Jessica Graham has seen the devastating effects bullying can have on young people in the most painful way after her 14-year-old sister committed suicide at her Wollongong home just before Christmas last year.
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She says her sister Jessie Tolhurst was severely bullied for four years and moved from school to school during that time to try and escape it.
She was hospital schooled in the final six months of her life but unfortunately it was too late.
Jessica recently moved to Ulladulla and is now campaigning against bullying and encouraging anyone who is being bullied or knows someone going through bullying to seek help.
She has started a petition to try and gain support for creating harsher laws around bullying after her family and sister were repeatedly told by police there was nothing they could do.
These petitions are available in hard copy only from local businesses in the Milton-Ulladulla area.
With technology allowing for instant communication, bullying is no longer confined to the playground. It is possible for people to be bullied on any of the social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
Platforms like Snapchat are difficult to monitor because the photos disappear after a few seconds. The school encourages students who face bulling through these kinds of means to take screenshots and report the bullies.
Ulladulla High School principal Denise Lofts said the school takes bullying very seriously and they have a number of measures in place to assist students and teachers who might be experiencing bullying of any kind.
The school has strict policies about bullying in place and takes every complaint seriously.
“We work with Headspace and run education programs for everyone including teachers,” Mrs Lofts said.
“Last year we also ran a cyber bullying workshop.
“We talked a lot about digital citizenship,” she said.
The school plans to run a similar workshop again this year and work with the school youth liaison officer and Headspace, who run an outreach service at the school to stop bullying and provide support for both those going through it.
They also try to support the bullies.
“Bullying is often an outlet,” Mrs Lofts said.
“We try to understand why it was happening, and encourage them to see the school counselor.
“We also provide ongoing support and supervision from the year adviser,” she said.
For those being bullied, they are encouraged to report it and are supported through the process with counselling, encouragement and coping tactics.
The school also takes a proactive approach to bullying, and this year they are encouraging students and teachers to take a mindful minute each day.
They have talked a lot about mindfulness and coping strategies at school and Mrs Lofts said the big aim was giving people the skills to cope.
Research suggests mindfulness is a way of both preventing bullying and helping people deal with it.
The Ulladulla Youth Centre is part of the Mission Australia Southern Shoalhaven Youth Services and they also provide support for young people who are being bullied.
“We take a holistic approach to bullying,” said one of the centre’s youth workers.
“We work with the young person and their support networks,” he said.
The can refer young people to a GP, or simply provide recreational activities and help with homework if that is all they need.
Their activities run from 2.30-5pm Tuesday to Thursday. For more information visit www.ssyouthservices.org/.
Jessica is hoping to connect with the local youth services and help out in any way she can to prevent bullying and stop people from going through what her sister went through.
She said on a Facebook post to the Ulladulla Notice Board last week that “for those of you out there who are feeling how Jessie felt, depressed, anxious or worthless, I want you to know that I LOVE YOU, AND I CARE!”
If you are being bullied, know someone who is or just need to chat please call one of the numbers below, drop into the Youth Centre at 80 Vincent Street Ulladlula or report it to your school.
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 551 800
There are also plenty of websites like au.reachout.com/ and beyondblue.org.au that can talk you through what to do if need help.
