Disturbing footage of schoolgirls being kicked, pushed and stomped has surfaced online as a violent ‘fight club’ erupts in a series of schools.
A notorious private Instagram page shows students from South East Melbourne secondary schools getting into brutal schoolyard brawls.
The account has posted up to 130 clips of students pulling each other’s hair, punching and kicking each other as bystanders urge them on.
In a harrowing clip, two girls grab each other’s hair tightly as they attempt to throw punches with their arms and legs in the middle of a basketball court.
In another, a terrified victim on the ground tries to shield her face with her hands, while her attacker is encouraged to hit her repeatedly.
In one of the disturbing clips, a victim tries to shield her face with her hands, while another girl towers over her and beats her repeatedly while others shout words of encouragement (pictured)
A student is heard calling the student on the floor a “b****” as her attacker uses her feet to kick her in the head and upper body.
In another clip, two male students fight next to a locker before one of them falls to the floor and is viciously kicked in the head.
The Instagram page has posted up to 30 clips of vicious attacks on schools in Frankston and other southeastern suburbs over the past week.
Up to 10 schools are involved in the active account, which has 2,000 followers.
Parents have raised concerns about the page, with some taking matters into their own hands and reporting the page multiple times on Instagram.
A senior police official from the region said so Announce sun he was frustrated that the account was still posting clips of violent schoolyard brawls.
“The videos are extremely graphic and I’m just surprised Instagram hasn’t taken the posts seriously,” he said.
In this video posted to the account, two girls hold each other’s hair tightly as they try to throw blows with their arms and legs in the middle of a basketball court
Cybersecurity expert Susan McLean said the videos depicted “criminal assault.”
“The police must be called in and the individuals charged,” she said.
The existence of these private online groups came into the national spotlight last month when footage circulated of a 13-year-old girl in Queensland allegedly being tortured by other girls for hours (pictured)
Private social media groups are created by students from private and public schools where videos are posted of boys and girls fighting or ambushing victims (two examples are pictured)
School board consultant Simon Dewar believes social media platforms should do more to shut down content and prevent children from ruining their futures and the lives of others.
“Social media platforms have a big part to play in this, they can definitely do more I think,” Mr Dewar said.
“But other than that, I don’t think we can wait for social media platforms to take over and make things better.
“So as a community we can do a lot.”
The former principal who now advises teachers and school leaders on how to reduce violence in schools said the long-term effects of regularly viewing such violent content will be “significant”.
“Unfortunately, we see that young people are generally more violent and those violent acts vary,” Mr Dewar said.
‘Although it’s not every student, every school, every day; what it might feel like is that there’s an increase because we’re seeing it through our social feeds.”
An underground fight club erupts on social media with children filming each other in ‘gruesome’ bare-knuckle brawls in schoolyards across Australia (an example is pictured)
Child psychologist Andrew Greenfield (left) and director-advisor, Simon Dewar (right) speak out about the disturbing new trend
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said: “We are actively working with civil society organizations and the police to address and prevent off-school violence or conflict leading to incidents within schools.”
Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia: ‘Police do not condone the sharing of images on social media that glorify violence.
Sexual assault is a criminal offense with serious consequences – it is definitely not something to be celebrated or shared for entertainment purposes.
“If you have witnessed an attack or been a victim of this type of violence, we strongly recommend that you contact the police immediately so that the matter can be investigated immediately.
“Police have no evidence that sharing violent images on social media encourages others to get involved in fights or brawls.”