I am the mother of a seventeen-year-old girl, Mariia. We moved to a new city together after the war began, and my daughter enrolled at a local college. She had always been calm, attentive to her studies and a little shy – it was hard for her to quickly find common ground with new people.
At first everything seemed fine, but after a few months I began to notice that Masha had become withdrawn. She avoided conversations, stayed in her room all the time and even refused to go out at weekends. She often came home in tears, but to all my questions she answered that “nothing happened”.
One evening I happened to hear her crying in the bathroom. After long conversations, she admitted that her classmates at college were humiliating her. They mocked her clothes, her accent and the fact that she was “displaced”, and posted her photos with contemptuous captions in group chats. They said she had “taken someone’s place” and even spread rumours that she “snitched to teachers” for grades.
Mariia stopped eating and lost sleep and faith in herself. I realised I could not cope on my own and turned to a social worker specialising in gender-based violence who works in our community.
At our first meeting, she listened to me very carefully and then talked to Mariia separately. She explained that bullying is not a “joke” or a “childish quarrel” but a real form of violence with serious consequences for mental health.
The social worker helped us write a formal complaint to the college administration and advised us to see a psychologist who works with teenagers who have experienced bullying.
After that, the situation began to change. Gradually, the pressure from her classmates eased. Mariia is still recovering, but she now attends sessions with a psychologist.
I am grateful that I asked for help in time. If any parents feel that something is wrong with their child right now, don’t be afraid to speak up. Silence does not protect. Action does.
