APP CYBER BULLY GOADED GIRL, 13 TO KILL HERSELF
Mum tells how her daughter struggled with vile abuse hell
PICTURE POSED Sarahah app SARAHAH, which means honesty in Arabic, allows users to anonymously message others.
Zain al-abidin Tawfiq, Sarahah’s developer, said he came up with the app so workers could leave anonymous feedback for their bosses, and then at some point he realised anyone could use it.
The app logs comments you have received, sent, and favourited. Currently, there’s no way to follow a person or reply to an anonymous message.
The distraught parent, who asked not to be named to protect her child’s identity, said she felt “sick to her stomach” when she discovered the scale of the abuse.
The campaign of hate was launched against the Leinster schoolgirl via the “honesty” app Sarahah, which has already been banned in some schools here.
Her mum told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “They started out by calling her fat, ugly and spotty. You can’t see where it’s coming from but I suspect it was all coming from one person, a female.
“Then after a few days of that kind of abuse it became more sinister and violent. She was told over and over, ‘Kill yourself ’ or ‘Why don’t you commit suicide?’
“The worst was, ‘I’ll give you the rope you ugly c***’ and ‘I’ll slice you up, I’ll put you in the grave’.
“This went on for weeks before I knew about it. My daughter didn’t know she was being bullied.
“At first she thought they were messing. All she knew was it gave her a bad feeling in her belly.
“Once I found out what was
After a few days it became more sinister and violent MUM OF ABUSED TEEN
going on the app was deleted. She still doesn’t know who it was. She has hundreds of Snapchat friends so that account was closed and she set up a new one.
“When we went to the gardai they said they hadn’t heard of the app so I want to warn parents out there in case their children are going through the same thing.
“You hear of kids committing suicide because of stuff like this. My daughter was very knocked, her confidence. And she was scared because somebody hated her that much that they actually wanted her to die.
“I can’t think who would do this because she’s just a normal 13-year-old child.”
Sarahah – meaning honesty in Arabic – was developed to encourage anonymous constructive comments in the workplace.
But it has since been attached to social media platforms.
Cybersafe Ireland chief Alex Cooney urged parents to keep a close eye on what kids do online.
She said: “Make sure you’re familiar with any app or game your child wants to download, particularly if they’re in the nine to 13 age group. “Supervision is key, especially when they’re young.
“Keep dialogue open, set some ground rules, and do your research.”
news@irishmirror.ie Cybersafe chief Alex Cooney