Mother of bullied child speaks out for the first time
Messages of support have flooded in after a video surfaced online of a teenage girl breaking down due to being bullied at school. Her mother has now broken her silence.
The girl in the video's mother, Vanessa, spoke to us about the progress her daughter has been making and what has happened since the video went viral.
1. Were you aware of the situation at school involving your daughter being bullied?
I was aware of the situation that happened two years ago, which was resolved. But the incident that happened when the video was made, I was not.
2. What was your initial reaction when you saw/heard of the video?
I was stunned, surprised, and shocked when I heard about the video. In fact, I didn't know about the video until I got a message saying this video was on Facebook.
3. How has the school been involved in ensuring this does not happen again?
The school has become more alert with what's going on with the kids, and they have given them talks in the assembly.
4. What has the response been like from the public?
My daughter is currently going to counselling, and she hopes this video will help other kids stand up to others who bully them. The response from the public has been very supportive of my daughter and I am truly thankful.
Vanessa's response comes after her daughter's viral TikTok video caught the attention of local comedian and rapper 'Adrenalin', who shared his anger at the teenager being bullied. 'Adrenalin', whose real name is Justin, shared his opinion about the ordeal.
Formally from Johannesburg, he moved to the province of KZN in 2017. He is now a social media influencer and South Africa's favourite Indian rapper.
He says he wanted to provide some support to the bullied girl.
"Thousands of kids are bullied every year and at some point in my life when I was younger I experienced it too. You always feel like you're alone, I just wanted to provide her with some support and let her know that she isn't as well as help fight the bullying in her school," he said.
Moving forward, he is hoping to start a programme which can assist children when they are bullied.
"I've reached out to a few media outlets as well as a few influencers and have one or two on board to design a roadshow that we can take to schools around KZN. Where we educate kids and share our stories of bullying as well as provide the relevant information for bullies and victims to get help. Like most kids who bully, they learn the habit because they are being bullied themselves," he added.