She said school counsellors have supported their students and are checking on queer students after the video’s circulation.
Paterson also shared key points from a message she gave students in an assembly at the end of last term.
“I stressed the significance of addressing discrimination and its impact on individuals and communities. Schools are required to provide a safe and inclusive space for all students - free from racism, discrimination and bullying. We, that’s all of us, need to stand up against discrimination.
“It is important for us to value and celebrate differences, whether it be race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. We need a culture of acceptance and understanding, everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
She asked students to be agents of change and urged them to actively combat discrimination in their lives.
“Let’s all work together to foster a culture of empathy, inclusion, and equality, remembering that by working together, we can create a brighter, more equitable future for everyone,” Paterson said.
Ministry of Education Te Tai Runga (South) acting leader Coralanne Child said the school acted promptly as soon as it was advised of the social media post.
Rainbow community charity Inside Out’s managing directory Tabby Besley said they were ”absolutely devastated” to learn of the video.
“They’re a group that are really overrepresented in statistics related to depression and self-harm and that’s not due to being part of the rainbow community that’s due to things like this.”
Besley said such posts online can affect their sense of safety and belonging at school, as well as their ability to engage in education.
“I think social media and the internet can be such powerful spaces for connection and belonging but also equally kind of harmful when they’re misused and it does mean that it can be really hard for people to escape these comments if they’re carrying them around in their pocket.
“I guess we’re seeing a lot of this not just from young people, but there’s been a real increase in transphobic particularly and homophobic rhetoric that’s largely kind of influenced by far-right movements and a lot of it is kind of being imported from the UK and the US.”
She said schools should be mindful of the impact videos like this can have, even if it is not targeting a specific individual.
“Just hearing about these incidents or seeing them online still has that same powerful impact on people just knowing that there’s this kind of hatred around their identities and their communities out there.”
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
