Victims of bullying must have justice

I saw a sickening video recently featuring SEVEN teenagers viciously beating an Oriental boy. I will not be posting it here as it has already gone viral and I do not want to give these people anymore publicity.

The one filming this sickening display was a 15 year old girl who lured the victim into the path of these barbaric teens. They stomped on his head, punched and kicked him for 3.39 minutes. They could have very easily killed him. My blood boiled – I was absolutely enraged by these wicked boys torturing a helpless young boy for fun. The term 'feral' that so many people in London protest about being used to describe young people who behave in this manner definitely applies to these boys

But what I'm concerned about is that a hotshot defence attorney could cut a deal which will result in minimal punishment, if any, for the attackers and their records could be expunged so as not to harm their chances of getting a good job in the future.

If I sound cynical it is because this seems to be the way things go, especially in the US. Take the case of Phoebe Prince,15, who committed suicide after a campaign of bullying by nine of her classmates. After standing trial for the part they played in her suicide, sentences of probation and community service were handed down after Phoebe's tormentors pleaded guilty to the charges on May 5, 2011. Does this sound like an appropriate punishment for what they did to her? There are hundreds more stories like this.

Trawl the web for five minutes and you will see that seldom are bullies punished appropriately whether the victim commits suicide or not. Why are schools and local authorities reluctant to punish bullies properly? What is it about this epidemic that causes those with the power to do the most about it to turn a blind eye, thereby empowering aggressive people to continue their reign of terror? Even with all the statistics about how bad the bullying epidemic is the response from authority figures is woefully inadequate; some might even say irresponsible.

What will it take for schools and local authorities to punish bullies appropriately?