“Have you seen this one?” Beathe and her daughter Andrea are on their way out the door to go to the cinema when Beathe gets a snap from an old acquaintance. Andrea starts to cry when her mother shows her the picture she got. It shows an anonymous TikTok account that says ugly things about Andrea. It is not the first time Andrea has been exposed to the internet. Then she has risen above it. But this time it’s much worse. It says that they wanted Andrea to die. Now Beathe understands what a bad secret Andrea has been keeping for the last few days. – It was absolutely terrible. It stuck deep in the chest. I cannot understand that young people can say something like this to others, she says to news. Overwhelming response After talking to her daughter, Beathe chose to write about the incident in a post on Facebook. The response was overwhelming. The family experienced that the village circled around Andrea. The comment field was filled with words of support. The post has been shared over a thousand times. And both the principal at Andrea’s school and the mayor made contact. Both Beathe and Andrea appreciated that today. Andrea does not want to appear with a photo in the case, but has said that it is okay for the mother to tell the story. Beathe says to news that Andrea has come out of it strengthened. – How has it been for Andrea to get so much attention? – It has been exclusively positive. People have only been good. This is painful and difficult to talk about, but we notice that people are extra kind, and say something extra nice when they meet her. Proud of the village One of those who got in touch after Beathe’s post was principal Helene Håvorstad Ljosland at Åseral children’s and youth school. She was at Sørlandssenteret when she read Beathe’s post. Shortly afterwards she called to ask what she could do. – You know you will be shocked. It was very painful to read the post. When you feel so strongly about yourself – think what it’s like to be a girl in the 8th grade. She is proud of how the village has surrounded Andrea. – We are a small municipality, for better or for worse. But here one shows oneself at one’s best when such things happen. Then we stand together and support each other. The principal says that they have had close contact with both Andrea and Beathe about the matter. FAU is also involved, and a joint meeting is planned for parents and students where they will talk about youth culture and the online environment. – Even though there is no direct link to this case, it is important that we have a dialogue about this , says Håvorstad Ljosland. Asking parents to check their mobile phones Beathe encourages parents to keep an eye on their young people’s phones. She always checks her daughter’s phone herself. As long as she pays for the mobile subscription, she should be able to check her daughter’s phone without warning. – Then I can also check if she does something wrong to others. All young people make mistakes and can say bad things to others. Then we, as parents, have to follow and deal with it. We must teach them the differences between right and wrong, and show that there are consequences. Andrea says to news that more parents should do the same. She herself feels safer with such an agreement with her mother. Put away cases about nettets The nettetsen against Andrea is now reported to the police. According to Agder police district, such messages are increasing. But they do not have the opportunity to prioritize such matters. – The cases are put away, but not forgotten. If there are many bullying cases from the same village, the police will consider opening a case, says Jan Nesland, head of the criminal case reception. Nesland underlines that this applies to cases involving incitement. – If there are threats, the cases will be prioritized differently. And in many cases investigate, he says. Beathe thinks it is frustrating that their case has been put aside. But says at the same time that she understands the assessments of the police. – In meeting us, the police were open about the fact that it was difficult to track users on TikTok. It is a Chinese app, and difficult for the police to access. – Shocked Mayor Inger Lise Lund Stulien tells news that the municipality is often told that it is difficult to investigate the network when this is reported. She finds that frustrating. Nevertheless, she believes that the police can do a job in preventive work when dealing with young people. The mayor says she was sad and shocked when she read Beathe’s post. – It is completely unreal. You hear about such things. But this was so gross. And it happened to one of ours. I am impressed that they shared their story. She is happy that Andrea has been met with so much support in the local community. Beathe thinks the threshold has become higher for inciting others after the case came out. – Those who wrote this must feel very stupid to create such an anonymous account and write such hideous things, she says.
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The village took action when Andrea (13) was charged with gross theft – Sørlandet
