A violent incident in Nanaimo has refocused attention on bullying, schools, parents and social media
A Nanaimo woman has established a Facebook page called Bullying Awareness in Nanaimo in the aftermath of a high-profile incident involving teenaged girls that found its way onto YouTube and is now the focus of a police investigation.
Several teens assaulted a Nanaimo girl while more than a dozen others watched and videotaped the attack. The assault took place over spring break in the parking lot at Woodgrove Centre. Criminologists and police say the incident is part of a bigger issue related to social media and how it has been used to glamorize fighting. Kristyn Robert, who herself was bullied while attending a Nanaimo school, says that “enough is enough.” She hopes to start a campaign to stop bullying through the involvement of local schools.
We speak with Sibylla Artz, a professor of child and youth care at University of Victoria. (Kristyn Robert was unavailable).
Image: screen capture from a YouTube video of the Nanaimo attack.
