Family of 12-year-old trans girl bullied by classmates’ parents to flee Oklahoma
The family of the 12-year-old trans girl severely bullied by parents of classmates is raising money to leave Oklahoma.
Background
On a viral Facebook post, vicious comments were made about 12-year-old Maddie. This was due to her use of the girls’ bathroom in school.
These comments led to the entire school district to be shut down for two days.
‘We are putting in extra measures to help safeguard our students,’ said school superintendent Rick Beene.
Unfortunately, this isn’t enough for Maddie’s family. They filed a restraining order against the parents thought to be orchestrating the discrimination against their daughter. And now, through a GoFundMe campaign, the family is seeking to leave Oklahoma for good.
The GoFundMe Campaign
‘The trouble began when 12-year-old Maddie, a transgender student at Achille, Oklahoma Public Schools, used the girls’ restroom on the first day of school,’ the campaign page reads.
‘Maddie had attended school at Achille since fifth grade and used the staff bathroom for two years. On her first day of seventh grade, though, she didn’t know where the staff bathroom was, so went to the girls’ bathroom.’
This would not be first time the family has moved. They moved to Achille, Oklahoma from Sherman, Texas also due to bullying.
‘We actually moved here from Sherman hoping to have a fresh start for Maddie, because she was severely bullied there, and taunted to commit suicide, and assaulted in the bathroom. Unfortunately, her fresh start did not last long,’ Maddie’s mother, Brandy, says.
So far, the GoFundMe campaign, started by a stranger touched by Maddie’s story, has raised over $20,000 [£15,678.90; €17,469.50].
Next Stop: Houston
‘We have family in Houston that have been wanting us to move to them for years, but it has just never been a financial possibility. We actually tried a few years ago, but it all just fell apart, and was a mess. If we had the financial means to actually move, and get set up there, close to our family, and in a city that has so many more resources for Maddie, it would literally be life changing,’ Brandy told the GoFundMe campaigner.
