National Association of Social Workers

Rash of Suicides Puts Spotlight on Bullying

‘We Must Help Students Develop a Sense of Empathy ... as Early as Possible’

As many as one in four U.S. students are bullied with some frequency.

By Matthew Malamud, News Staff

John Michael Yanson

Justin Aaberg, Cody Barker, Asher Brown, Harrison Chase Brown, Raymond Chase, Tyler Clementi, Jeheem Herrera, Billy Lucas, Felix Sacco, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, Seth Walsh — each of these boys, only teenagers, reportedly unable to cope with the torment by their peers for being gay, took their own lives last year.

Their tragic deaths made national headlines, bringing much-needed attention to the enduring problem of bullying in schools.

For example, the rash of incidents inspired Dan Savage, a gay, internationally syndicated relationship advice columnist, to create the It Gets Better Project (www.itgetsbetter.org), a collection of videos featuring celebrities and non-celebrities alike, assuring bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth that their lives will improve in adulthood.

Even President Barack Obama weighed in.

“There are people out there who love you and care about you just the way you are,” Obama says in his It Gets Better video. “And so, if you ever feel like because of bullying, because of what people are saying, that you’re getting down on yourself, you’ve got to make sure to reach out to people you trust. Whether it’s your parents, teachers, folks that you know care about you just the way you are, you’ve got to reach out to them. Don’t feel like you’re in this by yourself.”

Last year’s suicides also spurred a handful of state legislatures to pass anti-bullying laws — or to strengthen them, as in New Jersey following the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. On Sept. 22, 18-year-old Clementi jumped off a bridge after discovering that his roommate secretly recorded Clementi having sex with a man and put the video online for others to see.

New Jersey’s anti-bullying “bill of rights” requires, among other things, anti-bullying training for all teachers, administrators and school board members. (All but five states — Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota — and D.C. have anti-bullying laws.)

And last year, two of the state’s members of Congress — Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Rep. Rush Holt, both Democrats — introduced the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act. The bill would require higher education institutions nationwide to establish anti-harassment policies. It also officially recognizes cyberbullying as a form of harassment. The legislators are expected to reintroduce the bill in the new Congress.

Scope of the problem: Like Obama said, young LGBT individuals who are bullied aren’t in it by themselves. According to a 2005 survey of middle and high school students conducted by Harris Interactive and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 90 percent of students who identified as LGBT had been bullied in the previous year.

The label is so stigmatizing that Mental Health America says for every lesbian, gay and bisexual youth who is bullied, four straight students who are perceived to be gay or lesbian are bullied.

Sexual minorities and even those perceived to be sexual minorities are not the only targets of bullying, however. Statistics compiled by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration show that as many as one in four U.S. students are bullied with some frequency, with verbal bullying being the most common form experienced by both boys and girls. Children with disabilities or special needs may be at highest risk of being bullied.

Furthermore, victims of bullying are more likely than other children to be depressed, lonely, anxious, have low self-esteem and feel unwell in addition to having suicidal thoughts. They also are likely to fear going to school, using school bathrooms and riding on school buses.

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From February 2011 NASW News. © 2011 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.