Teen Bullying, Suicide, and Electronic Tools to Combat Them

On December 3, 12-year-old Ronin Shimizu, a former 6th grader enrolled at Folsom Middle School, committed suicide after schoolmates had bullied him for being a cheerleader.

• According to the CDC, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year. 
• 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
• 10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide, according to the study above
• According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying

Anonymous Alerts® is a tool which enables students to quickly report bullying, cyberbullying, depression, family problems, drug and alcohol abuse, gang-related issues, sexual harassment, guns/weapons in schools, theft/vandalism or unusual student behavior which may warrant immediate attention by school officials. The system is simple and secure for students and school officials.

Join us as we discuss these issues and more.