A family member of two victims of a horrifying act of alleged bullying says the teenagers have been left with severe injuries and will not be returning to their far northern Cape York school. Photo: Supplied.
The family of the victims of an alleged horrific schoolyard attack in the Northern Peninsula Area say the girls have been left with no choice but to move to a school more than 2,500 kilometres away amid ongoing concerns for their safety.
On 13 March, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl were left with serious injuries after being allegedly repeatedly beaten, with the 17-year-old being rushed to hospital after being punched in the head by a fist holding a rock during the alleged attack.
The grandmother and mother of the two victims claim pleas to the school, which cannot be named for legal reasons, to deal with the bullying – which they say started in 2021 – had gone ignored.
They said the family was now left with no choice but to send the girls to Brisbane to complete their education.
“One of my friends in Brisbane reached out and said she’s willing to take the girls after Easter, and they’re best friends with one of her girls, who is also in grade 12 this year,” the grandmother and mother said.
“We have no choice.
“The shameful thing about it is, we’re Traditional Owners here, and our children can’t even feel safe on their own Country.”
In a statement made to police on 15 March, the 17-year-old victim said she waited at the school office alongside the 16-year-old victim to be picked up early because they believed an incident was brewing and felt unsafe.
Instead, the grandmother and mother claims the pair was told by a senior staff member they were “wagging” and needed to get back to class, soon after which the alleged attack occurred.
“[The bullies] were hovering, they circled the girls like a shark,” she said.
“[My daughter] was trying to grab [my granddaughter] and take her in to help her, and one of the other girls come from the side and started hitting [my daughter].
“By the time they got inside, [my granddaughter] collapsed on the cement, [my daughter] went inside and they kicked her in the knee, knocked her knee out and they threw stuff onto her.”
After the distressing phone call from her daughter notifying her the girls had been assaulted, the grandmother alleges that by the time the family made it to the school, there were no teachers in sight offering assistance, a situation she described as “a complete failure of duty of care”.
“Why did my daughter have to make that phone call? She was injured … why did she have to make that phone call?” she asked.
“When we got there, there was a student cleaning the blood off my granddaughter; she was covered in blood head-to-toe.”
Following the alleged attack, four teenagers have been charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.
A 16-year-old Bamaga girl and a 16-year-old Injinoo girl are due to appear in the Bamaga Children’s Court on 8 April, while a 15 year-old girl and 16-year old girl from Bamaga have been dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act 1992.
The school principal did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Cape York Weekly, but said in a letter posted to social media after the alleged incident the safety and welfare of students was the highest priority for educators.
“The [school] does not tolerate violence or anti-social behaviour and are committed to work diligently to promote safe and respectful interactions among students, to ensure a secure learning environment for everyone in our school community,” the letter reads.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said there were no plans to close the school, which is attended by more than 600 students, despite some community leaders calling for the gates to be locked after the latest in a spate of alleged violent incidents.
“The department has already begun a thorough investigation in response to the unacceptable incident that occurred,” the spokesperson said.
“Concerns raised by students, families or staff will be dealt with appropriately, and support is available for anyone who requires it.”
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