Did you know??
- It is estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students.
-1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying.
-71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school. -90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.
-71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school. -90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.
-According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying.
- Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents.
-Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims.
To be perfectly honest I find it quite fascinating, that the most common form of revenge is leading people to believe and feel that they should take their own life because of how others treat them. They feel never taking another breath is better than letting themselves be overpowered and pushed around by others. Those who have to walk around afraid to be themselves or go home with a black eye are the ones that we need to be standing up for. Most victims of bullying have no one to go to, no one who will stand up for them, and no where to turn. If you went up to multiple people most would say that if they witnessed bullying they would try to end it, yet when they are faced with the decision their word is untrue. Where are the people who will stand up even if they are standing alone? As this worldwide problem progresses the people who stand up for the victims are slowly fading away. More and more people are taking their life as a solution to a problem that is only temporary.
For example: Phoebe Prince was bullied throughout middle and high school. People made fun of her wherever she went whether she was walking home or going to the girls’ restroom. No respect was shown to her. One day a couple of people drove by her as she was walking home after school, they rolled down their window as they shouted horrible words and threw large empty cans at her. After Phoebe’s suicide her friends told reporters the she tried to block them out but they were too strong and hurtful. The day Phoebe committed suicide she went to two counselors just for help but it seemed no one would listen.
For me personally my mind thinks about what is someone stopped, listened, and just showed Phoebe that there are people in the world who do care about her then what would the outcome be? Even excluding that thought, the people we look to for guiding and help the most in high school didn't give her the time of day. I am positive that Phoebe would have appreciated words of wisdom from a teenager would have maybe even been more effective. The smallest conversation can make the biggest difference.
Eden Wormer, an eighth grader, committed suicide after two years of being bullied by girls in her school. Her older sister, Audri, said that Eden changed her appearance several times in an effort to fit in, and begged her older sister not to report the bullying because she thought it would only make the problem worse. ABC said Wormer's suicide is the latest in a string of youthful suicides that have been attributed to bullying and have prompted a spate of anti-bullying legislation across the country.
So who do innocent young teenagers have to take their life for us to notice how big of a problem this situation is? We should not just stand around and let this reoccur time and time again. It's up to this generation to put a stop to it. Don't leave it up to the adults or hope someone else will stand up. IT'S YOUR TIME to stand up.
