October is National Bullying Prevention Month. Every year, organizations raise awareness about bullying, hold parades and empowerment sessions, and lobby for harsher punishments for bullies. Every year, it doesn’t seem to matter, as bullying claims more victims’ lives.
The most recent victim — that we know of — was 16-year-old Channing Smith, who committed suicide after his classmates outed then bullied him for being gay. He is one of the dozens of children who have killed themselves due to bullying, especially cyberbullying, which has a way of following them home from school.
Over the past 15 years, with every high-profile case of bullying, new laws have been enacted, and existing laws strengthened, to address what increasingly seems to be an epidemic. The names of the victims have been attached to both legislative bills (such as the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act and Phoebe’s Law) and awareness foundations (such as the Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover Foundation). With each so-called “bullycide,” more people organize to stop this deadly menace that’s inextricably tied to school life.
Most people agree that bullying is bad and can be deadly, and over the past few years, anti-bullying efforts have ramped up.
Why, then, can’t we stop it?
