Are you ready to be inspired? Get ready for a story that will surely fire you up. It’s about a fearless female student who refuses to be bullied, and her mom who defends her actions perfectly. Bullying is a problem that shouldn’t be tolerated, especially when it comes to our children.

As a busy Emergency Room nurse, I’m not allowed to have my phone with me. It’s supposed to be kept in my locker. However, one day, as I was in the middle of my shift, a call came through the hospital reception on a private line just for me.

The voice on the phone identified themselves as a teacher from my daughter’s school. They informed me that there had been an incident involving my daughter and that they needed me to come in immediately.

Concerned, I asked if she was ill or injured. But the response I heard shocked me.

The teacher explained that my daughter had struck another student and they had been trying to reach me for the past 45 minutes. They insisted that the situation was serious.

Without hesitation, I rushed to the school and was ushered into the Principal’s office. There, I saw my daughter, her advisor, a male teacher, the principal, a boy with bloodied nose and flushed face, and his parents.

The principal greeted me with a sarcastic tone, saying, “Mrs. [My Name], how kind of you to FINALLY join us!”

Feeling a mix of frustration and exhaustion from my work in the ER, I replied, “Yeah, things get busy in the ER. I’ve spent the last hour administering over 40 stitches to a seven-year-old who was beaten by his mother with a metal ladle, and then I had to deal with the police. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

As the principal tried to save face, they explained what had happened. Apparently, the boy had snapped my daughter’s bra, and in response, she had punched him in the face, not once, but twice. What struck me was that they seemed angrier at my daughter than at the boy who had violated her.

That’s when I made my stance clear. I asked, “Oh, and you want to know if I’m going to press charges against him for sexually assaulting my daughter and against the school for allowing it?”

Their discomfort became evident as they all started speaking at once, trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation. The teacher even dared to say, “I don’t think it was that serious.”

But I wasn’t about to let them off the hook. I turned to my daughter to hear her side of the story.

“He kept snapping my bra,” my daughter explained. “I asked him to stop, but he didn’t. So, I told Mr. [Teacher]. He told me to ‘ignore it.’ But [the boy] did it again and undid my bra, so I hit him. Then he stopped.”

Outraged, I directed my attention back to the teacher. “You let him do this? Why didn’t you stop him? Come over here and let me touch the front of your trousers.”

The teacher, taken aback, quickly replied, “What?! No!”

I continued to make my point. “Does that seem inappropriate to you? Why don’t you go and pull on Mrs. [Advisor]’s bra right now? Or even that boy’s mother’s bra? Or mine? Just because they’re kids, does that make it fun?”

The principal, trying to regain control, interjected, “Mrs. [My Name], with all due respect, [Daughter] still beat another child.”

But I was not backing down. “No, she defended herself against a sexual attack from another student. Look at them; he’s nearly 6 feet and 160 pounds. She’s 5 feet and 84 pounds. He’s a foot taller and twice as heavy. How many times should she have let him touch her? If the person who was supposed to help and protect her in a classroom couldn’t be bothered, what should she have done? He pulled her bra so hard it came undone.”

The boy’s mom continued to cry, and his dad appeared both angry and embarrassed. The teacher refused to make eye contact. I turned to the principal, determined to drive my point home.

“I’m taking my daughter home. I believe the boy has learned his lesson. And I hope nothing like this ever happens again, not only to my daughter but to any other girl at this school. You wouldn’t let him do it to a member of staff, so what makes you think he can do it to a 15-year-old girl? I will be reporting this to the school administrators. And if you,” I turned to the boy, “ever touch my daughter again, I WILL have you arrested for sexual assault. Do you understand me?”

Filled with anger, I collected my daughter’s belongings and left the office. I reported the incident to the School Board, which included several people I knew, and I was assured that it would be dealt with seriously.

As a result, my daughter was moved to a different class for that subject, away from the teacher and the boy who had violated her.

Bullying is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. It’s important that we stand up for our children and empower them to defend themselves when necessary. No child should have to endure sexual assault or harassment, and it’s up to us as parents and educators to create a safe and supportive environment for them to thrive.

Let this story serve as a reminder that when we stand together against bullying, we can make a difference in the lives of our children.