Creating Hope through Action 💛 By raising awareness, reducing the stigma and encouraging action, we can reduce and prevent suicide around the world. Research shows that 23.6% of teens are struggling with feelings of hopelessness and sadness while suicide is the 2nd leading cause death among children aged 15 years and older! Information about Teen Suicide 👇 What are Suicidal Thoughts? Suicidal thoughts are when someone thinks about suicide. They may or may not have a plan. All expressed thoughts of suicide must be taken seriously. Asking questions about how, when and where they plan to commit suicide, will assist to obtain the level of risk for suicide, and therefore assist in identifying what action needs to be taken. It is also important to remember that asking these questions will not make the person kill themselves. It is also important to take into account that not all suicides are well thought out in advance; some are impulsive, which is likely true of people who are unable to cope with depression.If a learner seems depressed or withdrawn and spends a lot of time questioning why life is meaningful or why life is unjust, it is time to pay attention. Research indicates that most suicidal young people don’t want to die, they just want their pain to end. Being able to recognise warning signs in a learner’s behaviour as well as being alert to the risk factors, can assist in combating and preventing suicide. Warning Signs of Teen Suicide Talking about Suicide with Teens Knowing the warning signs of teen suicide is only the first step. The next question that needs to be looked at involves talking about mental health and suicide with teenagers. How does one communicate with a teen and how do you get them to really open up to you and share what is going on inside of them? And even if they show no obvious signs of depression, how do you get them to talk to you?Troubling behaviours can sometimes be prevented by talking to teens before things reach that point. If you notice some concerning signs it is always a good idea to sit down with the teen and let them know that you are here for them and that help is available. Step-by-Step: Talking about Mental Health Suicide Risk Levels Based on the severity of the case – make an action plan White Risk Level: No risk of suicide.Yellow Risk Level: Potential for risk exists and could escalate. Vague suicide ideation without a definite plan or access.Orange Risk level: Potential for risk to self or others. Current suicide ideation with a plan but no access.Red Risk Level: Imminent & immediate risk to self or others. Current suicide ideation with a plan and accessFor emergency support, contact The South African Depression and Anxiety Group on 0800 567 567 or 0800 456 789. Alternatively SMS 31393 to speak with a counsellor. We want you to know that you are not alone! FaceUp’s team of Registered Counsellors, Psychologists and Teachers are here to help and support you. Thank you for all you do to help at your school, organisation & just in your community as a whole! 💙 At FaceUp South Africa, we believe that ALL parents and teachers need to be equipped with the knowledge of how to help children & teens and where they can access this help. We don’t just launch the FaceUp app at your school – we feel it is so important to provide constant support to our teachers. We run workshops and training sessions in order to help every teacher understand the mental health of our children. Through FaceUp, schools have the power to intervene timelessly and offer their learners the necessary help and support they need. For more information about FaceUp South Africa and how we can help you, contact us today. Cayley Jorgensen, Director – FaceUp South Africa cayley.jorgensen@faceup.com

Bullying, in all forms, is a huge problem amongst South African school-going children, which directly impacts the mental health of all learners involved (victim, bystander and bullies). 57% of learners experience some form of bullying at school. 1 in 5 South African teens have experienced cyberbullying first-hand and 84% say they know someone who has been bullied online. Everything you need to know about cyberbullying is below 👇 What is Cyberbullying? Imagine a note, filled with rude insults, being sent around the classroom. Eventually, the note is intercepted by the teacher who tears it into pieces and throws it in the rubbish.  Now imagine the same note typed as a WhatsApp message and sent from learner to learner. One learner decides to post it on Instagram where friends can read and share it instantly.  The note cannot be torn up and thrown away, but instead quickly moves through online sites to an audience of hundreds or even thousands. Why do children cyberbully? Understanding Cyberbullying from the Bully’s side is so important!  Teens might cyberbully because they feel hurt, have a low sense of self-confidence, they may feel insecure, feel neglected, or they may be being bullied as well.  The need to gain likes, shares, downloads and followers on social media can influence teens to make choices they would otherwise not make. For example, they may be trying to fit in, looking for attention, struggling academically, reinforcing what they see online, for revenge etc. We see this a lot.  It doesn’t make it right or okay but understanding why a child bullies another allows us to help the bully. How does cyberbullying affect victims? The effects on victims or ‘cybervictims’ can be huge and irreversible. They may start to feel overwhelmed, vulnerable, powerless, humiliated, hopeless and angry which may lead them to want revenge, they may also start to feel depressed, anxious, suicidal. They may start self-harming behaviours or having physical symptoms.  These are just some of the possible affects, remember every child is different and experiences things in their own way. Understanding the bystander The most common way to experience cyberbullying is by witnessing these behaviours as a bystander – a ‘cyberbystander’.  This is when adolescents see the behaviour occurring between the cyberbullies and cybervictims but do not get involved in the situation.  It is important to understand more about cyberbystanders as they are less likely to report bullying to adults than those who are bystanders of offline bullying. What should we do to help? The idea that school and home are two separate spaces no longer exists.  The emphasis now needs to be on creating a culture of responsibility online. Schools should increase awareness about bullying as well as establish and enforce clear bullying policies.  Schools need to train their staff to be digital citizens as well as be able to recognise the signs among their classes. The do’s and don’ts of helping the bully The do’s and don’ts of helping the victim We can help you 💙  We want you to know that you are not alone! FaceUp’s team of Registered Counsellors, Psychologists and Teachers are here to help you from the software side of FaceUp all the way through to launching awareness campaigns. If you need support to manage reports coming through or advice on what protocols need to be followed from a legal perspective – we are here for you!

There are many ways to tick off the legal requirement for an internal whistleblowing channel. For those of you who want to enable people to safely speak up, we have a comparison of the individual tools side by side, with regard to the conditions of the new proposal for whistleblowing protection law. Phone lineIt takes a lot of courage for an employee to reach out via phone call. Phone call forces the person to describe the context without a chance to read and review what they want to say or to attach any form of evidence such as a document, a photo, or other files. This solution lacks information about who is dealing with the report and what its current state is. In small teams, there’s also no guarantee of anonymity, as the employee’s voice can easily be recognized (what if there’s only one woman on the team?). Requires creating a new anonymous account or numberDoesn’t allow the notifier to think everything through and review what they want to shareThe reporter can’t attach any documents and evidenceAnonymity can’t be guaranteedThe line isn’t always available but is subjected to the work hours of the responsible personAccording to the new law proposal, the received reports will have to be stored in written formEmailE-mail at least eliminates the possibility to identify the notifier by their voice. But different obstacles can arise. Imagine yourself in the shoes of an employee from an older generation who’s already nervous enough about wanting to share a problem with you. If you expose them to the lengthy process of creating an anonymous e-mail, they will likely give up on it instead. Moreover, it will be a chore to create order within all the anonymous correspondence. Not to mention that it will be difficult to collaborate on resolving the issues safely with other colleagues. Requires creating an anonymous e-mail addressYou’re likely to get lost in all the incoming anonymous correspondenceMore people can’t collaborate on resolving issues at the same time, on top of which the notifier does not know the current state.It’s a cheap solutionOnline whistleblowing channelAn online trust box platform enables anyone to speak up about anything safely and anonymously. In addition, it provides the whistleblower with an overview of what is happening with his report and the company solver can even establish a dialogue. In the administration of online reporting channels, the solvers can see the status and number of active reports. They can collaborate with other colleagues on the solution and possibly view supporting materials, such as attached photos or documents. Access to the channel can also be given to the customers, job seekers, or even suppliers. Choose an online whistleblowing channel wisely. Ensure it meets all the demands that will soon be required from you and that it’s truly safe. It’s good to check how the personal data is handled, whether all the messages are encrypted, and if the ISO certification is present. The whistleblower’s anonymity is guaranteed as long as they want to have itThey can attach any documents and other forms of evidenceThe solvers can establish a dialogue with the whistleblower without putting their anonymity at riskNo need for creating an accountIt’s available also for suppliers, customers, and other kinds of whistleblowersThere can be an option to include third parties in solving a certain topic (e.g. your lawyers or the company psychologist)Physical mailboxA physical mailbox is a good start. But how to follow up on an anonymous correspondence that arrives in the mailbox? How to find out further details, if someone mentions a serious issue and you’re lacking essential information needed for resolving it? A physical mailbox can be seen as a survival of time, especially among younger colleagues. At the same time, it isn’t compliant with the requirements of the new proposal for the whistleblower protection law, which encourages companies to make their whistleblowing channel accessible also to current job seekers or suppliers. Maintaining anonymity can also become tricky. The whistleblower is risking being seen throwing a report into the box by someone. The whistleblower is risking being seen using the mailboxIt’s not an ideal solution for the younger generations that are more comfortable with online platformsYou have no chance to ask for further information nor to follow up on the report, in case it’s anonymousCustomers and suppliers have no way of expressing their concerns if they don’t have access to the mailboxWe’ll be happy to show you what FaceUp can do. Check out our website and schedule a demo today.