Justice Minister Alina Gorgiou says she “discovered things with great sadness” while reading essays submitted by teenagers to a competition organized by the Ministry of Justice: “Parents, please talk to your children!”.

Gorgiou says that after reading the essays submitted by high school students to the Laws Apply Online contest, he discovered the trauma that teenagers go through.

“There are things that I discovered with great sadness while reading essays sent to the Ministry of Justice by high school students for the contest “Laws work on the Internet.” How cyberbullying affects them, the trauma they go through, or having their identity stolen online…it’s heartbreaking. They are just children…who need our help! I want every child in Romania to know that they are not alone!” Gorgiu wrote on the Ministry of Justice’s Facebook page.

She also posted several excerpts from essays submitted by teenagers:

• “Question from Luka, 10th grader from Suceava: ‘Is everything allowed on the Internet that is not prohibited by law?’ opens a discussion about limitations.
• Camelia, a 12th-grader from Bucharest, goes even further and sounds the alarm: “Cyberbullying takes bullying to the highest level, stalking the victim even when they leave the context in which the psychological abuse takes place, such as school.”
• Courage Francesca-Denise, a 10th-grader in Focsani, has extraordinary courage to say what happened because she knows “there are many cases of this kind that teenagers face.” Matei, a 10th grader in Bucharest, also emphasizes that “bullying on the Internet is dangerous. This is dangerous because it can make you feel lonely and without self-respect…”
• Maria, a 10th grade student from Constanta, talks about the strict rules of the Internet: “Eat or you will be eaten. The Internet is not a toy.”