“After that, I heard boys using the wrong language. That motivated me to do something . it didn t sit right with me,” he said. In his four-minute speech, Knight told the boys he wanted to talk to them “about what it means to be a man”.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/Stuff
Carlos Knight, 17, says he felt compelled to speak out after witnessing homophobic and sexist comments at school. “During my time at Boys High I have experienced boys behaving in a rude, so-called manly manner to towards young women, gay, lesbian, bisexual or just different people,” Knight said. “We think it’s cool to make jokes about a boy, just because he may be gay. We think it s manly to catcall girls at bus stops and we think we have the right to body-shame girls or judge them just off their appearance – we don’t.”
A student-led group working to tackle sexual violence plans to take its action a step further by presenting MPs with a school curriculum focused on consent.
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