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The Bullying Epidemic

Technology has made bullying much more pervasive while complicating bodily injury claims and liability.

By Christine G. Barlow | Updated on January 02, 2013
In recent years, bullying has become a large problem for schools. If you have children or just like to watch cartoons, then you have probably noticed the anti-bullying advertisements on Cartoon Network or Boomerang. They encourage students being bullied or who see another student being bullied to get an adult to intervene.

Technology has made bullying much more pervasive than the old bullying that existed in a neighborhood, playground, or individual school. Facebook and other social-media sites have made it easy for many people to take part in the bullying or harassment of an individual student. 

Tragic ConsequencesUnfortunately, these actions can have serious consequences: A number of students have committed suicide because of being bullied or harassed by others. Jesse Logan was an 18-year-old who sent nude pictures of herself to her boyfriend. After they broke up, the ex-boyfriend sent those nude pictures to other high school girls who started harassing Jesse by calling her derogatory names. After being harassed for a number of months, she committed suicide. A similar case is that of 13-year-old Hope Witsell, who sent a topless photo of herself to a boy she liked. The boy then forwarded the photo to others, who began harassing Hope at school. Hope later committed suicide.

While these are extreme cases, there are many other students who have been harassed and suffered from varying degrees of emotional distress because of bullying. This leads to questions about liability coverage from the homeowners’ policy since others inflicted distress onto the victim. 

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