Joanna
Sujeet Bhatt wrote:
>Does 'happy slapping' exist?
>By Alexis Akwagyiram
>BBC News
>
>Reports suggest a new craze in which young people slap strangers and
>film the assault on mobile phones is on the increase. But does this
>trend actually exist or is it the product of media hype?
>
>A new breed of violence is sweeping the nation, if media reports are
>to be believed.
>
>"Happy slapping" is thought to have originated as a craze in south
>London six months ago, before becoming a nationwide phenomenon, police
>and anti-bullying organisations have claimed.
>
>Videos of the slaps are reportedly sent to other mobile phones and
>posted on the internet.
>
>Earlier this week, Surrey Police made an arrest after an 11-year-old
>child was slapped at a Leatherhead school.
>
>Reports of such violence are becoming increasingly common.
>
>A school in Tonbridge, Kent, warned that a boy's hearing had been
>damaged by an attack.
>
>Other reported incidents have included a youth punching a woman in the
>face after approaching her at a bus stop.
>
>Amid mounting concern about the phenomenon, St Martin-in-the-Fields
>School in Lambeth, south London, has banned pupils from carrying
>mobile phones to school altogether.
>
>'Pain and humiliation'
>
>Nicola Kerr, who works for children's charity Kidscape, said the trend
>was difficult for schools to control because pupils were bringing
>video phones into school.
>
>"Some schools have tried getting the children to hand their phones
>into their form teachers at the beginning of each day," she said.
>
>The assaults have prompted an ITV documentary on the subject.
>
>Academic Dr Graham Barnfield, a media lecturer at the University of
>East London, has blamed television programmes such as Jackass and
>Dirty Sanchez - which are aired on MTV - for the craze.
>
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4539913.stm
>
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