Western Australian Teacher Forced To Quit Job After Being Outed By Students On TikTok
"I was victim to students making a TikTok about me that effectively was outing me."
A teacher in Western Australia has been forced to quit his job after students outed him on TikTok.
The drama and history teacher at a Catholic school told The West Australian he was at the centre of a video that invited kids to speculate and narrow down his identity — referencing the school crest, his house group name, sock and buskin drama masks, and a Pride flag.
“I was victim to students making a TikTok about me that effectively was outing me,” he told the newspaper. “Being gay and working in a Catholic school; the scriptures and the Church believe homosexuality is wrong, and that teachers may be dismissed from their role due to religious grounds.”
On Monday, advocacy group Just Equal called on the McGowan Government to fulfil their pledge to repeal loopholes that allow employment termination based on faith, off the back of the Morrison Government’s continued push for the Religious Discrimination Bill earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Catholic Education WA told The West Australian the community condemns all harassment, and prioritises the safety and wellbeing of both students and staff.
“Appropriate online behaviour continues to be an educational and pastoral focus, with clear policies and procedures if student conduct does not meet the high standards expected,” they said.
The ‘Guess Who’ trend uses cryptic descriptors and images, in an anonymised and more interactive version of the older ‘starter pack‘ meme. Peaking in April this year, it sparked controversy in the UK for cyberbullying and defamation, with similar concerns about posting clues about pupils’ sexuality, appearance, and personality.
A report by Perth Now in June examined how the trend had spread in schools across the state, hurling verbal and slut-shaming insults at students, with the eSafety Commissioner receiving multiple complaints about it throughout the year.
“Our community guidelines make clear that we do not tolerate content that contains bullying or harassment, statements targeting an individual or hateful speech or behaviour — and we remove content that violates these guidelines,” a TikTok spokesperson told Perth Now.
“We also have robust tools to report content and provide expert-backed anti-bullying resources and education in our safety centre.”