The families of the victims of an Islamophobic assault at a Dunedin school have not been told of the discipline the attackers will face, the Otago Muslim Association says.
Otago Girls' High School. (File image) Photo: Google Maps
Hoda Al-Jamaa was sitting with her friends at Otago Girls' High School last week when three students approached and started beating her while they filmed the attack.
The 17-year-old had her hijab ripped off and suffered a concussion.
Last week, a member of Dunedin's Muslim community told RNZ it was not the first time the girls had faced Islamophobic abuse at the school.
Otago Muslim Association chairperson Mohammed Rizwan said the three victims had since returned to school.
"They actually started back at school last week. As for Hoda, she did start back but she was getting headaches and couldn't concentrate, so she's at home to allow her to recover," he said.
"They did want to go back because they don't want to miss out on their schooling."
The victims had not received any apology or message from their attackers, Dr Rizwan said.
The families had been told there was a disciplinary meeting last Thursday, but they were not informed of its outcome.
He had since written to the school and the board seeking more information for the victims' families.
They did not want identifying details of the attackers, but they deserved to know what the outcome was, he said.
"They just want to know what the decision was because it relates to their daughters," Dr Rizwan said.
The board had not yet even met with the victims' families yet, he said.
In a statement on the Otago Girls' High School Facebook page, board chair Lyn Hurring said last week, they had completed formal disciplinary processes after an investigation.
Hurring said she was confident appropriate steps had been taken after the incident.
She said the board could not say if, or how, the students involved were disciplined, but she was confident the incident was handled appropriately.
The Ministry of Education told Morning Report in a statement that the formal disciplinary process in relation to the incident had been completed but New Zealand's privacy requirements meant the outcome could not be disclosed publicly.
"However we know that the school has kept their parent community updated about the processes they followed and that they have supported all those involved throughout," the statement said.
Dunedin police confirmed the matter had been referred to Youth Aid.
A Police Ethnic Liaison Officer was working with the victim's family as part of the investigation process.
A Change.org petition calling for the school to address the attack, and for people to unite against hatred and bigotry had already gathered close to 75,000 signatures.