The father of a teenager who took her own life has called for ‘real change’ to make cyber bullying a specific crime and spare others from a tragic outcome.
Mia Janin, 14, a pupil at The Jewish Free School (JFS) in Kenton, Harrow, was found dead at her North London home in March 2021, having been subjected to ‘hostile’ bullying by male students in-person and over social media.
Her parents are said to have not been aware she was a target of cyber bullying.
In the UK, cyber bullying is not a specific crime and courts instead rely on laws pertaining to harassment and malicious communications.
Now in an interview with BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, her father, Mariano Janin, said the proposed Online Safety Bill ‘would be the first step to get change, real change, for our young kids.’
The father of Mia Janin, 14, has called for cyber bullying to be made a specific crime after his daughter took her own life in March 2021
Mariano Janin said the proposed Online Safety Bill ‘would be the first step to get change, real change, for our young kids’ after his daughter was targeted by male pupils over social media
He added: ‘We need to revise the existing legislation about bullying, try to understand and try to act. Do something.’
Mr Janin continued: ‘We need to transmit to our kids values, normal values, kindness, acceptance, understanding – then we need of course some kind of legal boundaries for social media.’
He has previously called for other reforms, including bereaved parents being able to access the social media accounts of their children to understand what had occurred.
Earlier this week, Tony Murphy, the coroner for North London, warned that more schoolgirls at JFS are at risk of suicide because gender-based bullying has continued at the school due to a lack of systemic changes.
The night before Mia was found dead, the tragic teenager had asked her parents to move school.
She also sent a voice note to a friend, in which she said: ‘Tomorrow’s going to be a rough day, I’m taking deep breaths in and out. I’m currently mentally preparing myself to get bullied tomorrow.’
But her parents did not realise just how much their daughter had been impacted by the bullying.
On the day she died, Mr Janin said she was was ‘planning the weekend and starting to plan the holidays and planning to start cheerleading and drama again.’
Just four months after Mia’s death, her heartbroken mother Marisa died from untreatable leukaemia, which was found after a brain aneurysm, leaving behind her father Mariano.
While JFS claimed it has implemented a ‘complete overhaul’ following Mia’s death in March 2021, Mr Murphy found that the initiatives have not done enough to make female pupils feel safe.
The night before she died, Mia sent a voice note to a friend, in which she said: ‘Tomorrow’s going to be a rough day… I’m currently mentally preparing myself to get bullied tomorrow’
Barnet Coroner’s Court heard earlier this week that ‘highly intelligent’ Year 10 pupil Mia was repeatedly mocked by boys at school on social media
Mr Murphy made the findings in a Prevention of Future Deaths report written to JFS, ordering the institution to take a new course of action.
Barnet Coroner’s Court heard that ‘highly intelligent’ Year 10 pupil Mia was repeatedly mocked by boys at school on social media.
Mr Murphy said: ‘Two undated notes in Mia’s handwriting were found on her bed on March 12, 2021, addressed to her family and friends, which explained that Mia had decided to end her life.
‘Mia’s death was entirely unexpected by her family, friends and teachers. She had felt low self-esteem at times, but had not been diagnosed with any mental illness nor presented a risk of taking her own life.
Tragic teenager Mia Janin pictured in happier times with her parents Marisa and Mariano
‘On March 10, 2021, Mia posted a video on social media asking two of these male students not to mock her and criticising their music and fashion.
‘This video received a large number of hostile responses, which Mia found stressful.
‘On the evening of March 11, 2021, Mia said to her parents that she had had a difficult week and asked to move to a different secondary school, which they agreed to explore.
‘Mia is much missed by her loving family, friends and wider community who describe her as creative, kind, entrepreneurial and highly intelligent, amongst many other things.’
Mr Murphy said: ‘Any ongoing gender based bullying at JFS gives rise to a concern that circumstances creating a risk of other deaths will occur, or will continue to exist, in the future.
‘The initiatives introduced by JFS to address gender based bullying following Mia’s death do not appear to have gained the confidence of some JFS female students, which gives rise to a concern that circumstances creating a risk of other deaths will occur, or will continue to exist, in the future.
‘In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you and your organisation have the power to take such action.’
JFS has 56 days to respond to Mr Murphy with an action plan.
Headteacher Dr David Moody told MailOnline: ‘We thank the coroner for his investigation.
‘The witness statements to which the coroner refers were taken in late 2021 or early 2022, shortly after I joined JFS and they are not a reflection of the school today.
‘As part of the school’s ‘Good’ Ofsted rating in April 2022, Ofsted reported that ‘Pupils know to whom and where they can turn if they have any worries.
‘Pupils felt confident to report any concerns because staff help them. Staff are vigilant to any incidents of bullying and act swiftly to resolve any bullying issues.
‘We have a team of eight full-time professionals working with any children who report problems with their mental health and it is some of the most comprehensive provision that I have seen in a state school.
‘That said, we take the comments and observations of the coroner incredibly seriously and will be sharing with him all details of the support and systems that are now embedded.’
