Australians Are Wearing Blue Today To Honour Dolly Everett & Fight Bullying

To mark 2018’s National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence (NDA), people across the country are wearing blue today in honour of 14-year-old Amy “Dolly” Everett, who died by suicide after a campaign of “constant” bullying.

Dolly’s Dream, the foundation set up by her family to combat youth suicide and bullying, asked supporters to do so yesterday.

“We think it would send a powerful message of zero tolerance towards bullying if Facebook was to become a sea of blue for Dolly,” it said on Facebook. “Wear blue, post and share your image and if you would like, you can change your profile image to the butterfly in the blue heart.”

“We think it would become a powerful message of

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgXFPmSDXkg/?tagged=dollysdream

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgXA9D7Ff-N/?tagged=dollysdream

NDA is Australia‘s key anti-bullying event for schools, which encourages students to stand united against bullying in the classroom and beyond.

It comes after The Project tapped celebs like Margot Robbie, Liam Payne, Troy Sivan, Johnathan Thurston, Samantha Jade and Kayla Itsines and more to share a message about bullying based Dolly’s own words: “Speak, even if your voice shakes.”

“You’re not alone, bullying affects many people. In the last year, 1 in 4, 14 to 25-year-olds were bullied. While half of that bullying happened at school, a quarter happened in the workplace and another quarter happened online. For many, there is no escaping it. When people get bullied, most of them stay quiet, they feel so alone that they feel like they can’t tell anyone. Research shows people stay quiet because of stigma.

They feel embarrassed or afraid, they don’t want to appear weak or they feel like their problem isn’t serious enough to seek help. But all bullying has the potential to be really serious. While not all bullying ends in suicide, suicide is the leading cause of death for young Australians. In the last decade, new suicide rates have been trending upwards and students who are being bullied are nine times more likely to attempt or at least consider taking their own lives. And when they do this is what it looks like.” 

According to NDA, one in four Australian students between Year 4 and Year 9 report being bullied every few weeks or more, while approximately one in five young people experience online bullying.

To lend your voice today, wear blue, use the hashtags #DollysDream, #SpeakEvenIfYourVoiceShakes, #BullyingNoWay or #NDA2018, and look out for one another.

If you would like to speak to someone confidentially about bullying, the Kids Helpline (ages 5 to 25) is always available on 1800 55 1800 or via the website. If you are in distress or are thinking about suicide, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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