“Today was very inspiring. I am an almost 17 year old girl who has experienced sexual assault and I didn’t even recognise the majority of it. Coming from a third world country many boys touched girls on a daily basis. The scary fact was they were unaffected by it.

Their privacy and their ownership of their body was violated nearly everyday and no one knew that this was wrong and that is the shocking reality. Girls feel uncomfortable for sure, I did, but we brush it off like nothing.

Thankfully I have people and influencer and opportunities that help me realise this is not right for ANY women in the face of the earth. People say that it is over known, ‘people talk too much about it’ ‘we already know what is happening’, then how come I learned so much today.

How come this talk helped me recognise many other things and other aspects of the issues that many young women and men face today. Other girls must realise the severity of these problems.

Melinda and Daniel really helped us today.”

“Hi my name is Saniya and I just attended your talk at ACYF regarding your life as an activist and I just want to say thank you. Thank you for doing all that you have done. Thank you for tolerating everything, despite having no need to do so. Thank you for inspiring hundreds of people -women and men alike to develop a respectful attitude towards each other. You have just inspired me to stand up and voice my thoughts on situations and hopefully represent some women who are mistreated when I am older. So thank you very much”.

“Melinda has become a leading voice on the effects that pornography is having on boys growing up in the 21st century.”

“Melinda Tankard Reist was the key speaker to address all our Year 7-10 students at our inaugural whole school Wellbeing Day.

Her informative, engaging and eye-opening presentation was better than I could have ever expected, as both staff and students commented on the thought provoking content that Melinda delivered and how important it is for our young people to be educated on the harmful effects of the media, advertising and pornography on our children and teens.

Students have been talking about Melinda’s presentation every day since her visit to our school. Highly recommended – 10/10!! ”

“There are some things that you wish you didn’t have to talk about with your children.  It is the same feeling when you are considering students in your school, especially when they are still in Primary School.  But to be informed is to be empowered, and Melinda did this at St Mary’s Primary School Bellingen when she came to talk to our Stage 3 students.

Melinda is a force of good – fighting against the sexualisation and exploitation of our young people with dedication and skill that comes from her years of experience and her passion for the cause.

Our students connected with her instantly as if they knew intuitively that she is a champion for them and other young people like them.

For parents, the reality is shocking.  The realisation of the current state is necessary to bring about action and encourage people to stand up for our children.”

“It was a privilege to work with both you and Daniel and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect catalyst to the nature of the day we had planned.

The ready and easy engagement of our girls and the boys is a testament not only to your understanding, knowledge and connection, but to the absolute foundation of relevance in your message for our young people.

I hope we have the opportunity to work together again in the future. May the fantastic work that you, Daniel and your team invest in continue to create momentum and positive change.”

“It was great to see this session occur. It felt more real and practical than anything in PDHPE. This is because we had people who know their research and spoke with great insight on a complex issue,”

“How serious these issues are in Australia and how it is twisting what we think about sex, girls etc. the world has ruined what love is…We need to make a stand on these things”

“I learnt how to say no to people even under peer pressure”

“I learnt to respect women”

“I would like to say thank you so much for your talk with us today. It is so important to acknowledge the injustices that riddle society – especially the normalised dehumanisation and sexualisation of women. You have undoubtedly touched the hearts of all the girls of Year 12 GSCC.

It has been extremely comforting knowing that people like you are working behind the scenes to help protect women. It was a privilege for us to listen to you today.”

“As part of our students developmental journey, it is important to allow them the opportunity to reflect on questions such as…How can boys/young men rise above toxic messages about masculinity and become men of integrity? Young men who show respect to all and embrace this responsibility on a consistent basis…

Through their presentations and follow up interactions, Melinda and her colleague Daniel got our students and staff thinking, provided a safe space to allow our school community to challenge society’s narrow definition of what it is to be a good man in today’s world and perhaps most importantly of all motivated our community to take positive steps and actions to ensure we all consistently pursuing happy, healthy and positive relationships in our lives.”