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In honor of World Mental Health Day, I would like to tell you the story of Amanda Todd. Amanda Todd was a young girl living in Port Coquitlam, BC. A victim of bullying, Amanda committed suicide in 2012 at the age of 15.
In 2009-2010, Amanda had used video chat to meet new people, often getting complimented on her good looks. One individual she chatted with over the course of about 1 year eventually convinced her to send him a topless picture. He later blackmailed her, saying that he would post the picture online and on friends Facebook page unless she gave him a "show".
In 2009, Amanda created a Youtube video describing her experience with depression, bullying, and self-harm. At the time I write this, her video has almost 13 million views. I encourage you to watch this video, it will bring you to tears.
During the Christmas break 2010, the Todd family was told that the photo was circulating online. Amanda experienced depression, anxiety and panic disorder due to this photo being posted online.
Amanda was teased and bullied so badly because of this photo that her family moved to get away from the stress. But about 1 year later, this same person reappeared on Facebook, using that photo as the accounts profile image.
The teasing and bullying continued and Amanda's family moved once again. At that time she began chatting with "an old guy friend" who later invited Amanda to his house where they allegedly had sex.
This "old guy friend" had a girlfriend though, and this girlfriend and about 15 other people later confronted Amanda and she was badly beaten and left in a ditch. A short time later she was found by Amanda father.
After this attack, Amanda tried to commit suicide by drinking bleach, only surviving by having her stomach pumped.
Returning home after her failed suicide attempt, Amanda discovered abusive and threatening messages on her Facebook page about her attempted suicide. So in 2012, her family moved one more time.
But this person stalking her on Facebook found her every time. He would make fake accounts posing as a new student to whatever school she was going to, eventually sending the photo and video to these other students. After months of this abuse, Amanda was hospitalized for 2 days due to an overdose.
The taunting at school continued, due to the photo and video, and the time she spent in the hospital, but also due to her low grades. Amanda also had a language-based learning disability that made it difficult to keep up in classes.
On October 10, 2012, Amanda committed suicide in her home in Port Coquitlam.
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| Amanda Todd Legacy |
RCMP and the BC Coroners Service launched an investigation into Amanda's death, with over 20 investigators working the case. In January 2014 a Dutch man was arrested in the Netherlands. The police, using spyware on this man's computer, discovered "chilling" chat logs, numerous pictures of child pornography, and 5,800 bookmarked names which served as a database of potential victims including their social networks.
In April 2014 Dutch authorities announced that they charged this man with indecent assault and child pornography. Later that same month the RCMP announced charges laid against the same man for extortion, internet luring, criminal harassment and the possession and distribution of child pornography for his alleged activities against Todd and other child victims, both male and female. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in the Netherlands, and after serving his time there, he will have to answer for his crimes in Canada.
Even after Amanda's death people still taunt her on her Facebook page. Hidden amongst the more than 1 million likes there are still comments and images posted by people claiming to be former classmates that taunt the memory of this poor girl.
Amanda's mother established a trust at the Royal Bank of Canada in Amanda's name to support anti-bullying awareness campaigns. As if what happened to Amanda wasn't enough, a number of fraudulent websites appeared claiming to be sites where you could donate to the Amanda Todd Trust. As of right now, you can donate to Amanda's Trust, now named the Amanda Todd Legacy at any RBC Royal Bank.
Thoughts
I feel very angry reviewing this case. There were many times that someone of authority could have stepped in and helped this girl. How much abuse did she have to suffer in the school system before the bullying was dealt with? Kids left bottles of bleach in front of her locker after her suicide attempt for christ sake. You can't tell me that the school had no idea who put that there. The amount of abuse and bullying this girl faced sickens me.
Kids can be cruel, but what happened to Amanda was next level. The man arrested put forth a concentrated effort to emotionally abuse this girl, and realistically, she had no effective defense. His efforts tore her down emotionally, and he was relentless, following and stalking her through cyberspace for years.
Amanda was getting treatment and was taking medication to help with her depression and anxiety, but the constant taunting and bullying that she could not escape even after repeated attempts took its toll. I think that if more could have been done to eliminate the taunting and bullying by her classmates that Amanda's story would have turned out quite differently, even with the man still stalking her from cyberspace. At least she would get a break from the bullying when she turned off the computer.
Hindsight is 20/20, and there are a lot of "what-ifs" in Amanda's case. My only hope is that her story will serve as a reminder to the seriousness of bullying, online and off.
Thanks for reading about Amanda's story, see you next time
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That poor girl. I don't understand bullying. We are all trying to get through life. Shouldn't that be with the least amount of harm to another human being?. Kudos to you Liam for bringing Amanda's tragedy to the forefront. Maybe it will stop someone from becoming a bully. To me, the guy who tormented her us a murderer. L.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Liam, for bringing Amanda's story to the forefront. We should as humans help our fellow human. To me, the tormentor of this poor girl is a murderer.
ReplyDelete