Petition calls for change after Kelowna teen swarmed, beaten

It’s been two weeks since a teenager in Kelowna was attacked by a group of young people at a park and left unconscious on the ground.

The vicious assault, which included hair pulling and having dirt kicked in her face, was caught on video and shared widely.

Now, an online petition is calling for amendments to the Youth Criminal Justice Act as some parents push for young people to be held accountable for their actions.

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It calls for parents of repeat offenders to also be held responsible.

“We want stricter laws that will impose fines after repeated offenses committed by their children. This method of accountability could potentially deter minors from reoffending,” the petition states.

It’s also calling for a tougher crackdown on social media platforms, like Snapchat.

“… making it compulsory for them to share crucial information concerning violent or harmful behavior with parents and the police. This transparency is key in preventing continuing harassment, violence, and hate amongst teens,” it goes on to say.

It also demands the creation of a rehabilitation centre in the Okanagan that would focus on repeat offenders to help curb violent attacks, bullying, and harassment while supporting mental health initiatives.

1130 NewsRadio spoke with the father of the victim in Kelowna. 1130 is not publishing his or his daughter’s name due to privacy.

The father supports the petition.

“It’s not just a Kelowna thing, this is a problem everywhere. We’re hearing from people from Langley to Winnipeg, to New York and the United Kingdom,” he explained.

“If we have to organize this everywhere in the world to make sure our kids feel safe, then that’s what we’ll do. I just can’t sit back and let this stuff happen to kids. I don’t know how anybody can. People have had enough of it.”

He believes violence among some young people is becoming out of control.

“It’s affecting too many lives. Things need to change. The criminal justice system is obviously failing our kids and I’m not just saying these things need to change for my kid because she was attacked — these kids that did it, they need help too. I recognize that,” he said.

“I want accountability, but this behaviour happens for some reason. We need support. We need laws in the right places to protect our kids.”

He thinks the law shouldn’t just target those who commit the crime, but bystanders as well.

“If you’re going around with the confidence to tape a heinous act because you know you’re going to get away with it, that’s a problem. And we need to fix it,” he explained. “Kids aren’t going to fix this, adults are going to fix this.”

“Anybody involved in something like that, recording, luring or doing the punching and kicking or throwing the dirt, you need to be taught that’s not right.”

Holding back tears, he admits the last couple of weeks have been emotionally draining.

“I guess I’ve got my priorities in order and my priority is my kid, and now that we’ve started this, I feel like my priority is [protecting all] kids,” he explained.

“I’m not letting my foot off the gas and if I need motivation, I just think about how tough my kid is and why I’m doing it. It’s pretty easy to get up and do stuff. Doing stuff for your kid is the most motivating thing you can have as a father and I’m highly motivated.”

As for his daughter, he says she has good days and bad days. He describes her as being in “seclusion” right now. Adding, she has not returned to school, and it looks increasingly as though she’ll move out of Kelowna.

He says she’s tough and although her physical injuries are healing, he fears the attack may leave her with lifelong emotional and mental scars.

Five arrests have been made in this case, with all since being released with conditions.