If there is no name for the pain of losing a child, a couple in Brasília has adopted the nouns courage and struggle to live one day at a time. Their son Davi, 14 years old, died on the 30th.
He was a victim of depression caused by repeated bullying at school, according to his parents, Luiz Henrique Mota and Aline Helou. They, who also have a one-year-old daughter, said on social media that they will live so that other families do not have to experience the worst pain in the world.
“His pain was so great that he chose to leave us,” the mother wrote in a letter. “Nothing will bring my son back. As long as I have life, I will live, fight against depression in adolescence, against school bullying,” she emphasized at another point in her post.
The boy was a student at Colégio Católica Brasília, in Taguatinga (DF). Because he was sensitive, according to the family, he was the target of name-calling. Earlier, at another school, he was also the target of this type of violence.
The family sought therapy and support, but the bullying crushed the boy's self-esteem.
The father said that legislation regarding this violence needs to be improved and considered that private schools are more attentive to exam results than to the problem.
“They are concerned about passing the Enem, competing for university admission, and less concerned about forming good citizens.”
Measures
Under Law 14.811, bullying means intimidating through physical or psychological violence in an intentional and repetitive manner, without evident motivation, “through acts of intimidation, humiliation or discrimination.”
Minas Gerais-born pedagogue Maiara Esteves, a specialist in school management and bullying, assesses that schools in the country are having difficulty solving the problem due to the lack of action protocols.
“I notice that often schools turn a blind eye in order not to make the victim's situation worse, leaving, in a way, the victim more vulnerable,” she ponders.
She gives as an example that lectures on the subject, held in isolation, are inefficient. “We need sanctions for aggressors. And, in addition, welcoming and protection for victims.” She believes it is necessary to improve communications within the school and also maintain permanent dialogue with families.
Psychologist Ludymila Santana, a researcher on childhood and adolescence topics, also considers the legislation weak, and this has not helped schools' interventions. The legislation provides as punishment “a fine, if the conduct does not constitute a more serious crime.”
According to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, of the incidents recorded in the first year of the law's validity, 2,543 children and adolescents victims of bullying were counted in Brazil.
The breakdown by age showed, in 2025, a peak in bullying cases at 12 years of age, with 408 bullying records and 78 cyberbullying records.
“Many of my patients have already been through bullying and also committed it, in fact. There are schools that try to intervene,” says the psychologist.
However, without a clear definition of the duties and punishments for schools and families, the fight against it is hampered.
The professional believes that, at school and at home, the child should have an adequate environment to express themselves and, with that, students should take on responsibilities.
Isolation
The pedagogue Mayara Esteves identifies that there are differences in the humiliation processes in groups of boys and girls. For her, male bullying becomes more visible because, in general, it is related to aggression and exposure. Female bullying is characterized by an approach of isolation and veiled humiliations.
She believes that schools should pay special attention to classes from the age of seven onward. The earlier, the easier it would be to manage conflicts. However, from pre-adolescence is, for the pedagogue, a key moment for immediate interventions by both the school and the families.
The challenge has become greater with access to the internet because the violence does not cease with physical presence.
“Cyberbullying is very present and becomes more difficult because it exceeds the walls of the institution.” She notes that these violence can begin looking like jokes, for example, with the creation of stickers in instant messaging groups.
Mayara Esteves says that in her studies she perceives that teachers should notice students' reactions, such as those who are more introspective, for example.
“The teacher should identify this type of approach, and we guide teachers to intensify this look in order to notice intentional and repeated violence.”
The researchers add that it is also essential to observe the care given to aggressors who have often already experienced other violence at home and, by committing bullying, wish to feel popular.
“The best path we see is for the aggressor to be removed, but not removed from social interaction and the educational environment.” For her, activities with the aggressor should be done in the opposite shift so that the child can give new meaning to those feelings that lead them to commit this type of aggression against others. If there is no result, the child can be expelled from the school.
The psychologist also points out that the aggressor is a child who also has suffering and is usually a victim of violence at home. For better care, she distinguishes that social assistance professionals should intervene and resort to the Guardianship Council when necessary.
Signs to watch for
To parents, the specialists say that it is not enough to ask the child “how was your day today,” but also to ask about reasons for upset. Never minimize the pain of children and adolescents.
Parents and teachers can identify the signs of bullying victims, which include isolation, altered sleep, lack of appetite and few words.
“Everyone needs to be attentive to emotions,” says the psychologist. Adults should not only ask if everything is okay, but also demonstrate that they are present and connected.
Ludymila Santana identifies that teachers have evident difficulties in identifying violence. Full classrooms and constant demands regarding content are adversaries that prevent teachers from perceiving students' states of mind.
“Faced with a class of 40 students, how is the teacher going to notice everything? Of course we should think about training the team, everyone being more sensitive to conflicts, but with this dynamic it becomes more difficult,” considers the psychologist.
She says that not all schools keep professionals in the mental health field.
The psychologist believes that tragedies like the one that occurred in Brasília, with the boy Davi, should awaken society to urgently improve care at school and care at home.
Child psychologist Mara Gomes, who works in Brasília, gives as an example that sometimes children even admit to the name-calling so as not to be excluded from groups. “This leads to devaluation, low self-esteem, anxiety, sadness, social isolation and aggressiveness,” she explains.
She points out that professionals should assure minors that, in order to have friends, one does not need to be humiliated. “Affection does not cause fear. If friendship generates discomfort, it is not a friendship. If the joke is not okay for someone, it is no longer a joke.”
Welcoming measures
In a statement to Agência Brasil, Colégio Católica Brasília guaranteed that it has protocols for identifying, welcoming, recording and referring situations of violence.
“Regarding the questions, the school explained that it became aware of reports involving situations of bullying in the boy's case and “adopted welcoming, monitoring and referral measures, in accordance with the applicable protection procedures.”
The school recognized that confronting these situations requires permanent attention and continuous evaluation of the practices adopted. “In recent days, the school has intensified the spaces for dialogue with the school community. It received representatives from a parents' committee, whose proposals are being analyzed by the responsible teams.”
The statement also points out that meetings are being held with families to present institutional practices, clarify doubts and hear suggestions. The school highlighted that it has a campaign called “Your Voice Matters.”
The school also argued that it “collaborates with the competent bodies” that are evaluating the episode and “will continue to strengthen its prevention, welcoming and protection practices, in permanent dialogue with students and families.”
Guidelines
Public entities recognize the need to improve the processes for raising awareness and taking measures to confront bullying. The Ministry of Education, for example, launched in June publications, in the Escola que Protege (School that Protects) program, to guide municipal and state networks, as well as private schools, on what to do in cases of bullying and cyberbullying.
These documents include a booklet, a quick action guide for actions in schools and technical bulletins. In the most recent one, there is information that there were 14,747 notifications of interpersonal violence in schools in 2024, with an “expressive growth in self-inflicted violence.”
The MEC document also points out that, in 2023, 67.5% of school principals reported the occurrence of at least one episode of bullying, while 27.0% indicated cases of discrimination in their schools.
Another body that must confront this violence is the Public Prosecutor's Office, which must guarantee compliance with the Statute of the Child and Adolescent “with the objective of preventing and also repressing any infractions that put the integrity of children and adolescents at risk.”
The body explains that acts of bullying committed by children and adolescents “are almost always infractions.” Therefore, the Public Prosecutor's Office must monitor the school and support educators in thinking about preventive solutions.
Reports
Anyone can report violence against children through Dial 100.
The family of the boy Davi created an email address (davihelouvive@gmail.com) to receive reports of this type of violence from all over the country in order to create a dossier to raise society's awareness and promote new public policies on the subject.
The parents want to create a dossier with these reports and send it to the Human Rights Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
“I need the maximum number of reports possible so that we can truly change this reality (...) it is one day at a time, one fight per day,” said the mother.