A Sydney mother, whose 15-year-old daughter, Matilda “Tilly” Rosewarne, took her life after severe social media cyberbullying, called for global reform Wednesday at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York – banning children under 16 and holding tech companies financially accountable.
In a heartbreaking speech, Emma Mason detailed her daughter’s final moments, as she attempted to take her life for the twelfth and final time on Feb. 16, 2022.
“My brave little girl, determined to look pretty, put on her makeup one last time,” Mason said. “She had planned this moment out in detail. … Exhausted and broken, she just couldn’t fight anymore. She climbed on top of the backyard tree house, she slipped the noose around her neck, and stepped off into whatever experience eventually awaits all of us.”
Tilly was found by her father and 13-year-old sister, who ran into the backyard alone to find her big sister lifeless. n November 2020, a fake nude photo of Tilly – created by a male classmate – circulated on Snapchat, reaching more than 3,000 children within just a few hours.
“The reality of this harm was instant,” Mason said. “Tilly was hysterical and spiraling. I rang the school but because this boy, and his mother, denied he’d even had his phone that day, they said they couldn’t do anything. That night, Tilly attempted suicide by cutting her arms and there was a lot of blood. … She never really recovered.”Authorities allegedly told the family it was difficult to “stop this from happening,” explaining they are forced to wait months for information from Snapchat.
As Tilly lost herself in depression, Mason said the bullying continued, with Tilly receiving numerous messages urging her to kill herself.The grieving mother said Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok played a direct role in her daughter’s death, noting the apps fail to protect young users and contribute to a decline in mental health, concentration, social skills, negative effects on body image, sleep and social isolation.
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