At least two children in every class have contemplated suicide because of bullying, Diana Award study reveals
At least two children in every class has contemplated suicide because of bullying, a study for the Diana Award has revealed.
More than half, (57 per) cent of children say they have been bullied at some point in their school lives, of which almost one in five (17 per cent) say it had made them feel suicidal.
More than three quarters (78 per cent) of those bullied at school say it had made them anxious and more than half (56 per cent) have not been able to sleep at night.
The Diana Award, a charity set up in honour of Princess Diana and which is backed by her son Prince William, campaigns for anti-bullying pupil ambassadors in schools.
In support of the campaign, Labour MP Chrid Elmore reveals for the first time on a video that he thought of taking his own life after bullies kicked him until he bled, urinated on his PE clothes and spat “all over” his face.
“There were points when I was 13/14 years old when I would have happily not have been here anymore. I googled taking my own life. I thought it would have been easier than dealing with the bullies,” he said.
Others who have made videos in support of the campaign are TV presenter Peter Andre, boxer Lawrence Okolie, Jamie Campbell and model and TV personality Penny Lancaster.
The research, by Survation, also shows 54 per cent of children aged 11 to 16 who have been bullied have avoided social events, 35 per cent have missed school and a fifth (20 per cent) have changed schools or become home-schooled because of it
As 10 million children return to school today (Monday), 40 per cent say they are worried about going back because of bullying. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) think their school does not tackle bullying effectively.
More than a third (36 per cent) of parents are worried that their child has behaved in a bullying manner, according to the survey of 1,003 parents and children.
Mr Elmore described how, as a teenager, he faced organised bullying at his secondary school designed to “make my life a misery.” After being punched in the face twice, his headteacher told him “not to worry about it.”
In science classes he was kicked in the shins until they bled and threatened with a lit bunsen burner. “One time in a PE lesson, a group of girls took my clothes, wrapped them around an urinal and urinated on them,” said the MP.
“Another occasion I was held in a school field, screamed at, told not to leave. I ended up messing myself because I was too frightened to leave.”
He contemplated suicide after a boy spat at him as they were deciding their course options: “He said to me: ‘If you are going to be in my class you had better look out.’ When I say spat, he wretched down phlegm and spat all over my face.
“I went home and said if that happens again tomorrow, I am not sure I can deal with that. It’s probably best I am not here any more. That was pretty grim.”
Peter Andre said he was an “outcast” when he moved to Australia where anyone with a Mediterranean appearance was labelled a “wog” even by his teachers.
“I remember these kids tied me up to a fence and took turns throwing stones at me trying to see who was going to hit me in the head. They were laughing and calling me a ‘greasy wog’, it was horrific. I was really scared, I was petrified,” he said.
Boxer Lawrence Okolie said: “I was always big for my age so it was the older boys who would do the name calling, the punching and the kicking. The walks home, getting chased, that’s where it was tough.
“I remember making myself sick so that I could leave school early and avoid having to see people on the way home. I remember being in the bathroom trying to pull the fat off, but obviously that wasn’t going to work.”
The Diana Award has trained over 33,000 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors in 3,800 schools throughout the UK.
