The mother of an 11-year-old girl has claimed a school bully punched her autistic daughter in the stomach, dislodging her gastronomy button and causing her to bleed.
Julie Phillips claims her daughter has been subjected to bullying at her Queensland school for the past six years, but says the most recent incident has her fuming, according to 9News.
In May, Ms Phillips said the young girl, who also has a rare health condition that requires her to wear an ileostomy bag, was allegedly sprayed with water and hit on the stomach by a fellow student
Julie Phillips (pictured) claims her daughter has been subjected to bullying at her Queensland school for the past six years, but says the most recent incident has her fuming
She claims the student approached her daughter on the school oval and squirted the water bottle at her.
‘[My daughter] turned around and said to her, ‘I’m not allowed to get my stomach wet’. She lifted up her shirt to show her the button and the bag and said, ‘I’m not allowed to get it wet because I’ve just had surgery’,’ she told the publication.
‘This girl then went off and got her friends and came back and started squirting her again and hit her in the stomach with her water bottle.’
Ms Phillips said her daughter, whose social skills are delayed, told a teacher about the alleged incident but was sent back to class.
Ms Phillips said the young girl, who also has a rare health condition that requires her to wear an ileostomy bag, was allegedly sprayed with water and hit on the stomach by a fellow student
It wasn’t until 2pm – an hour later – that a library teacher noticed the blood on the 11-year-old’s shirt and called her mother, Ms Phillips said.
After being rushed to the hospital, Ms Phillips told 9News her daughter had surgery the following day at a Brisbane hospital to replace the button.
The Queensland mother claims the school didn’t discipline the student, except for banning her from an end of year party.
But when her daughter later chased the student after she gestured at her with a closed fist, Ms Phillips said the 11-year-old was suspended for six days.
Ms Phillips, who has multiple sclerosis, told 9News she’s unable to remove her daughter from the school because she needs to live within walking distance of the campus because of her illness.
‘We actually moved to a house to rent across the road from the school because I was getting multiple phone calls a day from the school and having to go backwards and forwards. I need to be in walking distance because some days I can’t drive or function properly,’ she said.