Tuesday, 2 May 2023

School bullying

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (17:44): (163) My matter is for the Minister for Education. Could the minister please explain what action has been taken by the Department of Education in relation to the increase of school bullying and the images of such attacks being posted on social media like it is normal behaviour in Victorian schools. It was broadly reported in the media during April, but I personally came across a clip posted on social media of a girl at a local secondary college in my electorate. The footage shows the girl bashing another while students stand around and watch. The defenceless girl was dragged by the hair and continuously punched and kicked in the head – to my horror at the level of violence which took place in this assault. In this particular instance I believe the offending girl was suspended, but this sort of behaviour is seen to be increasing and happening right across our state. As articles state, the deplorable behaviour schoolchildren are displaying in our schools has been observed throughout Victoria and bashing and bullying are regular occurrences.

Minister, all children, no matter what their age, need to feel safe while attending school. I ask: what is the department doing? What has been put in place to protect these children’s futures other than waiting around for incidents to occur and then relying on the school to respond to individual incidents? Please can the minister explain what actions are being taken by the department in relation to the increase in school bullying and such incidents being posted on social media?