report’s 49 recommendations, a process which is well underway.
Sources close to the school’s board say community feeling is against Rabbi Kennard remaining in his position until February, calling on him to resign immediately.
A former student, 22, who graduated from the school in 2019, said the school took no action after he was “continuously” bullied for several years by a group of students.
“I reported it to my teachers and they didn’t take the bullying seriously,” he said.
“They made me feel like I was the one who had done something wrong for coming forward,” he said.
The former student also alleged that school leaders tried to convince some students not to undertake VCE to protect the school’s overall ATAR.
“There were some students who were struggling academically and they were aggressively told not to undertake VCE, which was wrong as they should’ve helped students with their studies.”
The former student also called on the school’s principal to resign in the wake of the Child Wise report.
“The school’s culture is something that needs to change immediately and it starts from the top, the best thing for the school is a new principal.”
Another former student, 18, who attended the school since kinder, said some teachers “purposefully” misgendered students. “If a student’s pronoun was they/them, they would not use their pronouns and instead discriminate against them by making hurtful comments,” the former student said.
“The school needs to become accepting and change from the toxic environment it currently has.”
The Herald Sun has also seen letters written to Rabbi Kennard and the Mount Scopus board expressing concern over the school’s treatment of same-sex attracted students dating as far back as 2013.
One letter written by a former student of the college objected to the Rabbi’s comparison of homosexuality with a Shabbat violation. Former students also objected to Rabbi Kennard’s signatory of a statement of principles that states that same-sex interactions are prohibited and that same-sex orientation “may greatly increase the risk of suicide among teenagers in our community”.
Despite this, the statement also says same-sex attracted individuals should be treated with dignity and respect.
Commenting on these claims behalf of the board of Mount Scopus, president Amy Hershan said: “Child safety is the school’s highest priority. All children and young people, regardless of their age, gender, ability, race, or sexual orientation, have the right to be safe and feel valued.
“The Board has tasked Rabbi James Kennard with overseeing the full implementation of all 49 of the recommendations of the Child Wise assessment including around complaints mechanisms, bullying, culture and inclusion, governance, student wellbeing and trust.
“The implementation of the recommendations is well advanced and is expected to be completed by the end of this year,” Ms Hershan said.
“We are taking a whole-of-school community approach to creating an environment that celebrates diversity. We are striving to involve students, staff and families through a wide range of initiatives including education, teacher training, and increasing student agency.
“Pleasingly, the feedback we are getting from current students about the changes we are implementing is positive. However we recognise that we still have more to do, and that work to create a culture in which every child can thrive will be ongoing,” she said. “An external search for Rabbi Kennard’s successor is well underway. It is the Board’s vision that new leadership will build on the school’s commitment to excellence as we strive to be a Modern Orthodox Jewish school that is safe and inclusive for all.” Ms Hershan also responded to the allegations of academic discrimination.
“The school is very proud of the fact we are not a select entry school. We work with every student to reach their potential,” she said.
“We take very seriously the balance between academic outcomes and student wellbeing. Our student services department works with many students and their families on individual learning plans and pathways. In some isolated cases, a student and their family may conclude that doing an unscored VCE is in the best long term interests of the child and the school unequivocally supports those decisions.”
“The lack of punishment for bullies and racist or sexist jokes”
“Plz made more rights for lgbtq ppl (people) at Mount Scopus”
“Male Hebrew teachers – they are creepy …”
“Toxic, competitive culture”
“Implement a compulsory consent and respect program”
Source: Child Wise report 2022
REPORTREVEALSSCHOOLFAILURES
May 28, 2023 | Sunday Herald Sun
Susie O’Brien Suzan Delibasic
EXCLUSIVE A leading Melbourne private school ignored red flags about a senior staff member who engaged popular girls in “highly sexualised communication”, a secret report has revealed.
Sunday Herald Sun can reveal the full findings of the damning review into the culture at Mount Scopus Memorial College.
The report reveals a “lack of appropriate response by leaders to serious complaints and allegations” regarding child safety over several years.
Staff who raised child-safe concerns faced “retribution” as the school “acted to address the wellbeing and reputation of the accused staff members, over the wellbeing of students making allegations,” it states.
Students and past students reporting abuse were offered meetings “with the male principal only, meetings were held with doors closed, no formal detailed record of meetings were made”, the report states.
Girls were also asked if they wanted to “confess” anything in relation to a staff member who groomed them.
The report also details homophobia towards LGBTIQ+ students, favouritism towards top-performing students, peer-to-peer bullying and teachers talking in “degrading” terms about students.
The report by Child Wise was commissioned in February 2022 following the sacking of the long-serving director of studies Jared Alford amid findings of serious sexual misconduct.
The report states Mr Alford “groomed an entire school community, including staff and leadership … and worked his way into positions of trust and authority in the school”.
“Concurrently observations were made about inappropriate contact with certain ‘favoured’ students, including highly sexualised communication,” it states.
Mr Alford was facing allegations of misconduct from at least 10 women when he left the Burwood college in late November 2021.
The report said Mr Alford used the informal Jewish Life program to “expose children to harm and ongoing risk”, particularly “high achievers” and “popular girls”.
The school’s treatment of complainants was slammed in the report for being “not trauma-informed and not aligned with best practices”. Rather than tell the school community about the allegations, the school breached child safety practices by telling students Mr Alford was ill and “should be written to with well wishes”.
Mr Alford was also “invited to an end-of-year gathering and a farewell speech was given … where his contribution was celebrated” in a further breach of good practice.
Last year, Rabbi Kennard released the review’s 49 recommendations for strengthening child safety at the school. He committed to implementing them, but he did not release the full report.
A former Mount Scopus student who graduated in 2021 told the Sunday Herald Sun the findings in the report illustrated the school’s “toxic” culture. “It’s obvious why they wanted to keep this damning report a secret,” he said. “I’m still traumatised by my experience at the school, I was bullied constantly. When I made the complaint to my school leaders, they told me to basically ‘toughen up’.”
Another former student, who offered support to women making reports to the school about Mr Alford, said: “I also agree with the findings in the Child Wise report because for years the faculty has not been properly trained to deal with issues such as sexual misconduct.”
Voice Against Child Sexual Abuse director Phillip Weinberg said the Child Wise report was consistent with the accounts of Mt Scopus victims and survivors who bravely shared their experiences with his organisation.
Rabbi Kennard will retire at the end of 2023. He was contacted for comment.
