School Bullying and Youth Suicide - Enough is Enough.

As tragic headlines of many, like Adriana Kuch, the 14 year-old girl in New Jersey that took her life after a video was posted online continue to come and go with a sickening regularity, it is time to realize how our actions and words as a society are creating a culture that is leading to the devaluation of life.?

First, the word “Bullying” – Let’s call it what it is. It’s abuse – period. As a society, by labeling the actions of physical assault, psychological torture and torment, and actions that are designed to impose fear, embarrassment, and isolation as “bullying”, we are creating a norm by which there is a line between what’s acceptable and what is criminal. That line seems to be two-fold – one’s age, where it takes place, and who has a responsibility to act.

Second, our actions – In many of these cases, there are certainly more facts to be learned. But you don’t have to look far or take long to see gaps it what was known, what should have been known, and what could have been done. From the physical environment and school culture to online Tik-Toc and the dark web, our world is filled with sickening hashtags, videos, and vitriol that exploit our kids.?

Do trusted adults know, do parents know, or do we choose not too?

The question must be asked: When will enough be enough?

Understanding the pervasive issue of bullying and its devastating effects on students is just the first part of this conversation. Statistics such as these are reason enough for concern – and require action by parents, K-12, and community leaders.

- In the US, 1 in 5 students ages 12-18 has been bullied during the school year.

- Approximately 160,000 teens have skipped school because of bullying.

With the rise of smart phones, installed cameras in schools, and online scanning, information is everywhere. Consider that we see over 4,000 tips per week coming into School Tip Lines, the most common tips are related to self-harm and weapons. Over 33M online school and social media alerts indicated a potential for harm – harm to self of others.?

One might make the comment, “we aren’t the internet police” or “all we can do is suspend”. In the case of Adriana, it wasn’t about being the internet police. It was about bystander apathy. It was about recognizing the signs. It was about the duty of care we as trusted adults in positions to protect and serve. The trauma inflicted by bullying can have real and lasting impacts on both the emotional and physical health of students, as well as academic performance. Bullying is also a risk factor for youth suicide.

- Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University

- A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying

It was about a culture of safety. It was about a culture of respect. It was about a duty of care.?

If we want to stop the next mass shooting, the next suicide, the next child to drop out of school, we must commit ourselves to doing more.?

Schools are tasked with enormous responsibility – to administrate, to educate and to create a safe and supportive environment for students in their schools. It is not enough to simply administer policy; school leaders have a duty to protect students both physically and psychologically. Bullying is rampant in our schools today, and it is often fostered by someone within the school, towards another at the school. Thus, and by extension, schools have the responsibility to protect beyond the physical. That safety-net must extend to the digital spaces where school-based, in-person bullying and other harmful acts gets broadcast to extended audiences, often eliciting additional instances of cyberbullying, force multiplying the impacts on the victim.

The tragedy of bullying-related suicides is that these deaths didn't have to happen. The recent shooting of a Virginia teacher didn’t have to happen. School safety is complex. Bullying, a single threat, or physical fight isn't just about one person or maybe two - It's a complex and dynamic web of human emotions that involve home, physical, and social circumstances, of which behavior is the output. Safety requires a multi-layered and integrated approach and involves everyone involved to be part of the solution. We cannot dismiss and trivialize what we know or what we see. To do so is to sanction. To not address bullying in schools, or deny the lack of safety and intervention protocols, all will be held accountable for the incidents that occur as a result. The days of hiding and sweeping bad behavior of students and staff in the schools is over.

Our data shows that digital and social media alerts related to self-harm are up 51% year over year. This is in comparison to the 25% increase year over year that we have seen in alerts related to weapons and harm to others. When looking at these numbers and thinking about the known impacts of bullying on both harm to self and harm to others, ask yourself: If we were to consider each suicide as a potential mass shooting, would we take this more seriously??

Enough is enough.?

It's time to take more action to prevent bullying and its devastating effects, including self-harm and suicides. It’s time to not just raise awareness but also to implement effective strategies to identify, treat, and cure the relationships that are leading to a devaluation of life, loss of life and normalization of deviance.

Every child deserves to go to school, absent of fear. Every child deserves the opportunity to become an adult, sadly, so many don’t get that opportunity.

Zero incidents is what we strive for. Doing anything less is simply not an option.

-- JP Guilbault, CEO Navigate360

Additional Resources:

No Bully Help Hotline: 1-866-488-7386

STOMP Out Bullying HelpLine: view hours and chat online

GLBT National Youth Talkline: 1-800-246-7743

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255