Schools

The Bigger Picture: Bullying is a Worldwide Issue

Port Washington and Saukville residents aren't alone in dealing with bullying problems.

When video of a locker room fight at aired on TV news, Port Washington and Saukville residents found themselves in a relatively unpleasant limelight.

The video conjured up all sorts of concerns from web commenters, and fingers pointed in all directions.

Since then, Patch met with nine district families as well as other concerned residents and  staff, taking a deeper .

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And while that locker room fight may have been an "isolated incident," , the issue of bullying is certainly real — and it certainly isn't isolated to Port Washington and Saukville. Here is a look at some recent bullying cases around the country — and the world.

  • Schools blamed for teenager's deaths: A Nov. 10 overdose suicide by a Black River Falls teenager lead to a recent investigation sought by school officials to clear the district of any fault in the teen's death, according to Wisconsin Radio Network. The mother accused the school district of not doing anything to help her daughter despite two years of pleas, but the investigation found the school did all it could.
  • Does the link between bullying and suicide exist? In Tennessee, a 17-year-old committed suicide on Tuesday, according to NewsChannel9, and though investigators haven't found a direct link between the teen's death and bullying so far, they are still looking into the possibility.
  • When it's not safe for your kids to go to school: A Canada father fears for the safety of his elementary-age daughter who is being bullied by 9-year-old boy at their small school, according to CBCNews. The bullying started as emotional abuse years ago, but has recently turned physical — and the school says he's too young to be expelled.
  • He said, she said situations: In Australia last spring, a kid defended himself against a bully and a video of the physical encounter went viral on YouTube. The victim appeared on ABCnews, and a Facebook page called, "Casey Heynes — Bully Slapdown" now has nearly 40,000 "Likes." The bully also later appeared on the news, saying he had been the victim of bullying first.
  • Are some students more vulnerable? A recent study by Arizona State University researchers revealed that students who suffer from depression are more apt to be bullied, according to a report on USNews.com. The study monitored 486 kids, and those who showed symptoms of depression in fourth grade were likely to be bullied in fifth and sixth grades.

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