Bullying

09/07/21 • 30 min

In today's episode about bullying, I talk to Lisa Hunter who was born and raised in South Africa and moved to the UK in 2001. Lisa struggled with bullying herself from the age of 16 at a new school.

It was the support of her family and a very special biology teacher, which helped her cope with some of the darkest of times when she contemplated taking her own life. She then went on to experience bullying again as an adult in the workplace. Robert was a very close friend of Lisa's in Johannesburg who died of suicide after coming out as a gay man to his parents but was rejected and bullied by the whole community. Robert was unable to find support at the time and Lisa founded Robert’s Wish in 2015 so that no-one else need go through the loneliness that Robert felt. She works extensively supporting the LGBTQ community, youth and parents navigate their way through various challenges related to bullying and strives to make a difference where possible.

WARNING: Suicide is discussed in this episode

Points discussed in this episode:

How Lisa begun to be bullied at the age of 16 when she moved from Johannesburg to a new school in the UK and then in the workplace as an adult (1:20)
What helped Lisa cope at school (4:46)
Getting an apology years later (7:52)
What thought stopped Lisa from taking her own life, when she felt all hope was lost (8:26)
Cyber bullying (9:28)
The power of listening (10:30)
Simple ways you can feel less alone and vulnerable (12:45)
The reason behind founding Robert's Wish (17:37)
Why bullies bully (21:45)

Connect with Lisa:

https://robertswish.com

https://www.instagram.com/robertswishapp/

https://www.facebook.com/RobertsWishApp/

Let’s connect!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today's episode about bullying, I talk to Lisa Hunter who was born and raised in South Africa and moved to the UK in 2001. Lisa struggled with bullying herself from the age of 16 at a new school.

WARNING: Suicide is discussed in this episode

Points discussed in this episode:

How Lisa begun to be bullied at the age of 16 when she moved from Johannesburg to a new school in the UK and then in the workplace as an adult (1:20)
What helped Lisa cope at school (4:46)
Getting an apology years later (7:52)
What thought stopped Lisa from taking her own life, when she felt all hope was lost (8:26)
Cyber bullying (9:28)
The power of listening (10:30)
Simple ways you can feel less alone and vulnerable (12:45)
The reason behind founding Robert's Wish (17:37)
Why bullies bully (21:45)

Connect with Lisa:

https://robertswish.com

https://www.instagram.com/robertswishapp/

https://www.facebook.com/RobertsWishApp/

Let’s connect!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Life with Alopecia

My Guest and beautiful friend Houda Echouafni describes herself as a human, mother, actor and everything in between. Born to a Moroccan mother and an Egyptian father who died when she was young, she moved to England when she was eleven years old and had to learn English to cope in a London secondary school.

She then discovered drama and a love for Shakespeare and decided to train as an actor.

Houda started out as a presenter with MBC and worked in film, TV and was in a production with the Royal Shakespeare company until the outbreak of the Covid virus brought a lot of stress and change. Not long after, Houda discovered she was losing hair very quickly and is now learning to live with Alopecia as she continues to raise and homeschool her four children.

This episode will discuss :

Houda's childhood memories of her life in Morocco where she was raised by her grandmother (1:10)

The challenges of moving to England (age 11), managing in an Inner city secondary school in London without speaking English (3:30)

Finding expression outside of language in drama class was a revelation (10:20)

Drama school adventures (13:00)

Discovering hair loss and learning about the autoimmune disease Alopecia (17:00)

Wigs and an empowering moment (28:00)

How finding a tribe and community for support and solutions was vital (29:00)

Questions about choice, hair and hijab (35:00)

Connect with Houda:

https://www.instagram.com/houdaechouafni/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1445342/

https://www.facebook.com/houdaechouafniactresss/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/houda-echouafni-37074622

Let’s connect!

Resources mentioned:

Brit school: https://www.brit.croydon.sch.uk

Microblading

https://www.diniwigs.com/coping-with-hair-loss/

Magnetic eyelashes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

On sexuality- Part 1

My guest on Breaking Free today is Madian Al Jazerah. A successful businessman and human rights activist living in Jordan.

He is described in the preface of his incredible memoir " ARE YOU THIS? OR ARE YOU THIS? " as:

"A Palestinian but wasn't raised in Palestine, Kuwaiti-born but not Kuwaiti, British-educated but not a westerner, a gay man out of the closet but still living in the shadows."

A story of identity and worth.Madian shares an honest account of discovering his sexuality, struggling with identity living as a Palestinian born in Kuwait and much more in PART ONE of this episode.

WARNING: Topics such as molestation, rape and homosexuality are discussed in this episode

Things we talk about :