By Abigail Clarke: Contributing Content Blogger
Bullycide is defined by most as the act of an individual who takes their own life as a result of being bullied. It is a term that has just recently begun to gain traction in bigger circles as a real problem. Bullying has traditionally been considered a rite of passage for everyone as they go through childhood. It is viewed as a toughening up of a person and helps one to deal with the hard knocks of the adult world. This couldn't be further from the actual reality. Cyberbullying has flown under the radar as a major cause of suicides committed every day not only by children but by adults as well. The tendency is to write off a suicide death as being carried out by someone who is troubled or having emotional problems that led to their final act, but in many cases this wrongly places more fault on the suicide victim than those who are really responsible. In fact it allows bullies to dodge accountability through arguing and justifying their actions by placing blame on the victim’s mental instability.
We must raise awareness to the fact bullying is not just something people need to buck up and deal with. It's clear now that its damage is more profound than ever thought before, unequivocally eroding away the confidence and self worth of a victim causing unrecoverable damage in their life which in many cases ultimately ends in suicide. It is also becoming well known that bullying doesn’t just occur with children but is extremely common in the adult workplace. Studies have been done showing that suicides in adults can be linked directly to some kind of bullying taking place at work or through the internet in association with work. The commonality with children and adults is the same. Physical death. In what country, in what world, can we possibly be agreeable to this?
