Growing up and going through adolescents is hard enough for youth. For a Transgeder, Lesbian, Bisexual or Gay youth, it is even more difficult because we are different.
Bullies are cowards. They prey on others who appear to be weak. If they can, bullies attack from behind the veil of anonymity.
It is a school's responsibility to protect all children from bullies. It is the parent's responsibility to teach their children to respect all people.
The problem is the parents who are bullies. It is learned behavior.
Unfortunately, the bully is punished for their behavior. The parents go untouched. This is a case for family counseling. People arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol are ordered by the courts into counseling. The same should be done for the bully and their parents.
ISU study: Sexual-oriented cyberbullying common
BY JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD • JKROGSTAD@DMREG.COM • MARCH 22, 2010
A new Iowa State University study shows that cyberbullying is common among lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender youth, although recent research credits legislation in states like Iowa for reducing physical bullying.
The first national study on cyberbullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender youth, published last week, found more than half of those youth and those who identified themselves as allies of those youth reported being victims of online threats in the past month.
The harassment, which goes largely unreported, can range from threatening text messages to anonymous users posting public polls with degrading questions about their targets.
This relatively new form of bullying places already isolated youth in a difficult position: Turn off their only social connection to others like them, or face the threat of a bully's attack any time of day.
"You really can't avoid it, even in the privacy of your own bedroom," said ISU professor Warren Blumenfeld, the study's lead author.
This month, a study paid for by the U.S. Department of Justice found a marked drop in physical bullying among American children, even as cyberbullying increased nationwide.
Researchers attributed the reduction, in part, to anti-bullying laws similar to the one Iowa passed in 2007.
The legislation requires all schools to enact policies that prevent and punish bullying or harassment of students. Iowa is one of 12 states that prohibits bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity. When it passed, only 77 of Iowa's 365 public school districts had anti-bullying policies that included sexual orientation.
But online harassment, which is prohibited under Iowa's anti-bullying law, is harder to detect than physical and verbal abuse, and can have just as serious consequences.
ISU researchers posed dozens of questions to 444 students, ages 11 to 22. Nearly 80 percent identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
Researchers found cyberbullying caused respondents widespread depression, embarrassment and anxiety about attending school.
Most alarming, Blumenfeld said, is that more than a quarter of the respondents reported having suicidal thoughts.
The study showed that the experiences of Stephen Wayne Boatwright, a senior at Des Moines Hoover High School, are not unique.
There was a time when Boatwright, who is gay, braced himself for a blast of hate when he logged on to MySpace or checked text messages.
Fake online profiles filled with cruel information and harassing phone calls took their toll. In middle school, Boatwright dreaded attending classes and was depressed.
"I didn't want to show my face (at school) and have it be someone who sits right next to me in math class," he said.
But Boatwright never reported the abuse to an adult because he didn't believe anything could be done. The ISU study found most young people don't report cyberbullying for the same reason.
The feeling of helplessness is so widespread that Iowa Pride Network, an advocacy group, makes a concerted push to educate students about their rights under Iowa law, said Ryan Roemerman, the organization's executive director.
"We think if students actually have that information in their hands, they might be more likely to report," he said.
Key findings by Iowa State University researchers from a national online survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth:
- 57 percent said school officials couldn't do anything to stop cyberbullying.
- 55 percent said their parents couldn't do anything to stop cyberbullying.
- 54 percent reported being victims of cyberbullying in the prior month.
- 45 percent reported feeling depressed because of abuse.
- 40 percent said their parents wouldn't believe them if they reported the cyberbullying.
- 38 percent reported feeling embarrassed because of abuse.
- 28 percent reported feeling anxious about attending school because of abuse.
- 26 percent reported suicidal thoughts because of abuse.
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