Net bullying sparks court-order boom
21st June 2010
Author: Matt Johnston and John Masanauskas
Publisher: News Ltd
Publication: Herald Sun, Page 11 (Wed 9 Jun 2010)
Keywords: Martin (1),Dixon (1)
Edition: 1 - FIRST
Section: NEWS
Net bullying sparks court-order boom
CYBER bullying has led to a surge in intervention orders taken out against children.
More than 600 people have this year sought orders at the Children's Court against children including cyber bullies, stalkers and school-yard thugs.
Almost 300 orders were granted in the first 10 months of this financial year, already more than for the previous financial year.
The State Government has moved to introduce new anti-bullying laws to Parliament this week after the huge growth.
The laws will try to provide a greater focus on mediation to cut the number of intervention orders.
At the same time, the list of crimes for which children can seek court action has been broadened to include one-off cases of assault and sexual assault, and for repeated property damage.
The changes come as a Melbourne school has had to separate two students after the victim took out an intervention order against the alleged bully.
It is believed teachers at Brighton Secondary College are concerned the victim can't be properly protected under the arrangement, unless the bully is sent to another school.
The Education Department said it had arranged a meeting this week. A spokesman said it was important to ``assess the options available to ensure the educational needs of both students are met''.
Opposition education spokesman Martin Dixon said it was further proof John Brumby had failed to keep children safe.
A leading cyber-bullying expert has warned the Government's new laws must be backed up with proper cyber-bullying training for mediators.
Former cyber-safety project officer with the Victoria Police Susan McLean said cyber bullying at schools was on the rise, and unless students' concerns were dealt with immediately, ongoing trauma could do even more damage.
``They can't wait six weeks for mediation -- that would defeat the purpose,'' Ms McLean said.
``As an adult, if someone sends you something nasty you delete it. Children read and re-read.''
Ms McLean said nearly all the intervention orders taken out by a child against another child was cyber-related.
There have also been more than 7000 applications for violence intervention orders.
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