Suicides of bullying victims a rare response

Jaheem Herrera killed himself, his family believes, because of the relentless harassment by bullies at his DeKalb County school.

He is not alone.

In other parts of the country, young people have been pushed by bullies to the point where they have taken their own lives.

Carl Walker-Hoover’s death is forcing Springfield, Mass., residents to confront the issue of bullying. Kids at the charter school Walker-Hoover attended as a sixth-grader taunted and threatened the boy. On April 11, Carl hanged himself with an extension cord.

Bullies targeted Maria Herrera, also 11, at her New York elementary school. Family members told local news media that other kids harassed Maria about her braces, cut her hair, and taunted her.

In April 2008, Maria hanged herself with a belt in a closet.

“It can happen just once, but it’s enough to traumatize them,” said Brenda High, whose son, Jared, killed himself in 1998 after a violent encounter with a school bully. High, who sued the Pasco, Wash., school district for negligence, is active in pushing states to pass anti-bullying legislation.

“They’re young, and it’s a hard time for them physically and emotionally,” High said. “If someone bullies them, even just once, it can destroy them.”

Eric Mohat was a constant target of gay slurs and harassment from other students at the Mentor, Ohio, high school he attended. In 2007, Mohat killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Earlier this month, his parents filed a lawsuit this month against the school district, claiming educators failed to protect their son.

A University of Georgia researcher says it is rare, though no less disturbing, for bullied children to take their own lives.

“It shows we’re doing something wrong as an adult society that we allow something like this to happen, says Pamela Orpinas, a professor in UGA’s College of Public Health who has done extensive work on the issue of bullying.

Statistics generally say that some 30 percent of school children experience some form of bullying, either as a victim or a bully.

School can be a tense experience for those who are harassed, Orpinas said. “They can’t learn, they don’t have friends. There is a negative environment around them.”

“It’s a devastating thing to be constantly harassed,” said Olga Jarrett, an associate professor at Georgia State University who has worked with Atlanta area schools to develop anti-bullying programs.

Jarrett said schools must take a more active role in dealing with bullying behavior beyond zero-tolerance policies in place. Students must also step up to defend their schoolmates, she said.

“To be effective, it must be school wide,” she said.