School Bullying Council

Tragic: Sheniz Erkan was the victim of bullying at school and over the internet.
Source: Supplied

UPDATE 3pm: MOURNERS at a funeral service for bullied teen Sheniz Erkan have been urged to forgive those who tormented the schoolgirl.

The Government has launched a new website to tackle cyberbullying and help young people stay safe online.

About 500 mourners turned out to farewell the Taylors Lakes Secondary College student who took her own life after enduring schoolyard and cyber bullying.

Family and friends gathered at Sunshine Mosque, where a traditional Islamic funeral service was held.

A friend of the family told the Herald Sun that the message of the Turkish service was to forgive.

“The Imam said if anybody is responsible for this they should be forgiven,” he said.

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“In our belief we’re not supposed to hold any grudges, and forgive everybody.

“We’re born with a free soul and we die with a free soul.”

Dozens of classmates and fellow soccer players from the Cairnlea Football Club turned out to pay their respects, donning jackets emblazoned with Sheniz’s name and the number 18.

They stood alongside family and friends from the wider Cypriot-Turkish community to show their support for the grieving Erkan family.

Some of the crowd had to stand outside and in the car park of the mosque because of the number of people in attendance.

Outside young girls wailed and asked “why?” as they hugged each other and tried to make sense of the tragedy.

Friends and family of cyber bully victim Sheniz Erkan have mourned her at a traditional Islamic ceremony. Picture: Kris Reichel, Leader Newspapers

Final phone call

Sheniz had phoned her best friend minutes before she died and said she loved her.

Renay Sumercan broke her silence yesterday to reveal her friend’s last words to her, and to urge other victims to speak out about bullying before it was too late.

The 15-year-old said she was heartbroken by her best friend’s death.

The pair met at a party two years ago and formed an instant bond despite their different personalities.

“Even when I moved away we stayed best friends,” she told the Herald Sun yesterday. “I loved her smile.

“She brought the best out in everyone. We both could trust each other. We could talk about things.

“We could have deep conversations that I couldn’t have with anyone else, and we had the same sense of humour,” she said.

Renay Sumercan received a call from bullying victim Sheniz Erkan (inset) just before she died. Pictures: Ellen Smith / Facebook

Sheniz’s shattered father also spoke out on the eve of her funeral.

“They’re just kids. Even adults can’t hold it together – how are kids supposed to hold it inside? In the modern day, they just crack,” Senol Erkan said.

Renay, who said she had also been bullied, said the pair sometimes spoke about being harassed.

“She was good at ignoring the bullies,” she said. “She didn’t care what anyone thought of her.

“But I guess she just couldn’t take it any more.

“There’s only a certain amount you can take.

“She thought no one cared about her.”

The last time they spoke was just minutes before Sheniz died.

“The last words she said to me were ‘I love you’,” she said.

After seeing the tens of thousands of online tributes for her best friend, Renay said Sheniz was looking down and could see that people cared.

She had a simple message for Sheniz’s bullies: “You really don’t understand how severe your actions are until something like this happens.

“I’m mad at the bullies, of course I am. But it hasn’t bothered them at all, because they’re still doing it.”

Renay was frustrated by abusive comments posted on Sheniz’s tribute site.

“It hurts that such a young person had to go through this,” she said.

“How many people have to die before something is done?”

Renay urged other bullying victims to speak out.

“If you’re getting bullied, just really speak up.”

deerys@heraldsun.com.au

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/last-words-of-a-best-friend/story-fn7x8me2-1226243026933

Story Published:
Apr 26, 2011 at 10:38 PM PDT

Story Updated:
Apr 26, 2011 at 10:42 PM PDT

Leslie Cote says the relentless cyberbullying by two former friends turned her life upside down.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. – A 12-year-old girl who was the victim of relentless cyberbullying on her Facebook page is speaking out about how the actions of two former friends turned her life upside down.

Investigators say the former friends, two sixth-grade girls from Issaquah, now face criminal charges after cyberbullying a fellow classmate through Facebook.

The three girls in the case were all friends at one time at Issaquah Middle School.

But police say an argument that began between them at school ended up splattered all over Facebook – and landed two of the girls in court.

The victim, Leslie Cote, says, “I was hurt and sad and very angry.”

Like any other 12-year-old girl, Leslie considers herself normal. She likes cheerleading, runs track and enjoys painting.

But the colors that surround her world turned dark when she found vulgar images displayed across her Facebook page last month.

“I just couldn’t control it and then I didn’t get any sleep,” Leslie says. “I kept crying the whole time, and it’s just all bunched up.”

Police says Leslie became the victim of cyberbullying after she accidentally saved her password on a friend’s computer. And after a fight, the 11- and 12-year-old former friends took over her account, detectives say.

“Technically this was a crime from the get-go, and as a result, a child’s feeling is hurt,” says Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum.

Leslie says, “Some people looked at me differently, and then judged me differently now because of what happened.”

Investigators say the two girls posted raunchy images on Leslie’s Facebook page, and also sent messages to other users talking about private parts and inviting them to have sex.

The girls allegedly edited pictures of the victim to depict a knife pointing to her head, drew devil’s horns and added word bubbles reading “I’m a slut.”

When Leslie told her mother and her mother’s fiance, they were floored.

“Extreme anger and honestly disbelief,” says the mom’s fiance, Jon Knight. “Parents do need to be aware of what’s going on, especially with the Internet.”

Cmdr. Behrbaum says, “Bullying is still bullying whether it’s face to face or using a computer, a telephone, text messages – it’s still bullying.”

Meanwhile, Leslie’s family has started a new community Facebook page for her called, “For Leslie.” It’s all part of an effort to raise awareness and put an end to cyberbullying.

If convicted as charged, the 12-year old girl could get up to 30 days in juvenile detention.

As for the 11-year-old girl, a court will determine if she understands that her actions were wrong before making a decision.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/120757549.html