Leading child psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg calls for inquiry into SA school violence
TWO school stabbings and figures showing hundreds of weapons incidents have prompted calls for an inquiry into student violence.
- THURSDAY: Girl in court after student stabbed at Catholic school
- WEDNESDAY: Girl allegedly stabbed in shoulder while in bathroom
- JULY 24: Pupil allegedly stabbed in back by friend at Renmark High
TWO school stabbings and figures showing hundreds of weapons incidents have prompted calls for an inquiry into student violence.
One of Australia’s leading child psychologists is calling on the State Government to conduct an inquiry into violence in South Australian schools following two stabbing incidents involving students in just over a week.
It comes as an Adelaide criminology expert provides an insight into why, in general, young females arm themselves with weapons and lash out violently.
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg says stabbing incidents at Renmark High School last week and at an Adelaide Catholic school, on Wednesday, coupled with a growing trend of violence in the state’s schools, warranted immediate action by the government.
“I’m calling on the South Australian Government to conduct an inquiry into violence in schools,” he told The Advertiser.
“Quite clearly schools have a legal obligation to provide a safe environment in which to learn.
“You would not have confidence if you were sending your children to schools in SA that that’s the case.”
The Advertiser revealed in June that the number of instances of threatened or actual violence in SA schools rose by 15 per cent to 2508 in 2017 compared to the previous year.
Dr Carr-Gregg’s appealed for the inquiry after a 17-year-old Year 12 student at a Catholic school was allegedly stabbed in the shoulder in a school bathroom about 3pm on Wednesday.
The girl was taken to hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
Police arrested a 14-year-old girl — a fellow student at the school — and charged her with aggravated intentionally causing harm.
She appeared in the Adelaide Youth Court on Thursday where she was remanded in custody to reappear next week.
It has also emerged that on Tuesday, a 12-year-old girl at another Adelaide Catholic school was reported by police for carrying a knife in a public place.
These latest incidents follow a stabbing at Renmark High School last week.
Student Amber Rover, 18, is accused of stabbing a 17-year-old classmate in the back, collapsing one of her lungs, at the school on July 24.
Rover was charged with aggravated assault causing serious harm and was remanded in custody.
The victim was flown to Adelaide in a serious condition but has since been discharged.
Dr Carr-Gregg said schools needed to enact three key strategies to combat violence.
“They need to have mandatory cyber bullying education in schools,” he said.
“They need to have a policy position of creating a culture of kindness and compassion.
“And thirdly they have to have a zero tolerance on bullying.”
Adelaide University criminologist Allan Perry said violence in schools was “a serious problem”, which was often related to bullying.
“(It) reflects an increase in the intensity of bullying,” he said. “Cyberbullying has become a relatively new phenomena.
“It can (infiltrate) a person’s life not just in school but outside school.”
Mr Perry said children who used weapons to attack others may view the action as “the only way to deal with the situation”.
“(It) may partially reflect that children don’t believe schools are safe environments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Flinders University professor of criminology Andrew Goldsmith revealed that, in general, young females used weapons to attack others as a result of insecurity and danger.
“There’s obviously some sort of latent sense … of insecurity and danger that would explain why young women are carrying knives generally,” he said.
“It could well be an undercurrent of bullying and people are using knives … when in the past they would have used fists.
“If one can address bullying, one can address (violent) incidents.
“(Bullying is) something that parents, police, schools and the community needs to address holistically.
“(Parents) need to raise their concerns with the schools and also with the families of the children (involved).”
Professor Goldsmith said a lot of violence between young people was “not random and often reflects ongoing disputes or grievances between them”.
He said he believed young people would increasingly arm themselves with weapons, under the assumption that others were doing the same.
“Once people start arming up there’s a momentum that’s established and it’s very hard to step back from that momentum,” he said.
“Inevitably, I think schools need to be more alert to the possibility that students are carrying weapons.”
Education Minister John Gardner said violence in schools was “totally unacceptable” and would be dealt with by police.
“The vast majority of over 700 schools in South Australia experience very few incidents of violence, but even one incident is one too many,” he said.
“As per our election commitment, the government is committed to developing an evidence-based, comprehensive anti-bullying strategy to address all forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying.
“This strategy and long-term approach includes a more comprehensive set of resources to identify, prevent and respond to bullying.”
Mr Gardner said that “every day that this Government is in office, we will always look to improve the services offered to students and their families”.
“We are constantly reviewing incidents in schools and we are grateful for all contributions made by experts to identify best practice responses,” he said.