How old are you now, and when did it all start?
I am 14 now and everything started when I was about 8 or 9. It’s been going on for about 5 or 6 years.
What sort of things have happened to you?
I’ve had a couple of death threats, but they were just from little kids….you know how it is….I’ve had lots of verbal abuse, name calling, but you know everyone gets it. I’ve had a cone thrown at my head while walking to meet my Mam after school, that’s left a scar. I even once had a keyboard thrown at my head. The teacher didn’t even notice! How big a situation can you get?! I think the first, or one of the first things that happened to me was when I had a brick thrown at my head when I was 8. That left a scar too.
How did these things make you feel?
A mix of emotions really. I wasn’t scared – I am a black belt (but I’d only hurt somebody in self defence). I was sort of in-between angry and upset. It was a really weird feeling. Not nice. Not nice at all. I lost my temper quite a lot.
Who did you tell and what did they do about it?
Well, I told my family, my friends, anyone I could trust. My Mam came into school and talked to my teachers. They sorted me out with a support worker and I started anger management. These things have really helped me a lot. My support worker sorted out this thing called ‘mediation’. It’s where you sit at one end of the table and the bully sits at the other, and the support worker sits in the middle. Then you and the bully talk about the problems you have with each other, and the support worker tries to come up with a solution to resolve the problems. It really is surprisingly effective.
What is the situation like now?
Now everything is great! No problems just the occasional word, but that doesn’t bother me. I think that because people know that i'm not going to take any rubbish and that I’ve got my support worker helping me out, they don’t dare touch me.
Thank you.
