The mother of a teenager who took his life because of online bullying has urged others not to ignore the issue.
Lucy Alexander, from Worcester, wrote an open letter appealing for “children to be kind ALWAYS and never stand by and leave bullying unreported”.
She said her son Felix, 17, was subjected to “cruel and overwhelming” taunts on social media since he was 10, which eventually became unbearable.
The sixth form student was hit by a train on 27 April.
Her plea came at about the same time the mother of Asad Khan, an 11-year-old boy from Bradford who was found hanged, pleaded for anyone who knew about him being bullied to come forward.
In a letter published in the Worcester News, Ms Alexander said: “His confidence and self-esteem had been eroded over a long period of time by the bullying behaviour he experienced in secondary education.
“People who had never even met Felix were abusing him over social media and he found that he was unable to make and keep friends.”
What should I do if I see someone being bullied?
Family charity BullyingUK has given advice on how children and young people can help if they see someone being bullied.
- Tell a teacher
- Go with the person being bullied and back up what they say to the teacher
- Tell the person being bullied that you will help them to tell their parents
- Tell your parents what has happening and ask them to have a quiet word with your head of year
- Agree with your friends that you will all make it clear to the person doing the bullying that you do not like what they are doing
- Keep a diary of what you see going on so that you can give a teacher a reliable account of what has been happening
“If you tell a teacher what has happened then the bully shouldn’t find out that you’ve done that,” said the charity. “The teacher should be able to quietly alert other teachers and keep an eye on the situation so that the bully is caught red handed and has only themselves to blame.”
- Find out more at the charity’s website
An inquest heard he made friends at Pershore High School, where the staff described him as bright and kind, after facing difficulties at his previous school.
“He was, however, so badly damaged by the abuse, isolation and unkindness he had experienced that he was unable to see just how many people truly cared for him,” wrote Ms Alexander.
“I write this letter not for sympathy, but because there are so many more children like Felix who are struggling and we need to wake up to the cruel world we are living in.
“Be that one person prepared to stand up to unkindness. You will never regret being a good friend,” she wrote.
Ms Alexander’s family are raising money for Place2Be; a charity that offers counselling to young people.
Source: BBC.co.uk