Racial abuse targeted at primary school pupils in Glasgow on social media has been reported to police as a hate crime, council officials have confirmed.
The Twitter messages were posted in response to a photograph of Nicola Sturgeon visiting the multi-cultural St Albert’s Primary School in the Pollokshields area of the city.
Headteacher Clare Harker did not hesitate to inform police of the abuse, saying school staff were “horrified” by the actions of some social media users.
“We were shocked and horrified by the abuse posted in response to a photo of children in one of our classes,” she said.
“Thankfully the pupils in the photo are unaware of the online abuse as they’re so young, but all the teachers and parents are appalled.”
Ms Harker said the First Minister had sent messages of support to the children and the school.
“Thank you to everyone, including the First Minister, for their messages of support for the children and school. Their kind words have helped reaffirm our faith in human beings following the disgusting online abuse,” she added.
“People should not be afraid to report hate crime. It is very important that, when it happens, we all do so. In our experience, the police will treat it very seriously.
“We had officers in the school yesterday and it sends out a very clear message to our older pupils and our wider community that no-one should tolerate abuse – it must be reported.”
Councillor Christina Cannon, Glasgow’s convener for education and equalities, said: “Glasgow is proud to be an inclusive city enriched by its diversity. Our slogan is ‘People Make Glasgow’ and that means all people. We do not tolerate hate crime and I encourage anyone who witnesses it or experiences it to report it either to the police or via a Third Party Reporting Centre.
“Sadly, the online abuse aimed at children in one of our primary schools is a sickening reminder of precisely why everyone needs to stand up to hate crime.”
Glasgow will take part in this year’s National Hate Crime Awareness Week from October 8-16.
The campaign aims to highlight exactly what a hate crime looks like and encourages victims to report them.
Police Superintendent Patrick Murphy said: “We are continuing with inquiries and providing support to St Albert’s Primary School.
“Police Scotland operates a zero tolerance approach to hate crime on social media platforms and those identified will be dealt with in the appropriate manner.
“We would encourage anyone to report social media hate crime offences to Police Scotland on 101 or at a designated third party reporting centre.
“We are committed to providing a professional and consistent approach to victims of hate crime, treating everyone equally with due regard to their differences.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here