Heart Statement on Response from MMSD Representative Following Alleged Sexual Assault

Heart Consulting's Response to the statement made by the MMSD Representative Regarding the Alleged Rape at East High School:

Heart Consulting is concerned by the statement made by an MMSD representative following an alleged sexual assault at EHS. The statement that "kids will be kids" dismisses and minimizes the seriousness of sexual assault, and perpetuates a toxic culture that accepts sexual assault as something we can't prevent.

Sexual assault and harassment happen regularly in schools, including unwanted touch, sexually explicit digital content, and stalking/harassment. Although it may not always rise to the level of rape, we do not believe any level of sexual assault or harassment is acceptable in schools, or in other spaces. Schools must start working to educate students on consent at a young age, and must hold all students accountable for any behavior that negatively impacts their peers.

We have worked with a student with ASD, who was confused after learning from us about consent why he would see students at school groping another student, who said "stop", and not get in trouble. We are confused by this also. Schools have the power to prevent sexual assault and rape on their campuses by educating and holding students accountable for all forms of sexual assault, rather than dismissing it with statements such as "kids will be kids" or "boys will be boys".

Find out more about what happened here