Bullycide

Bullycide is a portmanteau formed from the words bully and suicide and/or homicide. This term was coined by Neil Marr and Tim Field, the writers of the book Bullycide, Death at Playtime. As the etymology suggests, bullycide refers to the suicide or killing of a child due to bullying, or a bully victim seeking fatal revenge against his or her bullies, such as a school shooting. Since bullying can cause an individual to feel hopeless about himself, he may have very low self-esteem and may suffer depression as a result. This can eventually lead to suicide.

Bullycide can refer to a school shooting that is provoked by bullying, as well as murders that occur as a result of bullying. Bullies can pick on people physically hard enough to actually kill them.

Examples of Bullycide

 * An eighth grader named Curtis Taylor at Oak Bridge Middle School in Burlington, Iowa was a victim of bullying for three years. Bullies called him names, bashed him into a locker, poured chocolate milk down his sweatshirt, and vandalized his belongings. They drove him into committing suicide on March 22, 1993 when he shot himself.


 * Thirteen-year-old Jared High was brutally assaulted by a known schoolyard bully. After he and the bully both got suspended, he became depressed, and eventually committed suicide.


 * Twelve-year-old Debbie Shaw at a British school died from injuries received from fighting a bully.


 * Also in Britain, 12-year-old Natalie Ruddick pretended to be ill and stayed home so she wouldn't have to face school bullies, but was murdered by a burglar who broke into the house that day.


 * A boy in Ireland was running away from a bully and was killed by a passing lorry in the process.