On Friday 16th November Year 9 students were invited to Patrician Brothers’ Fairfield to participate in a Faith Formation Workshop. The guest speaker on the day was Melinda Tankard, an author, speaker, media commentator, blogger and advocate for women and girls.

Ms Tankard addressed and informed both girls and boys about sexualisation, objectification, harms of pornography, sexual exploitation, trafficking and violence against women. As a result, we we all agreed that women are not objects, we are more than just our bodies, we should be treated equally to men, “No” means “No” and if you don’t accept it, you’ll regret it. She informed us about the ongoing issues relating to women and how we can react and defend ourselves.

Both schools were then asked to share messages with each other, girl to boy and express how we feel when a man takes advantage of a woman, how the media portrays men and women and what is expected of us.

We were then lucky enough to enjoy pizza, take a break and communicate with the boys of Patrician Brothers’.

At the end of the day we all took part in a Liturgy, living out the Faith of our Catholic communities. The day was informative, enjoyable and faithful. We thank Ms Messina and teachers who accompanied us on the day.

Elissa All, Year 9

Year 9 students with Ms Melinda Tankard