A desperate Australian mother has told of her torment after her little girl ‘planned her own suicide’ after being bullied at school.
The mother, from Western Australia, penned a heartrending post on social media which she urged others to share – in which she said ‘bullying needs to stop and it needs to stop now’.
‘Last week we spent over 5 hours in A&E with psychiatrists, doctors and nurses, because our girl “had a plan to commit suicide”,’ the distraught mother wrote.
Alongside her post, she shared an image of her little girl lying in a hospital bed.
The mother penned a heartrending post alongside this picture in which she said ‘bullying needs to stop and it needs to stop now’
Telling of the ‘awful bullying’ her daughter had endured over the last seven months, the mother placed the blame squarely at the influence of social media.
‘Children (because they are children) think it’s ok to send hateful messages (to me also along with their parents who won’t take responsibility) without consequences,’ the mother wrote.
‘I’ve had calls from these children calling me an old hag because I’ve defended our daughter, approached parents and pleaded with them to talk with their children and ask them to stop.
Telling of the ‘awful bullying’ her daughter had endured over the last seven months, the mother placed the blame squarely at the influence of social media
The mother said her young daughter had been ‘sent home numerous times after self harming at school’ (stock image)
‘I’ve even approached the children themselves, but been threatened by parents with harassment,’ she went on.
The mother said her young daughter had been ‘sent home numerous times after self harming at school’.
‘She’s not allowed a pencil sharpener as she takes the blade out and cuts herself,’ she said.
‘The WA department of education also told me. “You should teach your child how to be resilient against bullies.” Yes, they said that.
‘Our girl has had a video taken of her sitting at her desk at school, legs slightly open, with a lovely caption about the smell. It was posted to Snapchat,’ the mother went on.
The mother said she was preparing to go to court to apply for a restraining order ‘against a 12 year old to keep her away from our beautiful girl’ (stock image)
‘I spent 90 mins with the police as they tried to determine if it was photographing and distribution of pornographic material.
‘Yes, a 12 year old can be prosecuted if the content breaches certain criteria. Sadly our daughters didn’t, but she was subjected to weeks of ridicule.
‘Repercussions?… The person who took the video? Nothing, because no one would tell who it was.
‘It’s ok to verbally attack at school because they can get away with it via a screen so think the same will happen in the real world.’
‘Bullying affects the whole family, not just the bullied. It needs to stop and it needs to stop now,’ the distraught mother wrote (stock image)
After explaining how her family had spent time in A&E with her daughter following fears she was planning to end her life, the mother said she was preparing to go to court to apply for a restraining order ‘against a 12 year old to keep her away from our beautiful girl’.
She added it was ‘because parents don’t accept responsibility for their children and schools can only do so much’.
‘Please, in this awful age of social media (or anti social media as we call it) check your children’s messages,’ the mother concluded.
‘Their devices are a privilege, nothing more, nothing less, so please make sure they are being polite and respectful in their messages. Teach the children to ‘talk’ not use text or social media to air their differences.
‘Bullying affects the whole family, not just the bullied. It needs to stop and it needs to stop now!’
In an update to her posted added later, the mother said her daughter was doing ‘much better’ and thanked supporters across the globe for their support.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Western Australia’s Department of Education for comment.
If you or someone you know is struggling with the issues raised in this story, help is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.