Honouring Dolly’s Dream: National day calls to break the silence around bullying

The heartbroken mother of Amy “Dolly” Everett opens up about why the national day in her daughter’s memory is more important than ever.

Vanessa Croll

@VanessaCroll

3 min read

May 11, 2023 - 4:00AM

News Corp Australia Network

In the wake of Amy “Dolly” Everett’s tragic passing more than five years ago, the young country girl’s family vowed to keep her memory alive by establishing anti-bullying organisation Dolly’s Dream.

Dolly, who took her life at the age of 14 in January 2018 after facing persistent and cruel bullying, would have turned 20 on May 1.

Instead, her family, parents Kate and Tick and sister Meg Everett, will celebrate a different milestone on Friday, May 12, the fifth anniversary of Do it For Dolly Day – a national day to unite against bullying and promote kindness in the community.

Dolly’s mum, Kate, said the message this year was to “break the silence around bullying”.

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It comes after recent studies found one in four Australian school students aged four to nine experienced bullying, with a concerning one in seven not seeking help or support, equating to more than 340,000 young people who suffer in silence.

“Time and time again, we’ve heard stories of parents losing children that had no idea they were being bullied,” Ms Everett said.

Kate and Tick Everett – parents of Dolly Everett started Dolly’s Dream and Do It For Dolly Day, a national day dedicated to bringing the community together, spreading kindness and uniting in taking a stand against bullying. Picture: Jane Zhang

Ms Everett said this year they created a new ad showing a girl coming home from school, surrounded by the noise of teasing and bullying. The ad depicts the community, featuring Kate and Tick, coming together to support the girl and encourage her to speak up.

“The message is that even if your voice shakes, it’s important to speak up and seek help, to help break the silence,” she said.

Through the campaign, parents, carers, and educators are encouraged to create a safe space for kids to open up and have conversations about what is happening in their lives and any challenges they may be facing.

“It all comes back to being engaged as a parent,” Ms Everett said.

“It’s breaking down those habits that we create and having that family time, sitting down device-free.

“If you’re not engaged in your children’s conversations and you’re not across what they’re using online, it’s really easy to miss things.

“Some of the warning signs that pop up are changes in friend groups or they’re complaining of being teased or ignored or left out or children are all of a sudden avoiding group situations that they normally wouldn’t.”

Dolly Everett. Picture: Supplied

While the pain of knowing bullying was at the core of their daughter’s death will always remain, Ms Everett said knowledge of the difference Dolly’s Dream was making made their efforts worthwhile.

“I had a message from a young lady just this week saying that she was struggling when she saw Dolly’s story and she went bought herself a pair of boots,” she said.

“And every day that reminds her to speak up and get help. And there is a brighter world out there. It’s those stories that I just think, God, what if I said nothing?

“One of Doll’s favourite things was to sit quietly and have a cup of coffee and she’d always take a big breath in and say ‘oh, tastes like hopes and dreams’.

“Well, her dream, our dream, is that one day we won’t be losing children to bullying. Because no one ever saw the good in people like Doll did.”

Dolly Everett's hat and boots at home in Katherine. Photo Lachie Millard

Psychologist and Dolly’s Dream Advisory Board member, Dr Charlotte Keating said bullying was “the repeated and deliberate harm that can be caused by somebody else”.

“It could be emotional, it could be verbal, it could be physical, and can often leave the other person feeling quite vulnerable or helpless to do something about it,” she said.

“For some children, [bullying] can have a really long-lasting legacy on their emotional wellbeing as well as their capacity to learn at school and ultimately thrive.”

She said it was important to teach children about empathy and respect from a young age, as a way to prevent bullying and foster positive relationships

“Having the sorts of conversations about respecting other people and what it feels like for them to be respected, too, is so important,” Dr Keating said.

“And processing these sorts of experiences is really part of their developing a sense of how to be kind, compassionate, respectful, and to expect the same in return.”