Kylie Lang: Bystanders endorse violence and bullying by watching or filming and not stepping in

Video footage of teenage girls brawling at Beaudesert Public Library this week is truly sickening, but equally so, the fact that their peers did nothing to stop it.

Video footage of teenage girls brawling at Beaudesert Public Library this week is truly sickening, but equally so, the fact that their peers did nothing to stop it.

They were too busy filming the fight, as if it were some form of riveting entertainment.

Bystanders with the ability to act but who choose not to are part of the problem – and it’s a problem that’s spiralling out of control, particularly in schools where violence and bullying go unchecked.

When certain behaviours are endorsed by peers, they are repeated.

In the original video, which was edited for legal reasons, kids on the sideline are heard giggling as a girl is repeatedly punched in the head, stomped on and has her hair pulled by another girl.

The child on the ground is screaming, “get the f--k off”, but no one comes to her aid.

Two teens fight inside the library in front of staff.

The fight, which began outside the library, then continues inside, escalating as a third child tries to join in. Filming of the fracas continues – and it’s only when horrified library staff spring into action that the brawling stops.

Police were called and a Queensland Police spokesperson later said that upon arrival, a 15-year-old South MacLean girl was found with minor injuries.

A 52-year-old female staff member was also allegedly assaulted when she attempted to intervene.

A 13-year-old Beaudesert girl, who was not physically injured, was taken into police custody and is being dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act. Investigations are continuing.

The students involved attend Beaudesert State High School, which has been accused of having a toxic culture.

As I reported in this newspaper last Saturday, parents say claims of bullying – including children being bashed to the point of needing corrective surgery and being told to go kill themselves – are not investigated by the school.

Two girls captured on film during violent scenes at Beaudesert's town library. Picture: Supplied

Two children from Beaudesert High have suicided in the past 20 months, with their families saying they were literally bullied to death.

Today, some of the peers of Onyx Rose Lambert, who died at age 13, and Lilly Osborne, who was 16, are speaking out and demanding change.

Good on them. Their voices must be heard. They tell me of a frightening environment in which kids are spat on, punched in the stomach, stabbed in the back with pencils and other objects.

They say kids as young as 11 are coming to school drunk or high, “just to get through the day”, and vaping and smoking marijuana on school grounds. You can hear their distress as they recount one horrible incident after another.

The school maintains that it addresses bullying.

On Monday at school assembly, principal Grant Stephensen told students that they should be proud of their school. Sadly, this is not the case – and pride must be earned.

What is clear from the problems being reported at Beaudesert High is that whatever the school might be doing is just not working.

Children do not seem to understand the concept of respectful behaviour – and that, of course, also stems from the home.

One of the cornerstones of respect is standing up for others.

Cue the bystander effect.

The term was coined by social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley in 1964 after a 28-year-old bartender was stabbed to death in her New York apartment complex as witnesses refused to help or call the police. Latané and Darley found the bystander effect was distinguished by two factors: diffusion of responsibility and social influence.

Beaudesert State High School has been accused of having a toxic culture. Source: Facebook.

The greater the number of onlookers, the less personal responsibility individuals will feel to do something, and they will be more influenced by the behaviour of those around them. What if, on Monday afternoon in Beaudesert, one of those kids on the sidelines had stepped in?

What if two or three had done so?

That would have sent a powerful message to the children brawling that this sort of behaviour is not on.

As Hong Kong-based researchers Sandra Tsang, Eadaoin Hui and Bella Law have found, “bystanders assume roles equal to, if not more important than, those of bullies and victims in steering the course and outcome of bullying”. Children can’t be magically expected to become ethical bystanders – it falls to adults, be they parents, caregivers or educators – to show them how. Tragically, this is just not happening and kids are becoming casualties.

Kylie Lang is associate editor of The Courier-Mail
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