DO IT FOR DOLLY

DO IT FOR DOLLY BULLYING SUPPORT

Friday 9 May is Do It For Dolly Day, a national awareness and fundraising campaign dedicated to bringing the community together to spread kindness and to Go Blue to End Bullying, in memory of Dolly Everett. Dolly was only 14 years old when she tragically took her own life in January 2018, following relentless and sustained bullying and cyberbullying. There was no escape—she was harassed at school, and when she returned home to Katherine on a break from boarding school, the bullying continued online, invading her safe spaces. Bullying, in school or online, remains a devastating reality for many young Australians. The emotional, psychological, and even physical toll it takes on young people, families, and communities are profound. Sadly, seven years after losing Dolly, the problem of bullying and cyber bullying is not going away. 

 • Australian school students are among the most bullied in the world, according to the Student and School Characteristics Report conducted by ACER, and 1-in-6 Australian students are being bullied every week. 

• New data released earlier this year from eSafety revealed that children starting out in secondary school account for more than a third of all cyberbullying reports, which have surged by more than 450 per cent in the past five years. 

Determined that no other family would suffer from the same devastation, Dolly’s parents Tick and Kate Everett established the anti-bullying organisation Dolly’s Dream. For the last seven years they have been committed to changing the culture of bullying by addressing the impact of bullying, anxiety, depression, and youth suicide, through awareness, education and direct support to young people and families. “We don’t want other families to ever have to go through the heartache we have experienced. We are proud of the reach and impact Dolly’s Dream is having in our schools and communities, especially in rural, regional, and remote parts of the country – it’s something Tick and I wish we had.” 

THE BEACON

Dolly’s Dream has partnered with the Kids Institute Australia to get Beacon, the free cyber safety app, into the hands of parents and carers across the nation.

Co-designed with input from parents, carers and cyber safety experts including the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, Beacon provides families with trustworthy, practical resources to help them confidently navigate their children’s technology use and reduce associated harms.

Families receive content tailored to their needs – including articles, videos and alerts – from a comprehensive library of strategies and tips to help address challenging issues such as screen time, gaming and cyberbullying. The content is regularly updated in response to changing Australian societal and online trends.

The Beacon App link below.