Worcester woman makes brave stand against cyber-bullies in memory of her sister - The Worcester Observer

Worcester woman makes brave stand against cyber-bullies in memory of her sister

Worcester Editorial 13th Apr, 2016 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

A BRAVE Worcester mental health worker has spoken of the tragic death of her beloved sister to raise awareness of the impact of cyber-bullying.

Emily-Jade, 21, from Sidbury has become a young ambassador for anti-bullying charity BulliesOut, which works across the United Kingdom to provide education, training and support around bullying.

She was inspired to act after her sister Ellie suffered greatly at the hands of online bullies which led to her taking her own life at the age of 15.

Emily-Jade has since been working towards raising awareness about the impact of cyberbullying and the effect it can have on individuals if left unsupported.




“Without the correct support, the unthinkable can happen. I want people to know of Ellie’s story, and change,” she said.

Speaking of the bullying her sister experienced, Emily-Jade said: “It started at a young age but it’s hard to tell precisely when as she hid it for a long time.


“Like so many things it started with a trivial argument and it escalated from there. Sometimes a kind of stigma can be placed on someone from a young age, which then follows them throughout their education.

“Eventually the bullying moved online, over platforms like Ask.fm and Facebook through groups and pages.

“This had a huge impact on Ellie, as bullying wasn’t just confined to school, but was following her home, leaving her with little to no respite,” she added.

As part of her work with BulliesOut, Emily-Jade held a stall at her local supermarket where she spoke to parents and children and has worked with schools, presenting ‘awareness packs’ to the children.

“The learning packs include games and activities all based around the bullying theme. I try to make children realise what bullying actually is and the impact it can have on people,” she added.

On the first anniversary of Ellie’s death, Emily-Jade created an online campaign called ‘I stand with Ellie’ which encouraged people to share a poster to show what can happen as a result of bullying. The poster was shared by more than 20,000 people.

“If you see someone is being bullied, I would encourage you to speak to anyone, a teacher, family member or a friend.

“If they don’t feel like they have anyone to talk to I would say visit the BulliesOut website.

Visit www.bulliesout.com or e-mail [email protected] or call 02920 492 169 for more information.

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