THE CH R ONI C L E F E AT UR E S
THE GENTLEMAN Kinross Wolaroi School Year 12 student Ella Andrews wrote a powerful poem about consent after hearing 23-year-old Chanel Contos’ story of teenage sexual assault. Now she’s championing change at the School as a member of the Consent Action Group.
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earing 23-year-old Chanel Contos’ story of teenage sexual assault - which went viral in March 2021 - lit a fire inside of Ella Andrews. The Kinross Wolaroi School student could no longer stand in the shadows; she needed
to speak out. What followed was a powerful poem, ‘The Gentleman’. Despite only being in Year 12, Ella had heard one too many stories like Chanel’s. “The poem was a response to the allegations that followed Chanel’s story, from thousands of young girls - children who had been sexually assaulted by young men behaving badly,” said Ella. “I was so angry. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, how people I knew my own friends and family - had their own stories; how I had my own stories. “So I wrote and this poem just came out.” While the poem was confronting to write and may be confronting to readers, Ella said it’s often the difficult stories that need to be heard. “The abuse of so many women is a clear example of this,” said Ella. “It’s not to say our stories haven’t been told before, because they have, but they continue not to be heard. Or, perhaps they continue to be ignored.”
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ISSUE 11
After her story went public, Chanel Contos started a petition for earlier sex education in schools, which prompted principals and politicians to discuss how we can do better and approach the topic of consent. Since then, KWS has established a Consent Action Group, which Ella and several other Year 12 students are members of to ensure the conversation about consent is ongoing in our community and every student understands its gravity. Ella said it’s important this conversation is student-led to ensure young people are listened to and to stop sexual assault from being normalised. “We meet roughly once a fortnight to have honest discussions about what is happening at KWS and around Australia to do with consent and sexual health, and what we can do at the School to educate and help our fellow students,” said Ella. “Lately, we implemented a program where we split up into pairs and talked with the girls and boys in Years 7 to 11 about consent. This was an opportunity for us, as leaders, to converse with younger students and make a difference that isn’t necessarily teacher-led. Because consent is such an overwhelming issue, sometimes it is easier to open up to people your own age.”
Ella is also a big believer that we can all make a difference and that conversations about consent should start at home. “Consent shouldn’t be taboo and kids these days aren’t naive, especially considering we are the ones facing this abuse. We don’t need to be talked at with milkshake metaphors and childish language. Listen to us and talk with us, not at us,” she said. Ella said consent is an issue society can’t ignore any longer, particularly given Chanel Contos’ petition attracted 4000-plus stories. “We have a real chance now to change that, so let’s stop stalling. The least we can do is be conscious of our language and how we talk about the issue,” said Ella. “If she was asking for it, then he could have too.” •
