NO to Bullying

The Glimpses and Glances blogger says NO to bullying, and I believe it is time for all this to end.

On April 29, a 13-year-old girl named Rachel Ehmke, a seventh grade student at Kasson/Mantorville Middle School, hanged herself at her home after enduring months of bullying by some of her classmates.

According to investigations, the bullying began last fall when the word "slut" was written across her locker and chewing gum was stuck to her textbooks. She had also been repeatedly taunted and labeled a "prostitute" by a group of girls. As if that weren't enough, an anonymous text message also spread among others students at her school, calling her a "slut" and asking other students to make her leave the school. This text message also included instructions telling those who received it to forward the text message to "everyone you know", according to one parent. Her parents apparently did find out about this bullying, bu the 13-year-old pleaded with her father to not let school officials know about the bullying, for fear that everything would get worse. 

Local authorities are getting ready to file possible criminal charges, though Rachel's family does not plan to sue those who had been involved in the bullying. 

According to a report by the US Education Department, Minnesota, along with two other states, prohibits bullying but does not properly define what "bullying" is. It is also the state with the shortest anti-bullying law in the United States, with a mere 37 words.

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The suicide of 13-year-old Rachel Ehmke is not the first reported case of bullying-related suicide incidents in the United States or anywhere else around the world. It has also been reported that suicide is the third leading cause of death among younger people. A study conducted in the United Kingdom has discovered that at least half of suicide incidents among teens may be attributed to bullying, with 10-14 year-old girls being the most vulnerable. 

These statistics are indeed alarming. Though some may argue that bullying is just a part of childhood and may also help  a child "toughen up" or would help him/her deal with future conflicts easier, bullying's negative effects far outweigh the so-called "good" effects. Victims of bullying are known to exhibit signs of depression, withdrawal or anxiety. Bullying victims may also become less focused at school, or may also tend to avoid going to school altogether. In worse cases, the victim may also consider suicide and if pushed too far, may actually resort to committing the act, just as what happened to Rachel and many others before her who had done the same. 

What is needed, I believe, is more action on the part of school or local government officials to combat this issue. Though some places around the world may have anti-bullying laws in effect, they may not be actually given much importance or are not implemented properly. Parents should also be able to know whether or not their child is being bullied at school (by looking for symptoms such as a decreasing appetite or attitude changes), so that proper action may be taken immediately. Parents should also not be afraid to file criminal charges against those who have bullied their child, especially if the child's school has failed to take proper action. A confidence boost for the child (such as by playing sports, or being more interactive with others) may also help, since a higher self-esteem may help in making the child less vulnerable to bullying attacks. 

Bullying has been a global issue for many years now. More and more cases of bullying-related suicides are being reported in news channels around the world, particularly in the United States. Still, not much is really being done to prevent these incidents from happening. By now, people ought to be more aware of the harmful effects of bullying, especially since information carried out through the internet is now more easily accessible. People surely must realize that bullying is still rampant and will continue to be a problem, not unless proper steps are to be taken. We can't waste any more time--BULLYING MUST STOP NOW.

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Aside from Rachel Ehmke, here are a few more reported cases of bullying-related suicides among young students:

Name: Megan Meier

Died: October 17, 2006 (13 years old)
From: Missouri, USA

Three weeks before her 14th birthday, 13-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself inside her closet at their home in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri after becoming a victim of cyber bullying. Hurtful messages were posted about her through the social networking site MySpace, through a fake account with the name "Josh Evans". Apparently this account had been created by the mother of a former friend of Meier, along with her daughter and another young woman. They apparently planned to use the fake account to gather information about Megan and later humiliate her, as a form of revenge for allegedly spreading gossip about her former friend.

Name: Ashlynn Conner

Died: November 11, 2011 (10 years old)

From: Ridge Farm, Illinois

For two years, Ashlynn Conner had been bullied by her classmates. It all began when she had cut her hair short, and her classmates soon began calling her "pretty boy". The taunting never stopped even after her hair had grown again. On November 10, 2011, she came home and told her mother that she had been called a "slut", though she did not even know what that word meant. She had apparently also been called "fat" and "ugly". The next day, she was found dead by her older sister, hanging from a scarf in her closet. 

Name: Jamey Rodemeyer

Died: September 18, 2011 (14 years old)

From: Amherst, New York

Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 years old, was found dead by his sister. Jamey had hung himself after constant taunting and homophobic bullying. Jamey, who is bisexual,  had been advocating against homophobia prior to his death. He had created a YouTube account under the name xgothemo99x and posted videos that sought to help others who were victims of homophobic bullying. 

Name: Chevonea Kendall-Bryan

Died: March 29, 2011 (13 years old)

From: London, United Kingdom

On March 29, 2011, 13-year-old Chevonea Kendall-Bryan fell 60ft from the fifth floor of her home in Battersea, London in an apprent sucide as a result of bullying. Although her parents have denied that their daughter was bullied and that her death was a result of an accident, several of her school friends had posted on Facebook tributes that she was bullied. 

Name: Sheniz Erkan

Died: January 9, 2012 (14 years old)

From: Melbourne, Australia

A week before her 15th birthday, Sheniz Erkan from Australia took her own life after being bullied online and on social networking sites. Following her death, a tribute page had been created for her, which today has over 38,000 likes. Some people, however, still managed to post negative comments about her.

Name: Mitchell Wilson

Died: September 2011 (11 years old)

From: Ontario, Canada

Mitchell Wilson from Ontario, Canada took his own life by suffocating himself, ten months after he was attacked by a 12 year-old, who had smashed his face on the pavement and stole an iPhone which Mitchell had borrowed from his father. Although the boy had been expelled from school, Mitchell was traumatized by the incident and suffered from anxiety attacks. On the morning of his first day of school in September 2011, he was found in his room with a plastic bag tied around his head.