ast week a NSW Year 10 student fought back after being punched repeatedly by a younger boy, and the video of the fight went viral. The victim, his assailant and the student who took the video were all suspended. The boy who fought back has since been inundated with support from victims of bullying. However, in the predictable flood of expert commentary, the consensus has been that it is never ok to respond to violence with violence.
The message given to young people following this incident has been a kind of terrible double bind; don’t be a punching bag and whatever you do, don’t hit back. If violence is never justified, how do we learn to defend ourselves?
The treatment of these young people by the media, particularly in
televised interviews, has been both judgemental and voyeristic. This
kind of exploitation is its own kind of violence. Adults in a position
of power making use of a young person’s painful experience for personal
gain. This is a textbook definition of bullying.
However, many young people regularly experience violence, both at home and at school. This is a reality that seems to have been overlooked in many of the professional responses to this recent assault.
Children are experiencing violence, and whatever changes we may be putting in place or have put in place, violence will still occur for the foreseeable future. We may describe certain abusive relationships as bullying, and we understandably feel the need to respond appropriately and effectively. But a punch in the face is still a punch in the face. It hurts, it’s dangerous, it’s scary and it can be humiliating. How can we be prepared to deal with violence when it happens?
zoekrupka.com 
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