Cyber bullying made my life hell

Social media has been at the centre of a storm in recent weeks after the suicide of Leicestershire schoolgirl Hannah Smith.
Internet bullying/ cyber bullying/ website/hate/FacebookInternet bullying/ cyber bullying/ website/hate/Facebook
Internet bullying/ cyber bullying/ website/hate/Facebook

She was taunted and bombarded with anonymous messages online.

In desperation, the 14-year-old hanged herself after being targeted by trolls on Ask.fm, a website set up in Latvia.

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The tragedy has sparked a national debate, with parents - including Prime Minister David Cameron - asking why users are able to post such vicious remarks with complete anonymity.

Gemma Blagbrough runs workshops to teach people about cyber bullying and confidence building.Gemma Blagbrough runs workshops to teach people about cyber bullying and confidence building.
Gemma Blagbrough runs workshops to teach people about cyber bullying and confidence building.

Research by The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) found one in five children who use social networking sites suffered a negative experience last year.

This included bullying, unwanted sexual messages, cyber stalking and feeling pressure to look a certain way.

The NSPCC also said a large number of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube users were under the minimum age of 13.

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But a scheme in Kirklees is showing victims they don’t have to suffer in silence.

Jigsaw Enterprise Training, a social enterprise offering training opportunities to young people and adults, has included sessions on cyber-bullying into its programme.

Trainer Gemma Blagbrough said: “We work with people to help develop their skills and cyber bullying comes into that quite a bit.

“People use social media to communicate a lot and they write things and make comments but do not always realise it is there forever.

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“Some use it as a main source of communication and we try to encourage people not to be anonymous. Anybody can make up a profile and they think they are talking to someone their age when they could have no idea who they’re talking to.”

The social enterprise provides sessions for people with physical or learning disabilities.

Training is given to groups or one-to-one at venues such as the Batley Resource Centre.

It has introduced cyber bullying education into its programme highlighting how to recognise and deal with issues of safety online.

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Gemma added: “It is a growing issue for people and younger people are accessing social media much earlier.

“Our approach is to highlight exactly what cyber bullying is and help people be aware of dealing with any issues they are facing.”

Kirklees Safeguarding Children Board has also worked to campaign against bullying.

A spokesman said: “Cyber bullying and e-safety are complex problems that can have damaging effects.

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“All children and young people should be able to use technology without fear of bullying, discrimination or threatening, abusive behaviour.

“The board has a specific plan to improve e-safety across the district, which involves working with schools, the police, and youth support services.

“Training, resources and guidance are provided, and a large part of our work is to raise awareness of e-safety issues with schools, parents, carers, children and young people.”

Schools in Kirklees have also taken the initiative to show cyber bullying will not be tolerated.

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In a letter to parents published on the school’s website, Birstall Primary Academy urged parents to monitor their child’s Facebook account. Principal Kyrstie Joslin said: “Cyber-bullying is becoming an increasingly worrying trend in young people and it is an issue that the police take very seriously.”