A 14-year-old student is too scared to go to class after a group of girls punched, kicked and stomped her in a vicious schoolyard attack.
The student's mother is speaking out after seeing recent videos on social media of similar attacks on girls in Pukekohe. She says her daughter had shifted from Manurewa to Pukekohe High School but in July was targeted by a group of violent girls.
The Year 10 student suffered bruising across her body, a busted lip and damage to an already broken shoulder during a prolonged attack after class.
"She was very optimistic at the start, adjusting to the new school but she was attacked," the mother told the Herald.
The mother said she was parked outside Pukekohe Intermediate across from the high school, when she spotted her injured daughter.
"It is disgusting what happened. My daughter had already had a broken shoulder from a previous injury, but these girls did not care. They just wanted a fight even if my daughter did not.
"It made me angry. The reason they attacked my daughter was because she came from another school."
Her daughter told the Herald the beating lasted for half an hour, sparked when three girls started pestering her after school.
"They said a lot of things and then just started fighting. I was doing nothing. They punched me, kicked me on the head and stomped on me.
"They could see my broken shoulder. I had a sling on.
"But they did not stop. I had a busted lip."
The woman said her daughter had not been able to return to school.
"She is still scared for her safety.
"And the school has done nothing to address such horrific violence," she claimed.
"We reported it to police. The school told us to go to police and police told us to go to the school.
"We are just circling in a loop.
"It's terrifying; you only want what's best for your child, so you send them to school but the school isn't a safe place."
The woman said when she saw recent videos circulating on social media of similar assaults, she decided to speak up.
"How many more girls have to be attacked for some kind of action to happen?"
Pukekohe High School principal Richard Barnett said today he was not able to comment on individual cases but encouraged whānau to contact him if they had concerns.
"The school is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety of students at Pukekohe High School.
"Where there has been an incident, we work with families to put a safety plan in place so that students feel emotionally and physically safe.
"The Board of Trustees and senior staff will put strong consequences in place for any students who do not abide by the school's values.
"We work closely with police and would trespass any young people who are not members of our school and who come onto school grounds and threaten our students."
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