Double suicide in western Minnesota puts bullying back in spotlight
Friday, April 22, 2011 at 6:00 am
- 15 Comments
Two 14-year old girls committed suicide last week in Marshall, Minn., and the evidence suggests they’d been bullied. Relatives of Haylee Fentress and Paige Moravetz told Meredith Viera of the TODAY Show that the girls may have been more than just friends. Fentress had hyphenated her last name on Facebook to include Moravetz’s last name, and Fentress had been expelled from school recently for defending Paige in a fight. The pair’s deaths add to a growing list of suicides in Minnesota and around the country where bullying is suspected to have played a factor.
In Thursday’s TODAY Show interview, both girls’ families said they suspected that bullying may have been a factor, including bullying about weight issues. The families also said they suspected that Paige and Haylee may have had a romantic relationship and that ostracization may have played a role in their suicide pact.
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Reports of bullying-related suicides have been increasing in Minnesota and nationally. In the Anoka-Hennepin School District, north of Minneapolis, a fierce debate continues to rage between the parents of LGBT students and religious right-affiliated parents over how to handle LGBT issues in the district following a series of suicides where anti-LGBT bullying was suspected. Tammy Aaberg, the mother of Justin Aaberg, who took his own life last summer in Anoka, has been speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying and pushing for safe school programs locally and nationally.
And, an gay Alexandria teen took his own life earlier this year. Friends in that school district have cited bullying as a possible factor.
A study released last week found that teen suicides are more likely in conservative areas and that gay and lesbian teens are more likely to have attempted suicide. The research of Dr. Mark Hatzenbuehler, Ph.D., Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York, evaluated different communities on “the proportion of same-sex couples, the proportion of registered Democrats, the presence of gay-straight alliances in schools, and nondiscrimination and anti-bullying policies in schools school policies that specifically protected lesbian, gay, and bisexual students.”
The results showed that gay students in more tolerant areas were less likely to attempt suicide. The study controlled for risk factors that might contribute to suicide attempts, including symptoms of depression, excessive use of alcohol, physical abuse by adults and peer victimization or bullying.
“This study suggests that we can reduce suicide attempts among LBG youth by improving the social environment and really challenges the myth that there is something inherent in being gay that puts gay youth at risk of attempting suicide. Instead, what we’ve shown is that the social environment strongly influences the prevalence of suicide attempts,” Hatzenbuehler told Medscape Medical News.
There’s no indication that Marshall’s schools are unsafe for LGBT students or that the community is not tolerant of LGBT people. The study only focused on the state of Oregon.
Cornell University psychologist Dr. Ritch Savin-Williams told the Daily Mail that the message shouldn’t be that gay and lesbian youth are more likely to be suicidal but that society should look at more protections for young people.
He said “we have given them the message that they are suicidal” and instead society should “look (at) what kind of abilities you’re squashing by not having protection of gay kids.”
Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter15 Comments
Comment posted April 22, 2011 @ 8:58 am
How tragic. Whatever the circumstances, this is devastatingly sad.
Interesting that a study that now shows what I strongly suspected was true: hate speech isn’t harmless. Fostering a hostile environment for LGBT youth has terrible consequences.
Comment posted April 22, 2011 @ 9:45 am
Sometimes the signs a child is being bullied are tricky to discern. Similarly, bullied children are so ashamed, they frequently don’t speak about it. These two issues are addressed in our book, “When Your Child Is Being Bullied: Real Solutions.” Further, we offer practical, proven tactics that will stop bullies. Parents can visit our website, solutionsforbullying.com for free, helpful resources.
Pingback posted April 22, 2011 @ 10:18 am
[...] The Minnesota Independent – Double suicide in western Minnesota puts bullying back in spotligh… [...]
Pingback posted April 22, 2011 @ 10:28 am
[...] needs to happen. In the past year, we have come to understand that bullying is way more common and emotionally detrimental than we thought–at the very least, we are beginning to take it much more [...]
Comment posted April 22, 2011 @ 11:14 am
The local press here in Marshall is not reporting this story at all.
Comment posted April 22, 2011 @ 5:36 pm
Modern “traditional Christian values” are more dangerous than second-hand smoke.
At this point, organized religion seems to be the problem getting in the way of Christianity.
Comment posted April 22, 2011 @ 11:20 pm
Nothing in SW Minnesota papers beyond a brief report that the suicides occured. This was the first real information I’ve seen.
Comment posted April 23, 2011 @ 1:08 am
Wasn’t there just another gay high school kid who killed himself after extensive bullying in the area (Alexandria iirc?)?
This homophobia has to stop. Community leaders must speak out against it or risk condoning it.
Comment posted April 23, 2011 @ 9:35 pm
The Marshall Independent published published five stories and commentary on April 17, April 19, April 20, and April 23.
Here are the links to the stories:
April 17, 2011
Teens die in incident this weekend
http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/527466/Teens-die-in-incident-this-weekend.html
April 19, 2011
Willert addresses media on student deaths
http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/527489/Willert-addresses-media-on-student-deaths.html
April 20, 2011
Middle School meeting offers support for parents
http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/527512/Middle-School-meeting-offers-support-for-parents.html
Kids need personal, not social, networks (Editorial)
http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/527497/Kids-need-personal–not-social–networks.html?nav=5017
April 23, 2011
Editor’s column: A somber week at Marshall Middle School
http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/527554/Editor-s-column–A-somber-week-at-Marshall-Middle-School.html?nav=5007
In addition to the five stories, each girl’s obituary was published several times during the week.
Comment posted April 24, 2011 @ 4:31 pm
Sally Jo, you’ve misrepresented my post. I’m well aware of the fact that the Marshall Independent has covered the girl’s deaths. The story reported here and on the Today show that I refer to is of the likelyhood that the girls were bullied and may have had a lesbian relationship. The Marshall Independent hasn’t covered that very important part of the story at all.
I’d appreciate it if you made a correction here and in your blog.
Comment posted April 26, 2011 @ 9:31 am
They were not more than just friends
On facebook, some of my friends hyphenate their last names into another person’s but that doesn’t mean they like each other more than friends. I’m around the same age, it just means that they are just really close.
Pingback posted April 26, 2011 @ 8:02 pm
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Comment posted May 1, 2011 @ 11:02 pm
Two cities were destroyed in the bible due to the uncleanness of homosexuality. It is hurtful that you are using these girls as the poster children for gay lesbian rights. They were just really close friends. Wake up people and quit posting things that are hurtful to the families. The truth is that these girls were loved and will be missed. Have respect.
Comment posted May 7, 2011 @ 1:45 pm
Whether or not they actually had a relationship is irrelevant. The bullies obviously treated them as if being lesbians is wrong. If it was a young man and a young woman, it would not be an issue. Allyssa above – your words, stating that a lesbian relationship being suggested is ‘hurtful’ shows how much bigotry you have. Suggesting a couple is in a lesbian or gay relationship should be no different than suggesting they are are in a straight relationship.
Oh, and to follow up on Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s daughters became impregnated by their father. That part is usually left out of the ‘family values’ part of that story.
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