A video asking boys to hit a girl is going viral.
In the video, filmed by Counties Manukau Police, a group of boys between the ages of 10 and 12 are asked a series of questions by an interviewer like how old they are and what they want to be when they grow up.
The interviewer then introduces the boys to a friend called Chloe.
He asks the boys to make Chloe laugh, to give her a hug, to say something nice about her.
Then he asks the boys to slap her.
“I’m not slapping a girl!” one boy says.
The others are similarly affronted.
“That’s the wrong thing to do!” says one boy.
“You can’t just go around hitting people,” another says.
The video ends with a powerful message: “If kids know it’s wrong, you should too.”
Counties Manukau district prevention officer Senior Constable Gary Boles said they were inspired by the Italian video Slap Her, which gained global attention earlier this year.
“It was our first instinct, to see how our boys would react.”
In order to get an honest account, the boys interviewed, who were from Bucklands Beach Primary school, weren’t prepped in any way about the true message of the video. All they were asked was to think about what they wanted to be when they grew up.
Chloe is the daughter of a local police officer.
The video was released today to remind people in time for Christmas that violence is “not ok”.
“For us it’s a high family violence time of the year. We want to tell everyone, if you’re getting heated up, just take five, walk away, get a breath of fresh air,” Mr Boles said.
“It’s a time for having fun and not for violence.”
