Education Services Minister Jacinta Allan said student access to YouTube and similar video-sharing sites had been blocked indefinitely at all 1600 government schools.
“The Bracks Government has never tolerated bullying in schools and this zero tolerance approach extends to the online world,” Ms Allan said.
“We do not tolerate bullying on any level – be it physical, verbal or cyber bullying.”
The YouTube ban stems from an incident that caused public outrage last year in which the site hosted a video that showed students engaged in sexual activity with a teenage girl. The students then urinated on the girl.
The video was clearly in breach of US-based YouTube’s own terms of use that bans unlawful or offensive material. But despite the public outcry and a direct approach from the Victorian Police, it took three months for the video to be removed from the site.
“All students have the right to learn in a safe and supportive learning environment – this includes making students’ experience of the virtual world of learning as safe and productive as possible,” Ms Allan said.
Banning access to sites in schools was just one part of protecting children, Ms Allan said, acknowledging that the initiative did nothing to stop kids posting and viewing such material outside of the classroom.
“While schools have an important role to play in monitoring students’ use of the internet and trying to stamp out cyber bullying, it’s a shared responsibility between parents, school councils and the school community,” she said.
Ms Allan also said schools will also be required to amend their anti-bullying policies by the end of this year as outlined in the Safe Schools are Effective Schools strategy released last year.
“The world is changing and new websites are springing up every day,” Ms Allan said.
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