CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses online abuse, distressing language, and references to sexual violence.
A teenage boy from the Gold Coast has been charged after he allegedly made a post to social media ranking the appearance of several female students who attended the local school Foxwell State Secondary College.
Queensland Police began investigating the issue last month when the post was initially made to Instagram, in which several students from the school were ranked and categorised with several highly offensive labels.
The vulgar post, which has since been deleted, used the format of a ‘Tier List’ to rank the female students, and gave them disturbing groupings including “abduction material”, “one night stand”, and “unrapeable”.
On Wednesday, the unnamed 17-year-old male was arrested by Queensland Police and charged with three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.
The boy has not been named by police, and he was not a student at Foxwell State Secondary College. He will be dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.
A statement from Senior Sergeant Greg Aubort highlighted the serious nature of the post, and how rampant online harassment is on social media.
“Police urge the community to remain vigilant and report any instances of cyberbullying or online harassment,” stated Aubort.
“Such behaviour not only affects the wellbeing of individuals but also carries significant legal ramifications.”
Currently both major parties in Federal Parliament have shared their support of banning social media for people under the age of 16 in Australia.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton pledged his party would enact a ban within 100 days of forming government if in power. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated that he would support a ban if it were found to be effective.
Help is available.
- If you’d like to report online abuse, you can contact the police or reach out to the Australian eSafety Commissioner here.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.