The mother of a young Nova Scotia teen says her fight to protect her daughter from a cyberbully is being hampered by procedural red tape.
The woman, whose identity is being protected for her daughter’s privacy, says her daughter has received hundreds of hateful messages calling her every name in the book.
The 13-year-old has been repeatedly told to kill herself.
“I hugged her, I said, 'Do you feel like doing it?' She whispered in my ear, 'Why wouldn't I, mom?'” the mother says.
The mother says the cyberbullying has been going on for months. The person is using various social media accounts and contacting some of her daughter's friends.
With the messages becoming more frequent, the mother just wants it to stop. She says she tried to reason with the parents, then went to her daughter's school administration, and finally filed a peace bond.
“I waited quite a while and then the justice of the peace finally walked out with the application in her hand and abruptly told me that we had no grounds,” says the mother. “She didn't see any real physical evidence that threats were being made.”
The RCMP confirms that they've opened an investigation into the matter, but admitted cyberbullying cases can take time, especially because of technology.
The mother says she couldn't believe these messages weren't enough. And while she feels completely supported by her daughter's school and the RCMP, she's frustrated that the system isn't able to respond more quickly.
“I'm not going to lie, it angers me. And not just for me, my daughter's situation and what our family is going through, but for every other child out there that's not. I just feel like it's being swept under the rug. They need to change it."
She's praying that change will come, so bullies like the one she says is tormenting her daughter can be blocked for good.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.
