THE DEATH of Ayr teen and aspiring model Breannah Piva has been blamed on relentless bullying from schoolyard thugs.

The 16-year-old, who had big dreams of becoming a model and going to university, took her own life on May 21 after being subjected to a barrage of verbal and physical abuse both in the schoolyard and the wider community.

Her devastated parents Michael and Joanne Piva said that in her final weeks, Breannah could no longer stand going to school or get on social media, where she was mercilessly attacked.

The Piva’s buried their “beautiful, intelligent and caring,” daughter on May 26.

They are demanding answers as to why the ceaseless bullying was allowed to go on for so long in a bid to save other children from suffering Breannah’s fate.

Experts have warned the impacts of bullying could be complicated and long standing, leaving deep scars which some children never recover from.

With the rise of social media, the menacing no longer ends at the school gates, with bullies now continuing their barrage on the victim long after the bell rings.

Psychologist Joann Lukins said the constant contact between bully and victim has changed the terms “in what we know to be bullying.”

“Bullying occurs when someone repeatedly and intentionally uses their power to intimidate or hurt someone else and the traditionally what we know to be the physical side of bullying, there’s verbal and socially, and that’s now extended into cyber bullying,” Dr Lukins said.

“I think it is understanding that bullying can happen to anyone in many different forms and the best we can do is to open up communication and encourage kids and parents to have a safe place where they can have those conversations.”

Dr Lukins said there was a range of things that could be indicators of someone who is being bullied.

“It will vary depending on the exact nature of the bullying, but we might see physical injuries, kids might be reluctant to go to school, drops in academic performance, moodiness, there might be tears, a refusal to talk about what’s going on and they might get into more trouble.

“It’s very tricky to pick, one of the key things to do with kids is try and keep the communication open, talking to your child and encouraging them to open up.

“Having someone for them to talk to, someone who could maybe help them out or do something about it is a really important role and developing a culture within schools and the community that bullying is not OK is also important.

“It’s hard for adults to remember what it was like as a child and feeling helpless.”

Parents: ‘There is only so much a kid can take’

IT WAS a crushing weight that had sat on Breannah Piva’s shoulders for so long, it had bent her and put her on her knees, she’d fought it with everything she had, but in the end she thought there was no way out.

The crippling effects of the schoolyard bully’s had pushed the 16-year-old to her absolute limits, she’d slowly changed from a happy go lucky girl, into one who could no longer stand going to school, she couldn’t go down the street or get on Facebook without being driven to tears from the barrage of abuse.

It all became too much for the “beautiful, intelligent and caring” girl, and on May 21, at just 16, Breannah Piva committed suicide.

The teen who dreamt of becoming a model, who wanted to go to university, who had a lifetime ahead of her, brought her life to a tragic end, leaving her devastated parents behind wanting answers to what happened to their “gorgeous girl.”

The loss of their daughter is still very raw for Breannah’s parents Michael and Joanne, who had to do something no parent should ever have to, bury their own child.

“Breannah was always a happy girl growing up, a funny kid, she loved mucking around and pulling faces and tormenting her brothers and sisters, you know just the typical big sister stuff,” Mrs Piva said.

“She loved modelling, she made a heap of friends, it didn’t matter what kind of person you were, she always tried to make friends with you.

“She felt comfortable in herself, she wasn’t a stick thin size four, but she was comfortable in her own skin, but there is only so much a kid can take.”

Mr Piva fought back tears as he described the death of his “beautiful” daughter and how devastating it had been for their family to see Breannah go through years of bullying, all the while feeling helpless.

“It’s really hard to say what changed, the bullying over the years really built up, she had a pretty rough last few weeks, and she did try to commit suicide a couple of weeks before she died, it was just too much for her,” he said.

“After her first attempt, she seemed happy as, she was just her normal self, just a normal teenager, who was doing teenage things.”

The family had put Breannah into counselling to try and help their once bubbly daughter, but the bullying continued.

“The words people use nowadays, the language, instead of just hitting someone a little bit, it really drills, kids use words that are terrible, they don’t think of the consequences of their words.

“Back when I was growing up, if you had a problem with someone, they would call you up, call you a bastard and hang up, these days someone puts something on Facebook and 20 people comment, then it’s 21 people against you instead of one, the bullying doesn’t just end at school.”

Mr Piva said in grade 10 the bullying had become so bad he had gone to the school to try to help his daughter, he pleaded with them and the education department, but said, “they never did a thing to help her.”

“The bullying got so bad in grade 10 that we had several meetings with the school because of it, we went to the education department about it, because nothing was being done.”

The family had gone back to the school several times since then and said they were always “paid lip service, with nothing ever getting done.”

“We reported the bullying to police, tried to get kids charged, the bullying wasn’t just verbal, these kids were bashing her, she’d come home with black eyes, swollen lips and she even got a chipped tooth,” Mrs Piva said.

“We want the school to do more for these kids, why wait another week, another life could be gone, Breannah wasn’t the only one being bullied.

“We haven’t received any offers of counselling, I’ve spoken to a couple of the kids at the school who were friends with Breannah, who we know are being bullied and they haven’t been offered any counselling.”

A spokesman for the Department of Education and Training said the Ayr State High School community was deeply saddened by the recent death and offered counselling to staff and students.

“In light of this particular incident, the school has taken action to reaffirm its zero-tolerance approach to bullying.

“Students and the wider community have been reminded of the reporting processes for such behaviour.

“The principal is working with students and their families to promote a safe and supportive school environment.”

Breannah Piva was farewelled on May 26 in front of over a thousand people at the Burdekin Community Church, a funeral her mother was told, was the biggest in Ayr’s history.

“It’s heartbreaking. You shouldn’t have to bury your own child, no parent should be put through that.”