A distraught mother has revealed the heartbreaking reason her 12-year-old daughter took her own life four days after Christmas.
Adiel Boyd, from Australia, was being bullied online and committed suicide on Dec. 29, her mother Victoria has said.
Adiel’s unspeakably tragic death has brought her family and the broader community to their knees, with renewed calls coming to raise awareness about suicide prevention and the dangers of cyber-bullying amongst young children.
Adiel was the youngest of four children and a bright student at Aitkenvale State School where she excelled academically and musically. She played several instruments, was fluent in three languages, and was described by her mother as “close to perfection.”
But Adiel had also been the target of relentless cyber-bullying, primarily occurring on social media.
“She was a remarkable little girl, remarkable,” Victoria Boyd said via the Townsville Bulletin.
“She was very bright, very intelligent, and she was very loving. She loved everyone. Adiel was such a bright girl and everyone that she knew in her life had a big impact on both parties, on Adiel and the person she interacted with. She was the baby of us all.”
“Children are lost in social media, it’s the most dangerous tool for a parent because there is a closed space there that I really, really try hard to get into but it’s a closed space, social media,” Boyd explained.
The issue of cyber-bullying among teens has long worried parents with the Labor government of Australia approving a social media ban for anyone under the age of 16 last month.
“That is where it was all occurring, in the school grounds, on social media. She was being bullied by her friends. She was just too beautiful and she just couldn’t comprehend,” she continued.
“It’s very shocking, none of us can believe this has happened. Not Adiel.”
Adiel’s older sister Tameka has launched a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses and to support the family through the devastating time.
Tameka described her sister as someone who “left a birthmark on everybody that she knew in her 12 short years of life”.
The campaign has already raised over $4,300.
The family is now urging the public to take stronger action against the epidemic of cyber-bullying, to remind young people they are loved and valued.
“We need to take care of them,” Boyd implored. “We need to look after them. We need to let them know that they are loved. We need to let them know they are cared for, we need to let the children know that there is love there. They need to feel that compassion from everyone.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
