Attack on girl in Hodonín, Czech Republic: Police know the seven main perpetrators, Czech School Inspection is investigating, local principals claim to have good bullying prevention programs

Police spokesperson Pavel Šváb has posted the information to the police website and said the legal qualification of the charges could still change. Saturday’s assault involved juveniles and minors in Hodonín and is also being investigated by school principals together with representatives of the town.

“At this moment we have established who the seven main perpetrators of the conflict and the two victims are. Many interrogations and procedural tasks will now be performed. Again, we remind the public that we will also investigate what preceded this incident. We are collaborating on this case with staffers of the Child Welfare Authority,” the spokesperson said.

According to video footage posted to social media by the mother of the assaulted 12-year-old girl, the others pulled her hair, slapped her and spat on her. The mother also said her daughter had been bullied for a longer period of time and the school had ignored the behavior.

“We had no idea something like this was going on outside. We were shocked that something of the sort is even possible. The world of children is a cruel one, and violence escalates,” principal Andrej Pavlíků told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) previously, whose first comments downplayed the situation and accused the victim’s family of attacking the school by publicizing what happened.

According to the principal, it is also a problem that some children passively watched more than one person harm the girl. Some of the spectators are the victim’s schoolmates.

“We have prevention programs, a school psychologist, and we speak with the children about how to behave. We addressed it again today and we will dedicate more time to prevention work,” Pavlíků said.

According to Pavlíků, the perpetrators did not attend the same school as the victim. “We have convened a crisis team of all the local principals where we will discuss those involved,” he said.

Principals continue to claim their bullying prevention is sufficient even after this shocking case

The Hodonín town hall announced that a meeting of the principals of all the primary schools established by the town had already long been planned and was held this week. Discussion of the current situation regarding pupil behavior was one component of the meeting, the town said.

According to a press release issued by the principals, they have assured the town leadership that they have high-quality internal procedures set up in their schools as well as crime prevention programs and that they regularly communicate with educators and pupils about such subjects. Guidance counselors and psychologists also work with the children.

The principals said that neither the establisher nor the schools underestimate this situation and that they collaborate with each other to address it. Mayor Libor Střecha made the following statement despite the existence of the horrible video footage: “On a human level, I was naturally affected by it, as is anybody who sees it. I believe the police are investigating the case as they should. The schools have set up their own internal communications channels through which they communicate with parents and pupils. The mechanisms are very well set up and children have information from their teachers as to whom they can reach out to if they don’t feel safe.”

The town leadership also said it has long financially supported the work of psychologists in the schools who aid children exactly in such situations. The assault is being independently investigated by the Czech School Inspectorate to assess how the school is responding to the situation.

The Czech Education Ministry previously announced on the X social media site that the Czech School Inspectorate is investigating. According to the ministry, it is in regular contact with the school establisher and other stakeholders involved in this case.

The ministry also said that all bullying or violence is unacceptable and should never take place in any school environment.

Was this racism? Too early to say, according to the Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs

As news server Romea.cz previously reported, Czech Government Commissioner for Roma Minority Affairs Lucie Fuková and civil society members of the Czech Government Council for Roma Minority Affairs are also investigating the case. The mother of the assaulted girl has said the perpetrators also racially abused her daughter.

Fuková said it is still too early to say whether racism was part of this case. “It’s too early to say at this time. It’s necessary to let the police properly investigate,” she told news server iDNES.cz.

The mother of the assaulted girl is in contact with nonprofit organizations which are arranging legal and psychological aid for her and her daughter.