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This mum wants to know why there has been no justice for her son.

Warning: This post deals with themes of suicide and may be triggering for some readers.

Josh Taylor took his own life last year.

 

 

 

 

 

Josh Taylor should be feeding his dogs this morning.

He should be riding his horses and teasing his sister and telling his Mum that he will get ready for school as soon as his favourite show is finished.

He should be racing out the door with his bag in his hand and a promise that he will mow the lawn when he gets home.

His mind should be full of his new pup and his horses and the new Angry Birds that’s out and he should be wondering what his best mate will think of his new trainers.

But Josh Taylor can’t do any of that.

Because Josh Taylor is dead.

And his mother believes that if bullying was stamped out in Australian schools her son would still be here by her side.

Cherie Taylor has written of her heartache at the suicide of her fourteen-year old son after he was bullied.

With schools around the country back for another year she has made a heartfelt plea for justice for her son – and for other parents to recognize the full extent of bullying in our schools.

Cherie Taylor’s son Josh died last year after incessant bullying began on his bus trip to school.

He was in year eight in his Brisbane school – and his Mum says she started becoming concerned when he began to catch the bus to school. His happy, mischievous demeanor turned inward.

Josh was bullied on the bus to school

He began to stay in bed, he refused to go out and he withdrew into himself.

She told the Courier Mail that her son was so fearful of bullies that he began stealing money to pay them to leave him alone.

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“Bullies aren’t what they used to be, it’s big time now,” she said

“Money was getting stolen off us – $4000 went missing slowly and Josh shut up like a clam.

A family friend who set up a Facebook page wrote “he gave them his iPhone/ iPod, his laptop, his go card, passes to Dreamworld Etc. but that wasn’t enough the bullying continued to happen….. Josh began to become depressed and shut himself down”.

His mother has written for News Limited of his torment. She tells of how she decided to take him out of school when the bullying became too much for him to bear, but felt it was best to keep up the pretense that he was still going to his father.

He would stay at home with his mother and help her out on their property, then would change into his uniform in the afternoon and pretend to get the bus home with his sister.

Finally the school and his father found out and he was forced to return.

His mother writes:

“He seemed happy to do that and went back to school that Monday.

He came back happy and said: “Oh, mum it wasn’t so bad, it was good actually”.

I was over the moon but then something happened during “Anti-Bullying Week” and he lost it.

One week back at school and my Josh was dead.

After three days on life support Josh’s family were told he was “97% brain dead”.

His mother writes:

“So the doctor called an urgent family meeting and said: “I’m so sorry. Josh is going to die. He has about three hours. All the family need to say goodbye now.”

I ran to his room and begged him to come back to me. I was only able to cope as they dosed me up on Valium.

I was grabbing his hand. “Don’t do this Josh. You have to come back to me…come back to me.”

According to the National Centre against Bullying 27% of young people report they are bullied every two weeks or more.

Josh Taylor’s mum too pleads for bullying in schools to stop and for bullies to be held accountable. “I cry every morning. I wake up and realise once again it’s another day without my boy.

“I cry knowing there was no justice for Josh.”

If you or anyone you know needs help please call Lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 14 or Kids helpline on 1800 55 1800