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We are at war with ourselves and there is no easy truce. In a special investigation on the effects of bullying, sexual orientation and ethnicity on young Irish people, Andrew Hamilton asks why so many Clare people decide to take their own lives.
WE KNOW that Ireland has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world. We also know that things like bullying, sexual orientation and ethnic background are all key factors in deciding whether a young Irish person will attempt to self harm, and possibly even take their own life. We even know that talking about these issues and having a good network of formal and informal support structures is the only way to change outcomes for many of these young people.
We know all of this, but still nothing changes.
According to research carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute, an African child is much more likely to be bullied in an Irish school than an Eastern European child. Both groups will be bullied much more than an Irish child.
Research carried out by the HSE has revealed that the vast majority of lesbian, gay or bisexual second-level students have suffered homophobic bullying, with 34 per cent being subject to homophobic comments by their own teachers.
The experts say that discussion and openness is the way forward.
Indeed, according to Geoff Day, Director of the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention, if the victim of bullying cannot share his or her problems with someone then it will often lead first to self harm and then, in more serious cases, to a suicide attempt.
“We know that bullying is one of the main factors that promotes vunerability in young people. If you are being bullied and you have no one to talk to about it you end up bottling it up and then the situation escalates. For people like this the usual outcome can be things like self-harming or in a small number of cases suicide. We know that young people don’t often look for support in their school. Schools can often at times be associated with the bullying itself and it can be difficult for them to talk to someone there. But we strongly urge them to talk to someone who they can trust,” he told The Clare People.
“Having support structures is so essential, whether that be friends and family or more formal supports. We know from a mental health point of view that when the supports are removed, for whatever reason, that it is a critical time for a young person. Big changes like moving house, starting a new job or a school are stressful times in our lives. If the support structures are not there at these times it can be a vulnerable point for an individual. It doesn’t mean that the person is going to take their own live necessarily but that there is more vulnerability there.
“This is a particular issue in relation to young men. Ireland has the fourth highest instance of youth suicide in Europe, so this is a huge issue. There is no one single reason for youth suicide and because of this there is one single solution, but part of the increase has got to do with the breakdown of Irish society and the destruction of people supports especially in rural communities such as Clare.”
According to Justin Morahan, founder of Anti-Bullying Ireland, schools are not doing enough to tackle the problem of bullying. He also says that social networking sites are becoming a major forum for abuse.
“I have met several people who have considered doing very drastic things as a result of bullying. I have come across many cases where people have been bullied on Bebo or similar sites and it has gotten very serious,” he said.
“The internet is an added dimension to bullying but it does not excuse the lack of real effort being made to stamp this out. What is now done on email, text, Bebo or Facebook was once written on a wall, or in a toilet or on a blackboard where incredibly hurtful things are written by young people. This is a culture which has been accepted for too long in school.
“We have to change our attitudes and I am very sorry to say that the Department of Education is often very poor in taking the right steps on bullying. I know this from experience. I can’t talk about particular cases but it is the same story which I am finding every year.”
Research has also shown that one of the most at risk groups of young people are those that are openly gay. Last year, Clare Regional Youth Centre (CRYC) and the VEC organised a survey to examine how young gay people in the county were getting on.
“In this survey we were really trying to look at the rural areas in particular. The feeling is that because these areas are so small, someone who is different sticks out like a sore thumb, and a lot of gay people try to hide their identity or leave altogether and go to a different area,” said Glen Guilfoyle of CRYC.
“The survey really confirmed a lot of the things which we knew to be the case already. It’s hard enough if a young person is a bit different, but for a person who is different and doesn’t have support then it become problematic. You have all the other issues which are associated with being a young person - the bullying and then the other mental health issues which come out of that.”
In Clare as in most parts of Ireland it can be difficult to talk openly about bullying, sexuality and depression. While the social norms are slow to change, a host of support structures are now accessible on-line and in total confidence.
For more information on tackling depression visit www.aware.ie or www.samaritans.org, for a variety of youth related information visit spunout.ie, for information on tackling bullying visit http://antibullyingireland.nfshost.com, for local information for local gay, lesbian and bisexuals visit www.rainbowretreats.ie or for more on suicide prevention visit www.suicideireland.com, or www.nosp.ie.
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