By Lesley Podesta
At the end of a year that saw so much high-profile discussion about children’s rights to feel safe, how tragic it is that we find ourselves mourning the suicide of young Queenslander Tyrone Unsworth, and asking how his death could have been prevented.
Tyrone’s loss is a devastating reminder about the urgent need to change the way we manage bullying in our schools.
Tyrone was a 13-year-old Brisbane boy who tragically saw no other choice but to take his life after years of incessant homophobic bullying.
I was shocked to read that only a month prior to his death, he was assaulted by another student with a fence paling, outside school hours.
But what made my heart sink even further was reading that the day before he took his own life, he told a friend that his school did not care.
Why did Tyrone think his school didn’t care?
The school has since admitted it was aware of the assault but was unaware of the consistent bullying suffered by Tyrone. And, if the school genuinely didn’t know about the bullying, why didn’t it know?
The resulting tragedy highlights that Tyrone’s school community was ill-equipped to identify and address the abuse which ultimately lead to his tragic suicide.
This incident highlights the need to support our hard-working teachers so that they can support children who are traumatised by violence and bullying, both after hours and in the schoolyard. It highlights the need to talk about respect, tolerance and friendship.