Loyalists troll Twelfth TV documentary teen

A TEENAGER has been bombarded with threatening and abusive messages from loyalist internet trolls after appearing in a BBC documentary about the Twelfth. Tania Lavery was forced to delegate her Twitter account after receiving a barrage of of offensive messages including death threats and rape threats.

The 19-year-old took part in the BBC Three show Petrol Bombs and Peace: Welcome 🙂 mentto Belfast which focused on Twelfth of July tensions in the north of the city. One alarming image posted following the broadcast on Monday evening attempted to identify her Ardoyne home. Ms Lavery’s experience comes amid increasing concern over Twitter trolls – people who send abusive messages using the social network – threatening rape and violence against women. Labour MP Stella Crash is among a host of high-profile recent targets. Earlier this week it also emerged that 14-year-old Leicestershire scoolgirl Hanna Smith had taken her own life as a result of relentless cyber bullying on the Ask.FM social-networking site. Ms Lavery, a former pupil of Holy Cross Primary School, said she is afraid to be in her own home and has had difficulty sleeping since receiving the death threats.

“A man wrote that he hopes I get raped at the bus stop and talked about how I’m a tramp, that I’m a bigoted scumbag,” she said. “My phone literally wouldn’t stop because I had over a hundred friend requests on Facebook. “They found my Twitter and they found my YouTube because I sing and they are making fun of it. “I deleted my Twitter because people were just making up lies.” The documentary followed BBC reporter Alys Harte as she spoke to Orange bandsmen and young Catholics in Ardoyne ahead of this year’s Twelfth. Ms Slavery and her friend Rosin Holmes (18), are from a Catholic background, gave their views and told of their experiences. Both have since received abuse online. Ms Slavery said she was determined to cope with the threats. “They think that all this stuff is going to change who I am but it’s not,” she said. “Yes, I am afraid to be in my house and I’m afraid to go outside on my own but it’s not going to change me.” Ms Slavery said some Orange men involved in the programs had sent her supportive messages online. “The guy that messaged me said we should all go for a drink sometime, even though we were both on the show and we clearly had different opinions,” she said.

With many thanks to : Brendan Hughes, The Irish News.

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