An autistic teen, who was lured into a Glasgow park and beaten unconcious, has been left horrified after she came across an Instagram account which showed her attacker brutally assaulting another child.
The vile social media profile, which had 51 clips showing violent attacks on kids around Scotland, was created in February and had 300 followers.
One video showed 13-year-old Abbie Jarvis' attacker, who launched a sickening assault on the teen at a skatepark in Dumchapel in October 2021 which left the teen in hospital for two days. The footage shows two girls battering each other, before the victim is dragged by her hair, pushed on the floor and kicked in the face, reports the Record.
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After seeing the video Abbie, who has been diagnosed with PTSD following her traumatic ordeal, said: "I felt as though I was doing well and as soon as I saw the video it just made me too scared to leave the house again. Knowing she is out there battering people again is terrifying, it makes me really mad.
"Her life hasn't changed at all, but mine has in so many ways, I used to be able to go out and see my friends but now I just can't go out anymore. I don't understand what people get from making these accounts up, nobody wants to watch themselves being battered and nobody wants to watch someone who has attacked them move on to someone else."
Instagram removed the account from the social media platform yesterday morning but Abbie's mum, Angela, and MSPs argue it should never have been there in the first place.
The mother said: "This account has been active since February and has been allowed to grow a following when it shouldn't never have been there in the first place. These accounts are just encouraging this behaviour to be a lifestyle and a fashion.
"Victims do not enjoy watching themselves being beaten up. It shames them, makes them re-live it and makes them feel vulnerable. Moderators really need to be acting faster to remove these videos from online because it is terrorising the child victims."
Angela added: "Abbie was so scared after watching the clip and kept telling me, 'Mum, she's not going to stop - how am I supposed to feel safe?'. She only went back to school earlier this month and was sent this post the day after her return.
"Now, she just doesn't want to leave the house. Whenever we take one step forward, we take four backwards."
Local Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: "This is the perfect example of where social media companies are failing young people and facilitating the promotion of violent content. This account should never have been there in the first place, it does nothing but share videos that should be immediately taken down.
"If these companies are unable to identify accounts like these of their own volition and take swift action then there is something seriously wrong and they should be legally compelled to do so. If they aren't, then young people will continue to suffer, families will continue to pay the price and the perpetrators will continue to get off free."
Labour MSP Alex Rowley added: "These social media accounts are shocking and operators need to take responsibility. Without doing so, they are basically promoting violence.
"This account should never have been there in the first place, this should not be happening and these companies need to be held to account. In doing so, victims like Abbie will be prevented from watching such footage, which could have a damaging impact on their mental health."
Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie commented: “Instagram should have acted without delay, not after several months of posts. The posts are ugly and could provide incitement to engage in further acts of violence. It’s just not good enough.”
Meanwhile, Angela added how she feels as though her daughter is serving the punishment for her attacker's crime.
She said: "Abbie is living in a fortress, bunged up indoors and is terrified to move past the front door. She is having to live in a jail herself and it's as though she is being punished for the crime that was committed.
"The video shows that the girl has learnt nothing. I fear what it will take before something is done, there are too many kids living in fear."
The Record has approached Instagram for comment.
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