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60 Minutes: Student’s suicide exposes gaps in mental health resources at schools
Losing her 12-year-old daughter is painful enough for Rachelle Owen. What makes it even worse is knowing someone could have helped but did nothing.
Five years ago – on Mother’s Day, 2021 – Lauren died by suicide, after repeated bullying and difficulties at school.
Lauren Rafferty died by suicide five years ago after repeated bullying. 60 Minutes
For her grief-stricken mother, Rachelle, something just didn’t add up.
And when she took the New South Wales Department of Education to court, she discovered a damning insight into how her child was let down in a way that should have never happened.
Her daughter was failed: Wagga mother shares heartbreaking story of loss
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A Wagga schoolgirl will be the focus of an upcoming episode of 60 Minutes – not just because she was kind, strong and quick-witted, but because she was significantly failed.
At 12 years old, a child's biggest concern should be the colour of their backpack and what things they were going to get up to once they arrived home from school.
That wasn't the case for the beautiful and creative Wagga teenager Lauren May Rafferty who had struggled for the final two years of her young life with being bullied and experiencing depression.
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60 Minutes: Aug 2
Sunday’s 60 Minutes looks at how schools are handling mental health of students, plus why Prince Harry’s case against the Daily Mail was problematic.
Learning to Care
Lauren Rafferty was usually bright and bubbly, but there were also moments when she was troubled. Like too many students, she was bullied in the classroom. Weighed down with stress, Lauren knew she needed help, so she went to her school counsellor. However, this was where events took a drastic turn. What is now known is that the counsellor recognised the young girl was mentally unwell, but did not seek further assistance or treatment, or even inform Lauren’s mother. A few weeks later, 12-year-old Lauren took her own life. As Adam Hegarty reports, as heartbreaking as it is, Lauren’s story is not an isolated incident of schools being unable to manage the mental health issues of their students.
Reporter: Adam Hegarty
Producers: Serge Negus, Sheree Gibson
For more detailed information, explore updates concerning 60 Minutes: Student’s.