FOR Carlton star forward Tayla Harris, it was the people around her that gave her the strength to hit back at online bullies.

More than a year after she copped abuse on what is now a famous photo of the power forward at work on the field, Harris on Tuesday received the Young Victorian of the Year award.

Now an ambassador for both Carlton Respects and Our Watch and having published her book, More Than a Kick: Footy, the Photo and Me, Harris credits her success to the support of bystanders over the last year.

“I was honoured to even be considered and to win it was a testament to all the people who supported me along the way, especially through the incident with the kicking photo,” Harris said.

“I’ve decided within myself that I’m not disillusioned to the fact that without all of the people who supported me from near and far I wouldn’t have even been considered.

“I’m basically accepting it on behalf of anyone who felt represented during that time and all the people that supported me: family, friends, the footy club and beyond that.”

Taking a strong stance on social media back in March 2019 was just the tip of the iceberg for Harris, quickly channelling the negative experience into positive activism against online abuse.

“Throughout my life I’ve tried to find the positives in everything, of course there are going to be situations that are challenging,” she said.

“It’s something that I’ve tried to do for a long time and I was presented with that situation last year in 2019 and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to do that.

“Personally, I just wanted to see how much I could live that life that I wanted to, making things positive and the second I realised that doing that was helping people it was a non-negotiable.”

When asked what advice the three-time All Australian would give to those experiencing the same online bullying she did, the support of others was the key theme.

“I really like the idea of bystanders or others standing up for people because that’s what happened with me,” she said.

“Thankfully I had so many people around being so supportive and confident enough to say ‘Hey, I don’t believe in that either’ and then it was a really powerful effect.

“On any scale, whether it be small or one person to another person or even bigger publicly, I think it’s so important for anyone who feels confident or in a position to do so to stand up for themselves or for others.”