Police intervention for bullying and anger management launched
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin on Thursday said bullying will not be tolerated in schools, after a video of an 8th grade AF Adderley student being beaten by five other girls was circulated on social media.
Speaking to reporters on the matter, Hanna-Martin said a senior police officer has intervened to deal with issues of anger management and bullying.
We have to change any culture that maybe suggests that this kind of thing is accepted or acceptable on the school campus.
– Education Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin
She said she believes this intervention will lead to a positive outcome.
“We have to ensure that there is a no-tolerance level for violence on school campuses,” Hanna-Martin said.
“We have to see how we can cause for our young people to be able to resolve whatever their issues are without resorting to that type of conduct.
“Bullying in this day and age [can have] serious consequences. We have raised the awareness of bullying on school campuses and we have to dissipate all of those energies.”
A viral video of the young girl being surrounded and beaten repeatedly has started making its way around social media.
The young girl could be seen being struck to the floor multiple times by several girls in school uniforms and one girl in casual clothing.
Litira Fox, the mother of the 13-year-old, said she is afraid to send her daughter back to the school after the incident.
In an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News, Fox said the altercation came less than two weeks after she went to the school to report that her child was being bullied.
She claimed the school did not do its due diligence in the matter because the principal was never brought in and the other girls’ parents were never called.
Fox contended that if the school had ultimately put in some effort to address the situation or call the other parents in, she would have felt better, but “nothing was done”.
However, Hanna-Martin asserted that every child has a right to be on a school campus safely.
“We will seek to foster respect for every person regardless of any issue that differentiates one from another, and to cause for a level of harmony on the campus,” she said.
“We will do all that we can to assure that. We are looking at a number of strategies now to see if we can make a peaceful environment, a harmonious environment on every school campus.
“…We can deal with it on a case-by-case basis, but we have to change any culture that maybe suggests that this kind of thing is accepted or acceptable on the school campus.”
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