Kids.
They grow up so fast!
Like to know how fast?
A 24-year-old drives his kid brother to a girl’s twelfth birthday.
The party’s in the well-heeled Melbourne suburb of Brighton.
When the man returns to collect his brother several hours later, he sees pre-teens (i.e. children) staggering round the front yard, vomiting profusely on the hydrangeas.
His young brother gets into the car.
When quizzed by his older sibling, the boy reports that it was the birthday girl’s parents who supplied the (copious) alcohol at this party.
The boy goes on to say that he used his mobile phone to photograph 12-year-old guests having oral and penetrative sex at various concealed locations around the multi-million-dollar property.
Nor was he the sole happy snapper.
There’s every chance these images will end up online.
And stay there.
Forever.
This tawdry tale illustrates three points I’ve been making for years:
- Parents holding events for young people are utterly failing to show any duty of care.
- One can only hope this sexual activity was consensual. Far too often it is not.
- Alcohol leads to violence, injury and death. How many more kids must be killed at these parties before stupid parents realise it’s unacceptable to just let it happen?
Happy New Year?
Not unless we change our tune!
😐
Naomi Oakley, Founder, Safe Partying Australia.