Teen sex-assault accuser leads hundreds of girls in protest through Arizona schools

Students call for 'better policies' after protests break out

A TikTok video showing a protest at a high school in Arizona ( xxzenriquexx/TikTok)

Hundreds of students in Arizona have protested in the past week amid allegations of sexual assault and accusations that school leaders have failed to adequately deal with reports.

Video footage of a protest at Marana High School in Arizona, which was posted to TikTok last Wednesday, showed a school cafeteria full of female students shouting: “What do we want? Justice! When to do we want it? Now!”

A written caption to the TikTok claims: “they are protesting because a student raped a girl”.

The video has more than 388,000 views.

According to Tuscon.com, another student started an initial protest last week because the school leaders failed to respond adequately to her reports of sexual assault, it was alleged.

The student alleged in an Instagram post on Monday that “several women have been raped/sexually assaulted”, and that “several people have gone to the school about these instances and have been ignored”.

She also demanded in a petition on Change.org that her school provides resources and “better policies” for sexual assault survivors. Marana High School, which is part of the unified Marana Unified School District (MUSD, has so far denied allegations of wrongdoing.

The student also wrote on Change.org: “We should not be walking around in fear ... many staff members go based off their own beliefs and ideas when it comes to these allegations which should not be happening!”

There were also protests at another MUSD school, Mountain View High School, where a demonstration on Friday saw around 200 students assemble at lunch time with placards such as “Consent is Simple”.

Video footage of protests at both MUSD schools were shared to TikTok, and students have also posted messages of support for the students who began the protests on social media.

MUSD told a local TV station, KVOA, that “students chanted and cheered after student speakers shared information” at the protest on Friday, which was reportedly joined by staff, as well as school counsellors and administrators.

The school district has said that it took “allegations of sexual assault very seriously” and that "any concern we have received related to sexual assault/violence has been promptly investigated”, it was reported.

In an update on Change.org on Friday, a student wrote: “We have been in contact with the school [and] we are going to be getting support groups and resources put in place.

“These support groups with help young survivors feel like they aren’t alone! Along with having resources to help minimise the stress,” she added.

When students returned to Marana High School on Mondat, according to TikTok, there was not “a protest as big as” that on Wednesday.

The student added in a comment to her video that the principle of Marana High School “told us on the intercom that sexual assault is not okay”.

The Independent has approached MUSD for comment.