“I come from a broken family. My father is a drug addict, and my mother had to go to Bangkok to find work to support us.
She left me and my younger brother with my grandmother and great-grandmother.
Because of the age difference, I often quarrelled with my grandmother. I withdrew more and more to social media.
I started dressing up and posting pictures on Facebook, and men would often give me attention and come to talk to me.
I started dating a boyfriend online. He was 35 years old. It started with talking, joking, and playing games online.
Then he’d send me money and buy me things in exchange for photos. First, it was photos of my face, then he’d give more money if I revealed more.
Then it was nude photos. Then he started threatening me.
He said if I didn’t meet him, he’d post the nude photos on social media and in my friends' groups.
I was full of fear and shame, and I didn't want to go to school. My studies were not good at all.
Then I remembered ACET Thailand from their Smart Life teaching at my school. The team had been kind, open to listening and offered advice and ways to help. So, I decided to talk to them.
They stayed by my side when everyone else blamed me for my behaviour. They gave me advice and acted as mediators in communicating with my family.
The ACET team supported me in solving the problem so I could escape from blackmail, and so that it would not happen to other children.
We met with government officials, but they looked at me as a bad child; they did not care what I thought. They only focused on catching the culprit.
Sometimes I was so angry with myself that I hurt myself.
But ACET supported me – it’s great to have someone on your side. They helped me to live my life, to love myself and forgive myself.
They have taught me how to protect myself. I now know I have the right to refuse, the confidence to not put myself in risky situations, and the knowledge of where to seek help.
This project has made me believe that I am someone that God loves; that I have value. It has given me confidence in how I live my life.
In my family, we talk more often now, and I have cut down on social media and am more careful. Even my grades are better!”