Alex's Answer

Hi there,  

Thank you so much for sharing your experience of racism with us. We are so sorry to hear of this and hope that our answer will assist you in some way. 

At Childline, we believe every young person has the right to their identity and to have no judgement passed on to them as well as the right to be safe – no one has the right to say anything to you that is racist. You mentioned that it is a boy who makes fun of you for being Asian, I am wondering where your paths cross. If this is occurring at school, is there anyone that you could reach out to such as a teacher you get on with, a year head or the principal? 

This is a serious matter, and you deserve to have support around it. 

We also wonder if you’ve shared your experiences with any adult that you trust? It is important to share thoughts and feeling with someone and not to deal with this by yourself. How did it make you feel when you wrote down your experiences of racism and used this service? What do you think it would be like if you shared your thoughts and feelings about what is going on for you with someone in your life? In addition, it might be worth considering the fact that by speaking out about this, you also could be helping other people who have similar experiences, as well as the boy who is doing this to you. Perhaps he is unaware of just how hurtful and wrong this behaviour is and with education around racism, he may end up changing his ways. 

While we strongly believe that it’s important for you to talk to someone about this matter, we also understand that that is not always easy to do. Perhaps there are steps you can take to avoid this boy such as entering the building at different times, taking a different route to wherever it is you’re going or having a friend with you, so you do not have to face the racism on your own. 

In addition to that, we at Childline have a team that would love to listen to you and we would do so without any judgement nor would we make you do anything you don’t want to do. We are here for you 24/7 and there are so many ways in which you can contact us. 

There is the phone line: 1800 66 66 66, text line: 50101, and our webchat. All our services are free to you. 

You mentioned that this has being occurring for the past year and at Childline, we can see how brave you have been for the entire time, and we also think that you were so brave in contacting us. 

We would love to hear from you so please get in touch. 

Alex.