Authorities are rushing to find new ways to crack down on cyber bullying after a disturbing video was posted online of a schoolyard brawl.
South Australia's Attorney General John Rau today proposed new laws to prosecute anyone who posts "humiliating or demeaning content of another person without their permission".
The move comes in the wake of a mobile phone video that went viral yesterday of a bully attacking another boy — who strikes back in violent fashion — at a western Sydney high school.
Mr Rau said such videos are so "disturbing and potentially damaging" the penalties imposed should range from fines to jail sentences for repeat offenders.
"The Government wants to attack this disgusting fad of thugs engineering and filming violent and humiliating acts and posting the images to websites," Mr Rau said in a statement.
The laws will not target the websites that people use, such as YouTube or Facebook, but the people who upload the material to the site, he said.
"For example, if you knowingly allow someone to use your computer or phone to upload the images you could be covered by the laws. If you knowingly participate in someone’s humiliation — while someone else films it — you could also find yourself charged with a serious offence."
The two students shown in the video were suspended following Monday's fight.
The clip shows a Year 10 student being goaded and punched by a younger boy at Chifley College's Dunheved campus in St Marys North.
At first the 15-year-old victim is showing no sign of resistance while he is taunted by the other student, a 12-year-old seen trying to spar him.
The victim backs himself against a wall as he is punched in the face by the bully, but then suddenly fights back, grabbing the boy and throwing his whole body on to the concrete.
Sharlene Chadwick from Peer Support Australia told ninemsn school students need to be taught that violence is not a good way to combat bullying, let alone publicising it online.
"Once we load it on the internet it's there forever … you can paint over a toilet door but not this," she said.
"Overnight [the video] has gone international [and] the concern for us is kids seeing it may think it's what they need to do if they are at the receiving end of bullying."
The video has been removed from YouTube but is still being shared on social networking sites.
Front page
RSS Feed