Human Rights Commission to look at bullying policies
July 6, 2009
The Human Rights Commission is to investigate schools’ anti-bullying policies to see whether children’s rights to safety are being protected according to an article published in Wellington’s Dominion Post (June 6, 09). The move follows calls for a national inquiry by parents of bullying victims at Hutt Valley High School. The investigation is linked to a study by the children’s commissioner into pupil safety and school violence.
Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan has agreed to analyse the children’s human rights concerns.
Last December nine Hutt Valley High School boys were dragged to the ground and violated by a pack of six classmates. The victims’ parents wrote to the Human Rights Commission alleging a “systematic failure” by state agencies responsible for protecting children. They asked for a national inquiry into violence and human rights abuses in schools.
