vikkiisagenderneutralname:

TRIGGER WARNING FOR SUICIDE, HETEROSEXIST VIOLENCE

occupyallstreets:

Gay Teen Commits Suicide After Classmates Threaten To Stab And Set Him On Fire

Brandon Elizares, a 16-year-old from El Paso, Texas, took his own life early this month after being bullied and threatened at school because of his sexuality, KVIA-TV reports.

“My name is Brandon Joseph Elizares and I couldn’t make it,” his suicide note read, according to the station. “I love you guys with all of my heart.”

The El Paso Times reports Elizares committed suicide the day after he received a threatening text from a classmate.

“He worried about everyone else before himself,” his mother, Zachalyn Elizares, told the paper. “He would say, ‘It’s OK, it doesn’t bother me.’ My son had a right to live how he wanted to live.”

Brandon’s mother also said she believed the school did everything they could to control the bullying.

“He’s been threatened to be stabbed. He’s been threatened to be set on fire,” Elizares told KFOX-TV. “They’ve reprimanded several kids and they did everything that they could.”

A Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) memorial service is scheduled for Friday in the teen’s hometown, where donations can be made to the PFLAG anti-bullying fund, the Dallas Voice reports.

(via triguenaista)

(Source: girlgiant, via riotgrrrlberlin)

nuestrahermana:

foreverliberal:

The article is here.  Sign the petition here.

Don’t Expel Bullied Gay Teen! 

Darnell “Dynasty” Young has been bullied for months — it has sometimes gotten so bad that he has thought about suicide. 

His mother contacted the school but instead of taking appropriate action, asked Darnell to “tone down” his accessories. That is victim blaming. 

Not knowing what to do, his mother sent him to school with a stun gun because he didn’t feel safe. On April 16, 6 students surrounded him threatening violence. He pulled out the stun gun and raised it in the air, setting off an electric charge. He did not use it on anyone — he simply scared them away, protecting himself. 

Young was soon arrested and taken away in handcuffs. He is now facing expulsion from the school.

Please tell Arsenal Technical High School to not expel Young — who hurt no one and was just trying to protect himself — and to change their school’s bullying policy to offer more protection for LGBT youth. No one should feel unsafe at school!

— Brittany 

Please re-blog and actually sign it. There is an option for your name NOT to be displayed online so, your safety is not an issue :) Petitions like this can in fact change the usual course of action…

(via queerandpresentdanger)

dancingdingledodies:

ourskin:

windsofstrange:xedgemodificationx:dirtyscratches:

‘Bullies made me do this to myself’

Bobbi Black’s scarred skin is a constant reminder of her tormented teenage years. Now she’s stopped self-harming, she bravely reveals the devastating effect it’s had on her body

By Karen Lipton

April 17, 2011

‘Running my fingers along the hundreds of translucent scars that criss-cross my body, I know that people must wonder what has happened to me.

They might think I’ve been in a car crash or a really bad accident. They might pity me or think I’m brave.

But I did this to myself. From the age of 11, I cut my skin with whatever sharp object I could find.

As the blood seeped out of my jagged wounds, I’d feel relief. Relief that I had some release for all the pain inside me. Relief that I was feeling something.

Growing up in Middlesbrough, I was always shy and a bit lonely. My parents were separated and my mum, Sarah Jane, 42, sent me to a different school from my primary school friends when I was 11.

Because I had no friends there, I was an easy target for the bullies, who used to steal my lunch money and torment me for being overweight. I was a size 12-14 when I was 12 years old, and to escape the taunts of ‘fatty’ during the day, I would comfort eat at night.

I asked my teachers for help - but it made things worse. Too embarrassed to confide in my mum or the few mates I did have, I grew more miserable.

The first time I cut myself is etched in my memory forever. I’d had a particularly bad day, and after school I lay on my bed sobbing. But crying wasn’t enough. I spotted a rectangular glass plate and I ran its sharp edges across my forearm until I drew blood. It hurt like hell, but at the same time I felt a massive release. It was like the blood was draining away all my hurt.

After that, I’d regularly self-harm. At first it would be once or twice a week, but it soon increased to the point that I’d self-harm every day.

I’d use anything sharp I could find. Broken CD covers, razor blades, pins… I’d even burn myself with lighters or lit cigarettes.

The blood was draining away my hurt

I continued doing this for almost two years, cutting the tops of my arms and thighs - places I could hide. I thought no one knew, but one day my home-economics teacher kept me behind after class. She’d spotted the scars on my arms, and was so sympathetic that I ended up confessing everything to her.

When my mum came to pick me up, she was distraught to find out that I’d been doing this so long, and she hadn’t had a clue.

I was referred to a psychiatric nurse, and the school arranged for me to see a counsellor once a fortnight. I was also prescribed antidepressants, but none of it really helped and I kept on cutting.

Meanwhile, the bullying continued. After my 14th birthday in July 2004, I read a message scrawled in the school toilets: ‘Bobbi is a stupid cow. Why don’t you just get on with it and die?’

I decided I didn’t want to go on any more. Back at home, I took all the pills out of our medicine cupboard and swallowed them.

The next thing I remember is my mum screaming, shaking me awake. I was rushed to hospital, where I stayed for six weeks. They kept me in because I kept saying I wanted to die - and I meant it. I was then sent to the adolescent psychiatric unit in Middlesbrough, but I was still cutting myself. It was the only way I could cope with the way I felt. But finally, after 13 months in hospital, thanks to a combination of medication and therapies including art therapy, I slowly began to recover.

I’d always been artistic and I started to find drawing a real distraction. I hadn’t completely stopped cutting myself, but it wasn’t as severe as before.

In February, I was discharged, just a few months before my 16th birthday. I felt elated and wanted a fresh start. So I enrolled at college to do art and design as well as photography. I also found a flat share with some girls on my course.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to make friends initially. I still felt so shy and uncertain, but I learned that not everyone was a bully. Some people actually liked me, and I started feeling quite optimistic.

It felt so good to be putting my energies into something creative. While I was drawing or painting, I’d forget completely about the cutting.

When I found out I’d got a place at the University of Westminster to study art, I was ecstatic. Three months after moving to London I felt strong enough to come off the medication, and gradually the self-harming stopped.

It’s been 10 months since I last cut myself - the longest I’ve ever gone. Like any addict, I can’t promise I’ll never do it again. But it used to be the first thing I’d turn to, and it’s not any more.

As for boyfriends, one ex did see the scars. I was nervous about showing him, but he said they were beautiful because they were part of me.

I’ve been happily single since moving to London, but when I meet someone I like I know I’ll have the strength to look him in the eye and tell him what I’ve been through.

When my new friends have asked about my scars, I’ve simply said: ‘I used to self-harm,’ and left it at that. They don’t ask prying questions, but some have confessed how awkward my scars used to make them feel.

I don’t ever flaunt my scars on holiday - I would never wear just a bikini, I always cover up with a kaftan. So posing like this was a nerve-racking decision. But being able to do it just shows me how far I’ve come in the past few years. And if it makes other young girls think twice about self-harming, then it’s worth it.

I’m now 21 and it’s still hard for me to look at my reflection without feeling regret. But as much as the scars bother me, I also know that the intense misery and pain that I used to feel have faded. For me, that’s what really matters.”

Self-harming: the facts

• Almost one in three young women have tried to self-harm.*
• People who self-harm are 50 times more likely to kill themselves.*
• The UK has one of the highest rates of self-harm in Europe, at 400 per 100,000 of the population.*

‘A physical wound is easier to deal with than an emotional one’

Dr Charlie Alcock is a clinical psychologist, and founder and CEO of the young person’s mental health charity MAC-UK.

“When someone goes to the extreme of self-harming it’s usually because it’s the only way they can deal with a stressful or upsetting situation.

They may feel they can’t control what happens around them, but they can control what they do to their body.

As it’s generally quite a secretive illness, it’s sometimes hard to spot a self-harmer. They often hurt themselves in places that can’t be seen, so only they know they’ve done it.

If you’re worried that someone you know is self-harming, get help. The main port of call should be a GP, who can refer them to a trained expert. But if the sufferer doesn’t feel ready to talk about it face to face with someone there are many online support groups. If an injury is severe then always go straight to A&E.”

• For help and support, visit Selfharm.co.uk, Mind.org.uk or MAC-UK’s site, Musicandchange.com. Alternatively, call the National Self Harm Network on 0800 622 6000.

gorgeous <3

(via imgTumble)

reblogging because it annoys me when people say ‘but why would you do that to yourself?’

knowhomo:

PFLAG’S:

What Can I Do to Make My

School Safe for LGBT Youth?

Here are 5 ways you can make your school safer for LGBT students no matter what your role:

If you’re a student:

• Doing nothing can be worse than the act itself: Report harassment, bullying, or threats targeted at LGBT students to a trusted teacher or advisor.
• Encourage your teachers to address homophobia and transphobia in the classroom by posting safe-space posters, stopping hate speech, and supporting gay-straight alliances (GSAs).
• Watch what you say: Don’t use words associated with being LGBT as euphemisms for stupid and explain to friends and peers who do why they shouldn’t.
• Ask your school to address LGBT issues by having a Pride Week, bringing a speaker to your school, and talking about sexual orientation and gender identity in class.
• Support your LGBT peers by joining a GSA: the A stands for ally.

If you’re a teacher:

• Stop hate speech in your classroom. Speak out if you hear a student in your class or in the halls using words like “fag”, “dyke”, or “gay” as put-downs or insults.
• Ask your administrator for the opportunity to attend “Respect for All” training for diversity and LGBT issues.
• Participate in educators’ conferences, and speak to current and future teachers about being allies for LGBT staff and students.
• Post safe-space posters, materials, or just talk to your students about why your classroom a safe-space, free of harassment, bias, and violence.
• Support gay-straight alliances, chaperon LGBT positive proms, and help LGBT students and staff advocate for fair school policies.

If you’re an administrator or guidance counselor:

• Reach out to both parents and students to help make them aware that peers may be struggling with sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Meet with teachers and parents to help them learn about the issues that their students, children, or their children’s peers may be facing as a LGBT person.
• Make sure your library, school healthcare workers, and health teachers include accurate information about gender identity, LGBT sexuality, and health.
• Ensure that the NYC DOE’s “Respect for All” program and the Chancellor’s Regulation on Bias-Related Harassment and Bullying are known in your school, and that students, parents, and teachers know how to respond to bias incidents.
• Let students know that your office is open to them, should they need support speaking about bullying, violence, harassment, or conflict at home.

If you’re a parent:

• Understand the issues and terms associated with LGBT issues, and teach your children what you learn.
• Talk to your kids about hate speech, bullying, and acceptance. Let them know that not participating in these activities, and standing up for others, earns your respect.
• Work with your PTA to create allied groups in your community, focused on making your school safer.
• Write to local papers and contact your school administrators to make it known that your family and your community are concerned about safe school issues.
• Let your children know that you accept them, their friends, and their peers, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Make your home a supportive and open space.

(image from University of New Mexico)