April 22, 2011
Judge Tom
8

Ten years in prison for workplace and cyber-bullying

Brodie Panlock was 19 years old and worked at a cafe in Melbourne, Australia. Three male co-workers picked on her mercilessly. They spit at her and poured beer and fish oil on her. After one failed suicide attempt, they laughed at her and suggested she use rat poison the next time she tried. The bullies included two waiters and a chef. They were all in their twenties.  Brodie committed suicide by jumping off a multi-story parking garage in September, 2006.

At the time,  Australia didn’t have a law criminalizing bullying. Consequently, her abusers received civil fines from $10,000 to $45,000. The owner of the restaurant was fined $220,000 for failure to provide and maintain a safe workplace.

Brodie and parents, Rae and Damian Panlock

After five years, legislation was introduced in Parliament in April, 2011. The new law is an amendment to the already existing stalking statute. It will place work-place bullying and cyberbullying under the State Crimes Act. Violations will include incarceration up to ten years. Under “Brodie’s Law” serious bullying will be treated as a crime if it could cause someone physical or mental harm.

A survey of 16,000 children by the Edith Cowan University in Australia found that the number of cyberbullying victims grew from 15% to 25% during the three years the study was done.

Brodie's bullies: Smallwood, DaCruz, MacAlpine & Toomey

When passed, Australia’s new law will amend State Crimes Act 1958 (Section 21A) adding workplace and cyberbullying to already existing stalking laws. In May, 2011, the bill was passed. Brodie’s parents were present and stated that “If you are going to engage in this behaviour, you’ve got the consequences of ending up in jail. . . . I just hope no family has to go through anything like this again,” her mother added.

For help when needed in Australia contact www.kidshelp.com.au to reach a counselor.

You can also go here for information regarding your work environment.

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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8 Comments

  • Beth W.
    August 2, 2011 2:35 pm count( 0 )

    In cases like Brodie’s, ten years is not enough.

  • Oklahoma City Divorce Attorney Matt Ingham
    July 4, 2011 8:10 pm count( 1 )

    I agree 100% with the admin, we must learn from these tragedies. Over the course of the past five years, members of our society have made huge strides forward in recognizing the problem, treating it, and punishing it. In this case, I think American lawmakers should follow the example of the Australian lawmakers and ‘crack down’ on the perpetrators.