Did you know that 77% of students in the United States are bullied mentally, verbally, or physically? Did you also know that half of all those incidents go unreported? Bullying isn’t just punching or kicking; it’s defined as the act of intentionally causing harm to others through verbal harassment, physical assault, or other more subtle methods of coercion. Everyone’s guilty of it, whether you know it or not, and it has to stop. At every school, in every city, in every state, all over the world, there are people being bullied.
Consider this: 86% of kids who were picked on or bullied turn to violence at some point in their lives. However, some of that violence turns inward and can be the cause for suicide. Suicide is a scary thing and we need to know that it’s all around us, whether we know it or not.
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States for adolescents to young adults ranging from 15 to 24. And it doesn’t just affect one person; it affects tons of people. So many parents, family, friends, and students are affected by suicide every year. Take, for instance, the story of Eric Mohat. Eric, 17, was harassed so mercilessly at his high school that when one bully in particular said, “Why don’t you go home and shoot yourself? No one will miss you.” So he did. Eric, a quiet but likable boy, who was involved in theatre and music, was often, if not daily, called derogatory names such as “fag”, “gay”, “queer”, and “homo”. Most of this harassment took place in his math class, and the teacher who was also an athletic coach was accused of failing to protect the boy. Eric’s father told ABC News that “when you lose a child like this, it destroys you in ways you can’t even describe.”
Just like all the rest, Eric’s death could have been prevented. Eric’s parents aren’t seeking any compensation; rather, they are asking that Mentor High School recognize their son’s death as a “bullicide” and put in place what they believe is a badly needed anti-bullying program.
Eric Mohat’s story is just one of thousands of others. It’s a horrendous epidemic, and it needs to be stopped. In research of bullying and suicide, there seems to be a new catchword that has become part of the growing trend of bullying in schools: bullicide. Bullicide literally means “suicide caused by bullying and depression.”
In her article “Bullied to Death,” JoLynn Carney wrote, “victims of chronic peer abuse run an increased risk of suicidal behavior.” She continues, “Many adolescents face being potential victims of violence in their communities, schools and homes on a daily basis. For some young people, those external threats create a hopelessness and depression that can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.” You can read more about this at http://www.rps.psu.edu/bullies/index.html, where Melissa Beattie-Moss writes a fascinating article entitled, “Fighting Back: Bullying is an epidemic in American schools—but it can be prevented.”
The evidence to support Dr. Carney’s theory is evident in the recent West Virginia tragedy. The young man was bullied as a kid, and went on to exact his revenge on innocent students. While this is an extreme case, it is nonetheless a by-product of teen depression.
When it comes to bullying, think about the impact you’re having on people. Suicide is 100% preventable.