A parent of a student at Kambrya College, a state school in Melbourne’s south-east, says she was “mortified” by the way the school responded to victims of a website that carried sexually explicit images of underage female school students.

The college was one of 70 schools whose students were reportedly involved in uploading the images to the website, which was believed to be hosted overseas until Australian federal police said it had been shut down on Friday.



The website encouraged male students to upload non-consensual and sexually explicit photos of their peers, which were not removed even after the victims discovered the website and begged for their photos to be taken down.

On Friday, Catherine Manning wrote on Facebook that her daughter and the other female students at the school were blamed for the images being posted on the website, rather than the male students responsible.

“Instead of laying blame directly where it falls – with the perpetrators – it seems her school decided the best line of defence was to haul the girls into a meeting and not just police their appearance, but thoroughly insult and denigrate them,” Manning wrote.

“At the assembly my daughter and her friends said they were told they had to check the length of their skirts, and that anything that doesn’t touch their knees or below by Monday morning would be deemed inappropriate. They were informed that this was to ‘protect their integrity’.

“They were also told not to post photos of themselves online, and to refuse any request from a boyfriend for a ‘sexy selfie’, as their boyfriends will only be around for a couple of days; maximum a year; but definitely not in 10 years’ time. They were told the boys are distracted by their legs, and that boys don’t respect girls who wear short skirts.”

Manning wrote that several of the female students tried to protest, but were ordered by a teacher to “shut it down”. The message the school had sent to the young women was “appalling,” she continued.

“As a parent, I am MORTIFIED that my daughter was subjected to such appalling messaging at the hands of those entrusted to care for her,” she wrote.

“The problem is not with the girls and the length of their skirts, nor whether or not they choose to share photos with their boyfriends or anyone else. It’s with the boys themselves; their sense of entitlement and sexist attitudes towards women and girls, their lack of respect, and the trust they CHOOSE to break.”

Manning told Guardian Australia she had left messages of complaint at the school but that they had not responded. The school did not respond to Guardian Australia’s request for comment.

“I was told that one of the boys showed my post to a principal teacher so I hope they’ll call soon,” Manning said. “Although I wont hold my breath.”

She said her daughter, although angry and disappointed with the school, felt empowered by the positive messages to the post.

On Friday, the Australian federal police reported they had shut down the offensive website that had encouraged boys to upload naked pictures of schoolgirls.

The AFP would not provide further details.

“The AFP welcomes the recent removal of this website,” the police said. “Wherever material such as this is identified, the AFP will continue to work closely with its domestic and international partners to determine appropriate courses of action.”

A Tasmanian woman who helped to alert victims of the website that their photos were being used so that they could try to get them removed said that she felt relieved that the website had been closed.

“I tried to check to see if my friend’s photos had been removed this afternoon and the thread didn’t load – I didn’t realise it was fully shut down,” she said.

“I’m so happy, I didn’t think this would happen to be honest. I’m curious to know if it was police action or just media attention that caused them to shut it down. But I just feel really relieved and happy for now.”

Earlier this week, federal police said they were working with their state counterparts and international agencies to see what could be done about the site, which was hosted offshore.

In a statement on Friday, the minister for women, Senator Michaelia Cash, said she found the existence of the website “completely abhorrent” and that she was pleased it had been taken down.

“I also note that the Australian federal police and state law enforcement agencies continue to monitor this issue,” she said.

Perpetrators were using technology to track, harass, blackmail and abuse their victims in “ways that we have not previously seen,” her statement also said.

“The Coalition has been steadfast in our commitment to ensure women and girls are safe in their homes, safe on the street and safe online and we will not rest until this important objective is realised,” Cash said.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this story