Bullying and Suicide

It is thought that around 5000 people a year commit suicide because of bullying in the UK alone. In all probability the ‘actual’ figure will be far greater than this.

It is reported that at least 16 children commit suicide because of bullying each year in the UK. So common is this, that it now has its own name = BULLYCIDE. As usual there could be an enormous difference between the ‘actual’ number of suicides and the much smaller official estimate. At present some 19,000 children are said to attempt suicide annually - one every half hour. 

Bullying not only causes physical injury, it also causes emotional / psychiatric injuries too, reactive depression being the most obvious consequence. Around two million children see their GP each year for emotional and psychological problems

Source The Sun December 16, 2006

TORMENTED BEN

FOUND HANGED

A LAD aged 11hanged himself from his bunk bed after school bullies made his life hell.

     Ben Vodden walked home in despair after another day's torment and made a noose in his room.

     Witnesses said Ben, nicknamed Giggles due to his normally bubbly nature, was often whipped with shoelaces by cruel classmates.

     His mum Caroline said last night: "We are distraught."

     Ben, a keen baseball player and pianist who enjoyed wildlife programmes, went to Tanbridge House School in Horsham, West Sussex.

     Workers at the Diamond Cuisine takeaway near where he got off the bus home said they often saw him bullied by a gang of lads.

     One said: "Ben would get punched, kicked and whipped. The bullies called him all sorts of names. It was non-stop for him."

      Head Maureen Johnson said: "Ben will be remembered for his ability to make others laugh."

Source: The Sunday Mirror, Date: September the 11th, 2005

 

Grandmother Kathleen O’Shea spent the last few months of her life living in her kitchen to escape the taunts of her next door neighbours.

They would shout: “Tonight’s the night we’re going to get you out “ her family said last night.

The frail 79 year old threw herself in the river after 8 years of verbal abuse and noise.

Her grandson Matthew Dorrance, 21, said the kitchen of her semi in Brecon, Mid Wales, was the only place she could get some peace. A coroner, last week, ordered police to investigate her suicide, naming Lydon Charles and family as her alleged tormentors. Student Matthew said: “They called her a fucking bitch and a whore. I was at her house one night when they had a drinking party in the back garden. I couldn’t believe my eyes as one guest deliberately vomited into my grandmothers garden.,”

He added “In the end sleep deprivation got to her. In a way she was bullied to death”. The gran complained to police 10 times between 1997 and 2005.

 

Request for free information on bullying
A free service from Bully OnLine at The Field Foundation

The free newsletter Bullying Times is published each month online: click here

Tim Field regrets he is currently indisposed and is unable to supply this information to you personally by email.

All the free information is provided by the links below - please help yourself.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT BULLYING
Answers to frequently-asked questions about bullying are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/faq.htm

WHY ME?
An answer to this question can be found at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/bully.htm#Why

OVERCOMING MYTHS, MISPERCEPTIONS AND STEREOTYPES ABOUT BULLYING
Myths, misperceptions and inappropriate bullying stereotypes are deconstructed at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/myths.htm

An equivalent page deconstructing myths, misperceptions and stereotypes of child and school bullying can be found at www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/myths.htm

HOW TO RECOGNISE A SERIAL BULLY
See www.bullyonline.org/workbully/serial.htm

PHRASES AND STRATEGIES FOR TARGETS
At www.bullyonline.org/action/words.htm there's an unreferenced page of phrases and strategies which will empower you to take purposeful action.

PHRASES AND STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYERS
At www.bullyonline.org/action/empwords.htm there's an unreferenced page of phrases and strategies which will enable you to tackle the serial bully in your organisation.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF WHAT BULLYING DOES TO YOUR HEALTH
See www.bullyonline.org/stress/health.htm

HOW BULLYING CAUSES PSYCHIATRIC INJURY AND PTSD
See www.bullyonline.org/stress/ptsd.htm

INFORMING YOUR EMPLOYER OF STRESS
See www.bullyonline.org/action/inform.htm

THE USE OF PSYCHIATRISTS TO UNDERMINE AND DISMISS WHISTLEBLOWERS AND TARGETS OF BULLYING
See the articles referenced at www.bullyonline.org/action/action.htm#Shrink

DEALING WITH A GAGGING CLAUSE
See www.bullyonline.org/action/gagclaus.htm

GETTING A REFERENCE AFTER BULLYING
See www.bullyonline.org/action/referenc.htm

SUPPORT GROUPS
Details of support groups are at www.bullyonline.org/resources/groups.htm

RECOVERY FROM BULLYING
See www.bullyonline.org/action/recover.htm

TIME LIMITS FOR LEGAL ACTION IN CIVIL MATTERS
See www.bullyonline.org/action/timelim.htm

PREPARING FOR AN EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL
See www.bullyonline.org/action/tribunal.htm

IN CONSIDERATION OF A PERSONAL INJURY ACTION
See www.bullyonline.org/action/persinj.htm

PROCEEDING WITH A DISABILITY CASE
See www.bullyonline.org/action/disability.htm

WHY TRADE UNIONS FAIL TO SUPPORT BULLIED MEMBERS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
See www.bullyonline.org/workbully/public.htm

LETTER TO A TRADE UNION GENERAL SECRETARY
At www.bullyonline.org/action/template.htm there's a template letter you may wish to consider if your union is refusing to support you or denying you the legal services to which you believe your membership entitles you.

RECOGNISING UNSCRUPULOUS AND UNQUALIFIED LEGAL PEOPLE
See www.bullyonline.org/action/lawyer.htm

DEALING WITH BULLYING AT HOME OR IN THE FAMILY
See www.bullyonline.org/familybully/index.htm

DEALING WITH CHILD AND SCHOOL BULLYING
I recommend visiting Bullying Online at www.bullying.co.uk which contains a wealth of information and advice on dealing with bullying at school, especially where the school is failing in its duty of care.

Links to other web sites, organisations and people tackling child and school bullying are at www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/links.htm

At www.bullyonline.org/action/words.htm there's an unreferenced page of phrases and strategies which are designed for dealing with bullying in the workplace, however, there is much that can be applied to bullying in other contexts.

When we were writing our book Bullycide: death at playtime (www.successunlimited.co.uk/books/bullycid.htm) we discovered that if bullying is rife in the playground then it's likely to be rife in the staffroom, and vice-versa. A teacher or principal who is bullying members of staff is likely to be bullying the pupils also.

Teachers are the largest group of enquirers to Bully OnLine and in most cases the identified serial bully is the head teacher with one of the behaviour profiles at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/serial.htm.

In these cases the good teachers - the majority - become disempowered and disenfranchised. The bullying is designed to try and hide the fact that the principal lacks integrity and maturity and thus, significantly, does not have control of discipline but is now embarking on a campaign to vilify the bullied child and their family in order to divert attention away from his or her lack of competence and to evade liability and personal accountability.

MEMORIAL LIST OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN DRIVEN TO SUICIDE BY BULLYING
See www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/cases.htm

BULLYING BY NEIGHBOURS
See www.bullyonline.org/related/neighbor.htm

GUIDANCE ON RECOGNISING AND DEALING WITH sTALKERS AND INTERNET STALKING
See www.bullyonline.org/related/stalking.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN THE USA
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/usa.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN CANADA
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/canada.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN AUSTRALIA
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/oz.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN IRELAND
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/ireland.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN FINLAND
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/finland.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN SWEDEN
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/sweden.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN GERMANY
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/germany.htm

RESOURCES FOR TACKLING BULLYING IN FRANCE
..are at www.bullyonline.org/workbully/france.htm

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
The latest opportunities for speaking publicly about your experience can be found at www.bullyonline.org/media/media.htm

VIDEOS ON BULLYING
Videos on bullying are at www.bullyonline.org/resources/videos.htm

BULLYING CASE HISTORIES: STORIES OF SURVIVORS
See www.bullyonline.org/cases/index.htm

WHAT MOTIVATED TIM FIELD TO SET UP BULLY ONLINE AND SUCCESS UNLIMITED?
See www.bullyonline.org/cases/case2.htm

THE SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF TRAUMA
The spiritual aspects of traumatic experiences are explored at www.bullyonline.org/action/recover.htm#Spiritual and www.bullyonline.org/stress/ptsd.htm#Transformation and www.successunlimited.co.uk/spirituality/spiritual.htm

BOOKS ON BULLYING AND RELATED TOPICS
Suggested reading on and around the subject of bullying can be found at www.bullyonline.org/resources/books.htm
Books published by Success Unlimited on bullying and psychiatric injury are listed on the home page of Success Unlimited at www.successunlimited.co.uk/index.htm