JenniGee

My 12 year old & her friend were set upon tonight by a mixed gang of at least 20 youths - girls & boys, for no reason at all other than they were new faces in that particular park.

An adult supervising some football training nearby saw everything & did nothing to help them - they're little, physically small, girls for God's sake. Some of these louts were apparently 16 years old, one of which thought it hilarious to video everything on his mobile!

Have spent most of the evening with the other family & the Police, who, needless to say, are vague to say the least about what they will do, even when later we were able to give them the names & home addresses of the main perpetrators.

But one of them is a foster child, so apparently not their fault.

I know Australia is no nirvana, but surely we can expect more than this. We are right in hoping that we can give our kids better than this, aren't we?

*seething-and-sad-JenniGee*

Timber Floor Au

Did this happen in Oz? Its awful, and surely the cops can obtain the fone and prosecute,warn,sort out the bassards !!

edit: Brain Fart , sorry. UK then !!!! Slap me

Hutch

It's like anything - down to where you live. My town isn't utopia, but my son (aged six) can ride his bike round the block without getting into any grief. I never see kids 'hanging around' here - unless you count pulling on their wetsuits just before they go in for a surf. So when you get here, choose where you live wisely Jenni.

nanny2six

That is awful:curse:it gets me so angry that nothing is done to the evil swines, hope your daughter and her friends are ok

chris and farideh

This one thing I must say about living in OZ, I havent seen any gang of kids hanging around, when the school finishes, within 15 mins of closing time the school ground & surrounding is totally empty, you dont see any kids in the street, dont ask me where they go.

Even lunch time they arent allowed to leave the school ground, unless they go to private school.
well that's around me, cant say how it is anywhere else, I remember we use to have the local intelligent always hanging around in parks, be out till late back in UK.

Fly Away

OMG, that's terrible, I hope your daughter and her friend are OK. It's disgusting that the police will not do anything.

Sending you a big hug, this must have really shaken you all.

Look after yourself and your littleone.

Fleaflyfloflum

Look, i dont like getting into the "it happens here too" crap, but cant help it this time.

Dont kid yourself it is different in Oz. Last year i think it was. A gang of youths tormented a mentally ill teenage girl and set fire to her hair, so please dont think it will be eliminated moving countries.


Still sad to hear it happened to the kids.
I would be livid.

NikiL

Christ Jen, having been in a very similar situation ourselves last year when our 10yo got set upon, I totally understand where you are right now. We were at least in the position where an adult going past stopped her car to intervene.

That many of the little sh*ts and the adult did nothing :curse::curse::curse: w*nker!!!!!

I am so sorry you and your daughter are going through this. The worst bit is my comment to OH was "thats unbelievable" then we thought about it for a second and realised its far from unbelievable anymore

Really hope your daughter is ok. Don't expect your anger to subside for quite a while - it won't. So, so sorry for what you are both going through right now, its wrong,, but unfortunately a sorry example of Britain today. Flea, I hear what you're saying about it happens everywhere, but it is endemic in the uk now - adults are at major risk of being prosecuted if they intervene which means they are reluctant to do so and the b*stards that do this kind of thing know it.

I hope they get the b*stards and prosecute, I really do. xxx

Timber Floor Au

The point is tho, it happens everywhere.

However, due to the length of roads in Oz, street corners are few and far between, so the proportions are way lower than the uk.

Also, kids dont tend to hang out on streets here. They do stuff !

Ive never seen any evidence of it here, and I saw it daily in te uk... for erm 40 years nigh on.

NikiL

My stepson was a foster child for a while - still bloody responsible for actions. Total cop out. If you know who it is there is apparently a method where you can raise a concern with the powers that be officially. I have a guy temping for me who is a school governor on the county set up (don't understand the whole situation) but apparently anyone can raise a concern (formally) that there is a problem with a kid and all the powers that be have to be involved. If you want I can find out the details next week xxx

Fleaflyfloflum

Not so in the cities TFAU. It is no different to any other city in UK if you are in Sydney, Melbourne etc. I see heaps of gangs of teenagers on street corners on my way home from work each day. My work colleague got mugged in the street by a gang of them about 3mths ago.

I think it has more to do with where you live in each country rather than the country itself.

Timber Floor Au

Can only speak of our experiences in Brisbane, north and southside, and rural and suburban. FFFF

saveme

If you live in a middle class suburb/town/village you'll be right - if you live in a 'lowie' (what a great Aussie word) area, you'll be in strife.

>Trigger<

My youngest lad, he's 12...goes out at the weekend from about 9am comes back when hunger sets in..ask him what he's been up to..playing!

Just what it was like when I was a kid..

Timber Floor Au

same here.

We used to go brook jumping , make peg guns, and go karts from old planks and shopping trolleys.