We can’t lose another Charlotte: SA girl living same nightmare

The struggles of Sydney schoolgirl Charlotte O’Brien mirrored what another mother’s own Charlotte is going through to this very day, more than 1300km away.

When a mum from South Australia read about the suicide death of 12-year-old Charlotte O’Brien she froze. It felt like reading her own daughter’s story.

“My daughter is almost 12 years old, her name is Charlotte and she, too, is being bullied at school,” said Karyn, who asked for her surname not to be revealed to protect her daughter.

“This is the hell that we have been living for the past seven months.”

Karyn reached out after reading the interview with Kelly O’Brien for The Sunday Telegraph Documentary Charlotte’s Wish.

The struggles of the Sydney schoolgirl mirrored what her own Charlotte is going through to this very day, more than 1300km away.

Charlotte’s mum said Term 1 of Year 6 started like any other school year, however in term 2 both of Charlotte’s best friends became friends with the class bully.

“It started with isolation. They’d say things like ‘we just want alone time’ then it escalated to

‘We do not want to hang out with you at all this week as we need a break from you’.”

Charlotte O’Brien left suicide notes telling her mum and dad to raise awareness about bullying.

That led to Charlotte quite often sitting by herself at recess and lunch, and calling her mum to calm her.

“Then there were the messages in Kids Messenger that were nasty and abusive,” Karyn said.

“Charlotte was told a number of times that they wished she were dead and that she should go kill herself

“One girl even pretended to be friends with her again and then used her to search for a sex toy online so it would not come up on her search history, and then when she got the information she wanted she told Charlotte she did not want to be friends with her any more.

“Every time something significant happened we would report this to the school, only to be told that the friendship dynamic has changed and Charlotte needs to find new friends.

“Do you know how hard it is for an autistic child to make new friends? But Charlotte did it, only for the bully to try and take those friends away too.”

Karyn said her daughter’s mental health took a huge nosedive.

“This is when I discovered the cuts and bite marks on her arms. My daughter had started to self-harm,” she said.

Charlotte O’Brien with her baby brother Will, who she adored.

“She has sleepless nights, and anxiety so bad that she has missed a total of nearly two months of school this year.

“I immediately notified the school to get Charlotte extra support and it amounted to nothing.

“I guess you could say they know how to talk the talk.”

“Supports have been given to Charlotte in the form of a counsellor and time out from class; however, this has been the case since she started at the school due to her ASD and ADHD diagnoses. There has never been any extra support to help deal with the bullying issue.”

In the latest incident, Tik Tok was the vehicle for the bullying.

“Charlotte who has Tik Tok for her animation was tagged in a post about how much one of these old friends hated her and how much of a horrible person my daughter is,” her mum said.

“This then triggered a number of abusive inbox messages from people she did not know.”

The school was notified and the post was taken down that night, however Karyn was advised that it would be “dealt with appropriately” and she would be informed of the outcome after a discussion between Charlotte and the other student.

“As far as I am aware Charlotte was never spoken to, other than to let her know that this other student had to write an apology letter to her. I am yet to hear back from the school and it has been over a week.”

Karyn is terrified her daughter wont be able to take much more.

“Schools cannot wipe their hands of this. It is happening on their watch and something must be done,” she said.

“It absolutely breaks my heart watching my daughter go through this, and every day I dread picking her up from school as I hate seeing her so distraught most days after school.

“If this (Charlotte’s Wish campaign) gets more traction then change might just happen and I may not lose my daughter because that is a real fear I live with every day.”