Have you ever seen a story on the news about a teen committing suicide? Chances are, you have because suicide is the third highest cause of death among teens. You may be a close friend or relative of a suicide victim, or maybe you’ve been lucky enough to not have any experience with suicide in your life. It might be unthinkable why teens commit suicide, it was to me, until I looked closer. One of the major reasons of teen suicide is bullying. Teasing, taunting, pushing, tripping, verbal, and physical, bullying is in every school, everywhere.


It’s two to nine times more likely that bully victims will commit suicide then non-victims. Thirty percent of students are bullies or victims, a huge number. That’s one in seven pupils. Also, 160,000 victims stay home from school every day. Think about what that means, low performance in grades, missing out on notes, and so much more. Bullies make a large impact on their victim’s lives.



So who gets bullied? There’s an easy answer to that, anyone and everyone. People get picked on because of appearance, race, religion, and homosexuality. Sometimes they are bullied for no apparent reason whatsoever. Bullying victims are more likely to develop depression later in life, but they can also become depressed soon after the bullying starts. When people are bullied they lose self-esteem and hope. It can get so bad that they feel the only option is suicide.


When you search bullying and suicide on the internet, thousands of results pop up. They’re everything from statistics, to heart-wrenching stories of families torn apart because of a teen who committed suicide due to bullying. Bullies gang up on, and attack others. Some bullies are imprisoned for their abuse. Some adults think that bullying is a natural part of childhood, but I hope these facts will show all who read it that it shouldn’t be handled lightly.



What’s being done to help bullying? There are many organizations that fight bullying and spread the word. Some schools require their students to sign an “Anti-Bullying Pledge.” Still, so many people have seen bullying and done nothing about it. Something needs to be done to make teens understand that their name-calling can lead to death, and the punishment will be great.


A Florida father, James Jones, learned that his daughter, who has cerebral palsy, was being teased on the school bus. Enraged, he stormed on the bus and ranted, swearing at the kids and driver to leave his daughter alone. He is being wildly applauded by many parents, and though this is a drastic measure that I do not recommend, it’s a sign of the frustration among parents of victims. The final line is this, not enough is being done to stop bullying. We have two options, help or don’t. We can tell bullies that their action have serious consequences, or we can help victims handle the attacks. Whatever the decision is, it needs to be done quickly, because bullying victims are losing hope, and fast.