| Try Therapy for a Change copyright 2011 Antonia Caretto |
| www.BeTreatedWell.com |
| Antonia Caretto, Ph.D., PLLC (248) 553-9053 |
According to the 2005 report published by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN.org), homophobic bullying is pervasive within schools. Students are more likely to be subjected to homophobic bullying than bullying for most other reasons. Sixty-seven percent of Michigan students reported being harassed because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. Only fifty-four percent reported that they were protected by any school policy that forbid harassment for one’s sexual orientation. In Massachusetts on April 6, 2009 eleven year old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself. Ten days later, in Georgia, Jaheem Herrera (also eleven) hanged himself as well. Each of the boys had been the target of homophobic taunts at school. There is a proven link between being bullied and suicide. A recent meta-analysis of thirty-seven studies from thirteen countries conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine published in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health confirmed the connection between bullying and suicide. Nearly every one of the studies found connections between being bullied and suicidal thoughts among children. In five of the thirty-seven studies it was reported that bullying victims were between two to nine times more likely to report suicidal thoughts than other children were. A study conducted by Columbia University and published in the American Journal of Public Health found that the connection between being bullied and suicide disproportionately affects minority children. No child should be a victim of or even witness homophobic bullying. Like other hate crimes, bullying has more than one victim; it creates an atmosphere of fear and terror throughout the whole community. withdrawal from friends and activities changes in appetite or sleep patterns avoidance of school or other groups emotional distress or moodiness "acting out" in anger at home changes in behavior dropping grades anxiety |
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