Hannah’s Story

Parent Story: “I Didn’t Know Where to Turn”

Like most parents, I never imagined my family would find ourselves in this situation.

It began with a friendship group.

One girl had developed a pattern of turning friendship groups against other young people. We’d watched another family go through it the year before, never imagining we would soon be facing the same thing ourselves.

A rumour started after my daughter attended a social gathering with friends. Within days, that rumour spread through her year group. Friendship after friendship disappeared, messages and group chats were formed and were really cruel, and the isolation started. What started as gossip became weeks of bullying, exclusion and intimidation.

After nearly two months, things finally seemed to be settling down.

My daughter was invited to a party by someone she trusted. I drove her there and stayed outside in my car while I worked, taking calls with clients in the United States.

Within minutes, she came running back out.

She had been assaulted.

She was crying, her hair had been pulled out, she had cuts and bruises, and she was very upset.

As any parent would, I went straight to the front door demanding to know what had happened. Instead of answers, I was met by a crowd of young people who came outside shouting, filming me on their phones and laughing while my daughter stood beside me injured.

I called the police and took my daughter home.

I genuinely believed that from that point onwards, the system would help us.

Instead, everything became even more confusing.

The police told me allegations had been made against me because I had banged on the door after my daughter had been attacked. They had only been shown a short video clip that appeared to show two girls fighting, rather than the assault that had happened beforehand. It was as self-defence following an assault but they were viewing it very differently.

The school wanted to help and did everything they could to support my daughter while she was on site, including helping her feel safe during the school day. But because the assault had happened away from school, there were limits to what they could do.

The following day, our nightmare continued.

Videos and photographs of me outside the property began appearing on TikTok alongside completely false accusations. Stories were invented. My character was attacked. The content spread quickly, reaching colleagues, neighbours, friends and people who knew nothing about what had actually happened.

Overnight, we weren’t only dealing with the trauma of the assault.

We were trying to cope with online abuse, false allegations, reputational damage and complete uncertainty about where to turn.

Every organisation seemed responsible for one small piece of the puzzle, but nobody could help us see the whole picture.

Who supports the parent?

Who explains what happens next?

Who helps you understand your rights?

Who tells you which charity to contact?

Who helps you navigate schools, police, safeguarding and recovery?

I spent hours searching for answers.

I found lots of organisations doing incredible work, but no single place that brought everything together for parents like me.

That experience changed everything.

Mine2 was created because I never want another parent to feel as lost as I did.

No parent should have to spend the worst days of their life searching the internet, trying to work out what to do while supporting a frightened child.

If sharing our story helps even one family find the support they need sooner, then something positive has come from one of the most difficult experiences our family has ever faced.

Because when it happens to your child, it happens to you too.