Bullycide Articles

In The book, “Death at Playtime,” Tim Field and Neil Marr investigate and cite several cases of bullycide

By Mandy-Jane Clarke

If your son or daughter is being bullied at school, there is cause for concern, and immediate intervention by school officials must be initiated.  Why?  Bullycide has now become an alarming statistic among teens and younger children who are bullied by their peers.  What is bullycide? In effect, bullycide is the act of suicide caused by continuous bullying. 

In their book, “Death at Playtime,” Tim Field and Neil Marr investigate and cite several cases of bullycide in which teens have taken their lives because they can no longer deal with the prospect of going to school and being bullied all day long.

“Death at Playtime” also cites some startling statistics on bullycide.  “Over 19,000 children attempt suicide – one every half hour.”   These children, our precious resources, make a decision to take their lives to avoid being harassed and, in some cases, beaten by their peers.  What has happened to our youth?  What is the driving force behind such inconceivable behavior that we are losing our greatest hope for the future?

Bullycide is causing “16 deaths a year” in schools in London alone, according to the
Tim Field and Neil Marr book.  One has to ask: Who is looking after our children?  What steps are being taken to stop this insanity in our schools?  Obviously, nothing is being done nor are programs being put in place to stop bullying behavior in schools. 

Imagine a child who is constantly bullied in school.  They can’t eat, hardly sleep, can’t focus on their school work, remain alone most of the time out of fear, and cannot speak to any authority figure because there may be retaliation.  These children, and they are children after all, are always looking over their shoulder anticipating the worst.

Bullycide and suicide prevention are synonymous.   If you stop one, you will succeed in stopping the other.   How does bullying end up as a tragic consequence such as suicide?  Let’s suppose you have a child who is constantly being harassed by his peers.  There are many methods bullies use to achieve their goal.  They can break into your son or daughter’s locker at school, steal their book bag, threaten them with physical violence if they do not do what the bully asks, follow them home from school, or wait for them away from school grounds with a group of friends who will watch as the lead bully beats this defenseless kid.  

Now the child who has been physically and emotionally beaten is left alone to deal with the pain and humiliation.  He or she cannot find a sufficient remedy to stop the bullying and finally, soberly, takes his or her own life.  Where is the outcry from parents and school officials?  How much longer are these children going to suffer at the hands of one troubled youth?

In the book “Death at Playtime,” there is a passage from a diary of a 13-year old boy.  In this passage, he eloquently but in a most heart-rending fashion, notes his feelings about being bullied:

“I shall remember forever and will never forget.
Monday: my money was taken.
Tuesday: names called.
Wednesday: my uniform torn.
Thursday: my body pouring with blood.
Friday: it's ended.
Saturday: freedom.

“Vijay Singh was his name, and he was found hanging from the banister rail at his home…”

This article is courtesy of http://www.Stop-Bullies.com Stop-Bullies.com is a resource site covering specific areas of Bullying including Cases of Bullycide and the book Death at Playtime.