“You are a jerk. I hope you will die!” (Cristian’s story

STORY DESCRIPTION

PUPILS AGE

“You are a jerk. I hope you will die!” (Cristian’s story)

I am Christian and I would like to share with you the cyberbullying story that happened to me two years ago. Ever since I was very young, I knew I was different. I had the impression that something was wrong with me for a long time. But two years ago, I couldn't keep my secret anymore and I told my best friend that I was homosexual. At first, he seemed to understand me and I felt good about telling him. But after a week, I was sent anonymous messages on Whatsapp threatening me and calling me “bitch” “jerk” , “idiot” and another name-calling. I was scared and very upset. I thought my friend told someone, but when I asked him he denied it, saying I had nothing to worry about. I then discovered that my classmates were organizing a party and created a special Facebook group. They hadn't invited me. I found out then that they knew my secret, there were messages in which I was very offended and they said that "a gay has nothing to do with us" . And my best friend was among those who denigrated me and said he wanted me kicked out of class. I was very upset and tried to show him what I found to give me an explanation, but I couldn’t find him home, so a sent him a furious message. Then, out of nowhere, I received again a terrible anonymous message “You are a jerk. I hope you will die!” . I felt alone, abandoned, and betrayed. No one could understand what I was going through. I didn't want to tell my parents because they didn't know I was homosexual and I was afraid of their reaction. They had also noticed that my grades were lower, that I didn't feel like doing anything anymore and that I didn't have any friends, but I had nothing to tell them. I always felt threatened that they might find out about me or that something bad might happen to me. In my desperate search, I discovered a phone number from an NGO working with victims of cyberbullying. I decided to call and there I received help. I discovered people who were there for me, understood what was happening to me, and did not force my decisions at all.

14-16 YEARS

SELF-REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Why was Christian cyberbullied? 2. Do you have friends who are homosexual? Did they ever tell you they were bullied in online spaces? 3. Who are the most vulnerable people to be victims of cyberbullying? 4. What would you do if you were Christian’s friend and witnessed these events? 5. Do you know any organizations in your area that deal with victims of cyberbullying?

NON-FORMAL GROUP ACTIVITIES Approx. 25-30 pupils 14-16 years old

Time: 55 minutes Instructions after reading together the story: 1. The teacher divides the group of 25-30 students into pairs of two students each (2 minutes). 2. The teacher tells them to talk for 5 minutes and then play a role-play: each student will play, in turn, Christian’s role and a friend who would witness what happened. The task for students is to build a dialogue in which to find solutions to support Christian, highlighting how they would react in this situation. The role-playing will lasts 10 minutes in total. 3. The teacher will invite three pairs of their choice to play the roleplaying in front of the large group (15 minutes). 4. After each pair, the students who played the role will comment on how do they felt, how was this experience, and anything they feel important. In addition, the student from the large group will be encouraged to share their observations (12 minutes total). 5. Final discussions with students will refer to vulnerable categories of people to be victims of cyberbullying, accepting diversity, what solutions they have when they are witnessing cyberbullying, ways to prevent cyberbullying (11 minutes).