THERE was a time when Tenealle Hawke didn’t think she would make it through high school.
Every day for almost two years, the 19-year-old of Taylors Lakes was the target of unrelenting bullying.
Boys would hide behind each other, throwing food at her during lunch, while girls snickered as she passed them in the corridor.
“Looking back, I guess I was picked on because I was different,” she said.
“I wasn’t the cool kid or the popular kid and I didn’t really want to be like everybody else.”
Ahead of last week’s launch of an Australian Human Rights Commission campaign on cyberbullying, Ms Hawke attended a cybersafety summit in Canberra with Keilor Labor MP Natalie Hutchins. There, she shared her experience as a victim of bullying to year 7 students from across Australia.
“Not only did I start to question myself and wonder what was wrong with me, but I felt guilty for bringing my friends into the situation because being associated with me meant putting a target on their own back,” she said.
Ms Hawke has also helped form a youth advisory committee in Keilor.
The group was formed after the death of Taylors Lakes Secondary College student Sheniz Erkan, 14, who took her own life on January 9 after being bullied online.
The committee, initiated by Ms Hutchins and youth services project planner Angela Scarpaci, is aimed at providing a voice for Brimbank youth.
More than 40 young people attended the first meeting in March.
Ms Scarpaci said major issues included youth suicide, cyberbullying, transport and drug and alcohol abuse. The group will be formally launched in September. Details: 0411797634.
Lifeline: 131114.
