Australian gov’t orders national review into school bullying

CANBERRA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) — The Australian government has ordered a nationwide review of bullying at schools.
Jason Clare, the minister for education, on Sunday said he has written to state and territory counterparts to recommend an expert-led review of current school responses to bullying.
He said that the review will be funded by the federal government and report back with options to develop a national standard on bullying to better protect students across the country.
“The investigation will look at what is working and what needs strengthening, before reporting to education ministers with options for the development of a national standard,” Clare wrote.
“This would inform policies across jurisdictions and sectors to provide children and parents confidence that no matter where their child goes to school, if they’re experiencing bullying, it will be managed in an appropriate way.”
It comes after 12-year-old Charlotte O’Brien died by suicide in September after experiencing bullying at her Sydney school. Shortly after her death, O’Brien’s parents revealed that her dying wish was to raise awareness about the bullying crisis in schools.
According to the Australian Council for Educational Research, an NGO, one in six Australian students experience bullying at school.
The government of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, earlier in November committed to creating an anti-bullying policy for all its schools.
Clare said in his letter that a national approach to bullying would build on Australia’s proposed world-first social media ban for children younger than 16.
Legislation for the social media ban has been introduced to the federal parliament and is expected to be passed into law within days. It will take effect at least 12 months after the legislation is passed. ■