The Catholic Weekly 29 March 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 9 29, March, 2020 ... we set a high bar for our conduct, in many cases prohibiting conduct that is legal, such as adults contacting 16 year olds via social media, or being alone in the same room as them for any reason at all ... Isn’t it time our sporting codes did the same?” sure on him to do so. In light of what we know about the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults, we insist on very high standards from those who come into contact with children, as we should. We know that those who are in ministry or who have some type of public profile can, even unknowingly, exert undue influence on children and vulnerable adults, so we set a high bar for our con- duct, in many cases prohibit- ing conduct that is legal, such as adults contacting 16 year olds via social media, or be- ing alone in the same room as them for any reason at all. Isn’t it time our sporting codes did the same? Whatever the legality of their actions, isn’t it time that we insisted on a high- er standard from sporting stars as well, recognising that in the eyes of these teenage girls, they hold a significant amount of influence? I would suggest that, even though it was not examined in the Royal Commission into Institutional Respons- es to Child Sexual Abuse, the NRL should look closely at its findings and the Child Safe Standards developed as a re- sult and implement them in its own work. I would suggest that any school that allows NRL or other sporting teams to visit their schools to pro- mote their codes should insist upon it. It would be crazy to think that such a high stan- dard set for staff in schools and parishes could be cir- cumvented by visiting sport- ing stars. The NRL, daughters and what standards? I n the days leading up to the NRL season opener, a scandal broke out that saw two Bulldogs play- ers, Jayden Okunbor, 23, and Corey Harawira-Naera , 24, stood down from the team af- ter allegedly bringing teenage girls back to the club’s hotel in Port Macquarie and having sex with them. It is reported that the girls both attend the same school, which Okunbur and other Bulldogs players visited last month. Okunbor met the schoolgirl he invited back to his room on that visit, while Harawira-Naera met his schoolgirl while she was at her after-school job. It was reported that Okun- bor and the girl in question traded messages on Insta- gram and Snapchat. Imag- es of their discussions have emerged online, including one where Okunbor asked the 16 year old girl to “show tits.” The girls were both 16 years old or above, which is the age of legal consent for sexual activity, and so there is no suggestion of illegal activi- ty on the part of the players. The players were still stood down, though, not because they had sex with schoolgirls, but because they had sex with schoolgirls in the team’s ho- tel, an action which is against their code of conduct. It is unclear at this point if the players will return to play, with them being given until this week to show cause for why they should stay and a potential two-week investi- gation before a decision is made. (Lucky they didn’t quote the Bible like Israel Fo- lau, then the NRL would have been much quicker in declar- ing their careers over.) In an alarming discussion of the matter, the NRL’s lead- ing gender adviser, Dr Catha- rine Lumby, rejected that idea that the incident was a sex scandal. Instead, she insisted, it should be characterised as a “workplace conduct issue” because calling it a sex scan- dal “implies that these young women, like, it was all inap- propriate.” She went on to say that “women over the age of con- sent are allowed to have sex, and plenty of them do.” The focus, Dr Lumby said, should be on whether the sex was “consensual, safe and ethical.” I understand what she is trying to say, and I also under- stand that this was not crim- inal behaviour, but I do think that standards should be set much higher than this. Think about the Church at the moment. Anyone whose ministry involves any con- tact with children, defined as those under the age of 18 years, must undergo man- datory safeguarding training and comply with a series of safeguarding standards that prohibit any social media contact with those under the age of 18. Breaching this would have serious consequences, which would likely see the person suspended fromministry, if not banned altogether. Or think about the recent dramas at St Kevin’s College in Toorak. There, a former coach who provided private training sessions to boys who were members of an athletics coach attached to the school was convicted of grooming a 15 year old boy, including through sexually explicit mes- sages via social media. The school principal who provided a character refer- ence for him for sentencing purposes was forced to step down due to public pres- A tarnished sport? Should schools allow NRL players to visit, given some players have contacted students later for sex? Rugby League stars lure school- girls into sex in a hotel – and it’s somehownot that serious? T o the point with Monica Doumit Find out more catholichealthcare.com.au/bodymindspirit 1300 216 675 Holistic aged care for every stage Home Care | Retirement Living | Residential Aged Care Body. Mind. Spirit.