Vol. 16, No. 12, July 12 2007

By Rebecca Perry

Among the thousands of plaques in Mount Cotton’s Garden of Remembrance is a touch football.

Anywhere else, it would symbolise youthful noise and vitality, but here there are no games. The football is just a message board where teenagers come to mourn a mate.

This quiet resting place of 15-year-old Matthew Stanley is a grim reality of violent behaviour. The youngster died in September last year after being bashed outside a party in Brisbane’s bayside, leaving his devastated family and friends still struggling to cope with losing a life so young.

His father Paul remembers seeing fights while growing up himself, but fears times have changed.

‘There is so much violence in the media that kids get the wrong impression of what actually happens when you hit someone. In the movies, the actors always bounce back so they think it’s ok,’ Mr Stanley said.

‘Boys think they are invincible.’

Research shows young men aged between 15 and 19 make up the single highest category of offenders against other people in Queensland, and are most likely to be victims of crime.

According to Griffith University criminologist Professor Paul Mazerolle, males are ‘substantially and consistently’ more violent than females, and the mix of mates and alcohol places them ‘… in an explosive context.’

Today, statistics have a face – young and bloodied as their brawls are broadcast through websites such as YouTube, and worldwide audiences gain a ringside seat in record numbers. The so-called ‘happy slapping’ trend of filming assaults with mobile telephones began in London, and is now a major concern for Australian educators as students take up the dangerous craze.

What viewers rarely see is the real and lasting impact of violence, which is why Mr Stanley established the Matthew Stanley Foundation in his son’s honour and is sharing his heartbreaking lessons in life with Brisbane students.

‘We have been going to talk to kids at different schools about violence, what can happen in a fight and how to organise safe parties, and we have been making a difference in our area by promoting the Party Safe initiative with the police,’ he said.

While most serious acts of violence occur outside school hours, all schooling sectors are conscious of the need to address the matter.

Education Queensland is helping keep schoolyards safe and setting high standards for acceptable student behaviour.

The $3 million Better Behaviour Better Learning initiative was launched last year to help state schools provide safer learning environments through policies, resources and a host of professional development opportunities.

The program focuses on positive behaviour and responsibility, and is enforced by schools through the Code of School Behaviour and a Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students.

Students are also learning the consequences of their actions through the Restorative Practices program, which brings participants together to discuss issues, heal relationships and acknowledge the consequences of behaviour.

Director Ray Ashford says the Department is a leader in promoting Australia-wide programs such as the National Safe Schools Framework, and the Bullying. No Way! website, which it manages on behalf of all states and non-state schools, to give teachers tools to reduce bullying, harassment and violence.

School Based Police Officers and the Adopt A Cop program are further resources provided to schools. These initiatives improve links to the broader school community, promote stronger relationships and aim to improve behaviour and responsible community attitudes.
Schools in youth forum

A Youth Violence Taskforce has been established to examine violence among young people.

A youth forum for more than 100 South-East Queensland students from state and non-state schools on July 17 will allow the Taskforce to discuss with students issues of violence, seek feedback on community education materials and raise preliminary findings.

High schools including Wynnum North, Sunnybank and Loganlea have nominated for the event, which will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Queensland Police – Party-Safe Program
www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/situationalAdvice/partySafe.htm
Matthew Stanley Foundation
www.matthewstanleyfoundation.com.au
Bullying. No Way!
www.bullyingnoway.com.au