School Trauma Teen's Triumph Over Bullies

She’s bravely opening up about her class nightmare

- Fleur Guthrie

They should have been some of the happiest years of her life, but teenager Kat Ducat-Green feels her high school experience was stolen from her by bullies who gave her severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The effects of bullying have robbed me of things like going on fun school trips or graduating with the friends I grew up with,” explains the 18-year-old Aucklander, who is sharing her story to raise awareness for the Pink Shirt Day campaign against bullying on May 18.

But unlike other tales of teen cruelty, Kat experienced no name-calling or threats. Her victimisation was in the form of being totally excluded.

It started at intermediate school, where Kat had established a large group of friends and enjoyed weekend sleepovers with girls she thought were her best mates.

“I made a couple of comments to them that I thought it wasn’t cool how they were treating other people,” she recalls. “They turned on me really quickly. It wasn’t that cliché Hollywood thing where they tell you, ‘Oh, shut up! You’re horrible and your face is covered in zits!’

“They told people to ignore me if I spoke to them or to disinvite me to parties. Once you’ve got a hierarchy of girls initiating that, it gave way for the rest of the class to do it and they all hated me.”