Bullying memories torment 23-year-old

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Bullying memories torment 23-year-old

12:00a.m. 25th March 2009

Garrard carries the weight of a tortured childhood on his hunched

shoulders.

It's been eight years since dropped out of school while in Year 10, but

he endures the lashes of the bullying he experienced at the hands of other

students to this day.

When asked to describe how he felt the morning of each school day, the

23-year-old shook his head and lowered his eyes.

" I thought, `Why do I have to go to a place where they can't protect me; why am

I being forced to go when I'm exposed to constant torture', " he said.

After a three-year battle, the unemployed Sippy Downs resident won an

out-of-court settlement after suing the state government for post-traumatic

stress.

The claim related to the five years of school-yard bullying he experienced at

three state schools in Brisbane.

The settlement can't be revealed for confidentiality reasons.

said being verballed every day, stabbed in the back with a sharp object,

constantly spat on, locked in toilets and held down and punched on an almost

daily basis had left him feeling powerless and helpless.

He was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a disorder which can produce

anti-social behaviour, while at school.

However, he said his post-traumatic stress was misdiagnosed as Asperger's.

He is so traumatised he couldn't even cast his vote at a school at the state

election on Saturday.

, who attempted suicide on several occasions and was twice admitted to

psychiatric wards, laughed off a query about his relationship status.

Girls bullied him too.

" I've learned not to trust anyone, " he said.

, intelligent and well-spoken, is at his happiest around animals and

dreams of working in a zoo.

However, his employment options are limited by his lack of education and, to a

degree, his mental state.

" To be honest, I don't know how kids can be so cruel, " he said.

His lawyer, Gavin Mills from Attwood Marshall, said the High Court had

previously ruled that the standard of care owed by a teacher to a pupil was the

same as the standard of care owed by a parent to a child.

" Not only do schools need to have a proper anti-bullying policy in place, they

need to enforce it and be vigilant, " Mr Mills said.