A Limerick mum has opened up about her daughter's harrowing experience with cyber-bullying in the hopes of saving the 17-year-old's life.
In a Facebook post that has been shared over 10,000 times, the mother detailed how the deluge of hate started simply because her daughter kissed the ex of another girl, the Irish Independent reports.
"[My daughter] was getting upwards of 50 messages a day from kids from all different schools around Limerick telling her to kill herself, calling her slut, whore, disgusting and she attempted suicide to get away from the constant torment and abuse. Thankfully she was unsuccessful but ended up in hospital," the mum shared.
The mother hopes that by speaking out about cyber-bullying, her daughter's life and the lives of others who are experiencing such pain can be saved.
"As you are all aware suicide in Ireland is an epidemic at the moment, and suicide among teens from online bullying is something we should never see," she wrote.
Indeed, last year UNICEF found that Ireland's teen suicide rate is the fourth highest in the EU/OECD region. The mum hopes that her daughter's story can reverse this tragic trend.
"I can't help thinking of the parents of children who have committed suicide from bullying and wondering whether they were even aware it was going on, and whether they felt they had done enough to try to stop it. That's the reason I'm posting such sensitive details of what is going on for my daughter right now," the Munster-based mother said.
"It’s been going on over a year. It all started with a video involving a dog shared online by a girl who named [her] as the person in the video. [My daughter’s] only crime was she kissed the girl’s ex and this girl wanted revenge."
Then the barrage of terrible messages poured in, which drove the teen to attempt suicide.
"She was being sent the video by numerous people and was even followed around town by the said girl and her friends attempting to attack her," the concerned parent recounted.
"She was being called whore and barked at in the street by complete strangers and it was even done in front of me when she was representing the school in UL for athletics by a kid from another school. Kids can be so cruel and nasty."
When the 17-year-old's classmates got wind of the rumour, instead of supporting the girl, her 'so-called friends' ostracised her, the mum said. They would ignore the teen and walk away from her when she tried to approach them.
"The kids in her school at the time did not share the video or message nastily, just ignored her," the mother wrote, "She attempted suicide again and had a breakdown after, refusing to go back to the school and wouldn't even get out of bed for weeks."
The girl's family thought that the painful experience was over, however, the harmful video surfaced yet again on Snapchat.
"[My daughter] was inundated with messages again telling her to kill herself and calling her whore, slut. No one will understand fear until you wake up to your teen screaming from inability to cope with online bullying coming in through their phone into what should be the safety of their own home," the mum continued.
"This is going on for [my daughter] as I write this. She woke up to 57 Facebook friend requests from teens wanting to taunt her and call her names. Numerous kids shared the video as their Snapchat story. What is wrong with teens these days? No empathy. So cruel."
"Maybe they don't understand the damage they're doing from behind a laptop, tablet or phone. Maybe if this post is shared and awareness is created of the effects it has on the victim of online bullying, it will stop for her and others. Maybe their parents will see the post and question them if they are involved."
"I will not lose my child because of online bullying. I will fight it. I lay beside her last night as she slept frightened to close my eyes in case I lost her."
"To the teenagers reading this who messaged her or shared the video, think before you do that to anyone. Don't always believe what people tell you. That is not [my daughter] in that video, she is disgusted by it. [My daughter] needs kindness and empathy right now."
"To [my daughter] you are a kind soul, beautiful inside and out and I am so proud of you. Be strong. You've your whole life ahead of you."
People all over the world have sent the mum and her daughter messages of love and support in response to the powerful post..
The mother replied gratefully, "You have changed [her] life... she sees she has people behind her from all over the world sharing their stories with her. Thank you xx"
