‘Culture of misogyny’: teacher surrounded by hundreds of students and pelted with food at elite Brisbane boys’ school, court told

A teacher at one of Brisbane’s top private boys’ schools has claimed she was subject to a “culture of misogyny” after being surrounded by hundreds of Catholic school students and pelted with food in an incident that left her with a “serious psychiatric injury”. A barrister acting for Victoria Sparrow, a teacher at Marist College Ashgrove, told the Brisbane supreme court that the school allowed a culture of misogyny to “develop and exist”. Her barrister, Gerard Forde, submitted in court on Monday that at least three female staff at the school had also made complaints about their treatment. Forde told the court Sparrow has been mentally scarred after students were allegedly “pelting” her with food and drink when a group of up to 300 male students “surrounded her” in the playground. He told the court that the students “then focused on her, started chanting, throwing food and drink, some of which hit her”. Forde later characterised the behaviour as “pelting” food at her, and “an assault”. “She has suffered a serious psychiatric injury,” he said. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Sparrow alleges the school contributed to the incident by allowing “a culture of misogyny to develop and exist”, he said. She served a notice of claim for workers’ compensation on 9 July last year. Her claim must go to a compulsory conference to allow for a negotiated settlement. Sparrow is seeking documents from the school to aid her claim, before conducting negotiations. …