An ABC documentary series hosted by Olympian Ian Thorpe has been slammed for identifying victims of bullying and using hidden cameras to expose schoolyard taunts.
Prominent child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the program Bullied violated the rights of children, even though it was legal to film people in Queensland with a hidden camera.
‘They went into that school without the permission of the school. The kids that were photographed, they were pixelated, but they were all filmed without permission, they didn’t know that they were being filmed,’ he told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Wednesday.
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Queensland teenage schoolboy Kelsey is identified on the ABC documentary series Bullied
Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the ABC documentary was wrong to identify victims of bullying
‘These kids’ rights were violated, I feel very strongly that the kids who are featured in the program are now exposed to further victimisation.
‘The kid who is bullied is clearly identified.’
In the first episode, which aired on Tuesday night, hidden cameras exposed how year nine Queensland schoolboy Kelsey had been bullied since year three.
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The ABC aired footage of other boys saying ‘hey bokep thailand shemale‘ and threatening him with violence.
‘I will f****** knock you out,’ a bully is recorded saying.
In the documentary, Kelsey shows his classmates the hidden camera footage and explains to them his fear of going to school after being physically attacked.
In the presence of Olympian Ian Thorpe, a Queensland schoolboy detailed his bullying ordeal to classmates
Hidden camera footage captured Kelsey being threatened with violence at school
He does so in the presence of Thorpe, a swimming gold medalist, who has recently talked about his earlier struggles with being gay.
‘Since early primary school, I’ve been picked on and after a while you just grow tired of it,’ Kelsey said.
‘I don’t know why people feel they have the right to touch others.’
Dr Carr-Gregg said the ABC had copied a 2014 Dutch program which was sued by an affected school.
He added that teenage boy had stopped going to school in 2017 as the program was due to air.
‘I feel very strongly that the kids who are featured in the program are now exposed to further victimisation ,’ he told 3AW interviewer Neil Mitchell.