Melbourne Schoolgirl Sheniz Erkan Commits Suicide Over Facebook Bullying
A Melbourne schoolgirl who was about to turn 15 years old next week had killed herself over intolerable bullying at school and online social networks.
Sheniz Erkan, a Taylors Lakes Secondary College student, took her life on Monday after having suffered from schoolyard and cyberspace bullies. Her funeral is scheduled today.
A 'Rest in Peace' page for Sheniz has so far gathered more than 23,000 'Likes' since report of her death came out on Monday. Several YouTube videos have also been uploaded in her memory.
Despite the huge number of sympathizers on Sheniz' RIP page on Facebook, some comments against Sheniz still found its way to the page, which adds grief to the bereaved family of the young girl.
Brother Aykut Erkan told the Herald Sun that in the end, all the harassment had become too much for his little sister to bear.
Sheniz was a talented soccer star, according to her brother. He was looking forward to watching her play top-level soccer in the Women's Premier League.
He believes the bullying had been going on a long time, and suffering silently made Sheniz snap in the end.
"In her mind, in leaving us she might have thought she was taking the problem away from everyone," he said, adding, "She was so full of life, a real bundle of joy."
As the family's representative, he urged parents to look after their children and become more involved in their online life as well.
Aykut told talk station 3AW:
"Parents need to keep more track of Facebook and the internet... There are problems that they might not know about that are being kept online... These days there is so much technology and cyber stuff going on it's like a whole other world... "Kids can just hide behind their keyboards, write whatever they want without worrying about the repercussions."
Mr. Erkan also condemned those who continued to speak ill of his sister on social networks even after her death.
"People are still saying horrible things about her on Facebook. How can people be so low?"
Through the media, Mr. Erkan called on bullying victims to find their voice, and to not be scared to tell people that they were in trouble.
A friend of Sheniz commented in one of the videos uploaded as a tribute: "People are so heartless and I pray to God that people become a little bit wiser and stop bullying people whatsoever because nobody realises how much it could affect a person."
Department of Education's most recent State of Victoria's Children report shows half of Victorian school children aged 12 to 14 have experienced bullying.
Alannah and Madeline Foundation chief executive Judith Slocombe said cyberbullying affected one in 10 Australian schoolchildren, the Herald Sun reported.
Legislation providing jail terms of up to 10 years for cyber-bullying has been in place in Victoria since June 2011.
Known as Brodie's Law, the amendments were made after the death of 19-year old Brodie Panlock who committed suicide after being bullied by colleagues at the Melbourne cafe where she worked.