Bullying and suicide

Bullying and suicide, colloquially referred to as "bullycide", are considered together when the cause of suicide is attributable to the victim having been bullied, either in person or via social media. Writers Neil Marr and Tim Field wrote about it in their 2001 book Bullycide: Death at Playtime.

Legal analysts criticise the term bullycide because it links a cause with an effect under someone else's control. Research shows those who are bullied have a higher probability of considering or performing suicide than those who are not. However, there are victims of bullying who do not end up committing suicide, and some of them share their experiences in order to send a positive message to bullying victims that suicide is not the only option.

In 2010, the suicides of teenagers in the United States who were bullied because they were gay or perceived to be led to the establishment of the It Gets Better project by Dan Savage, The online event, Spirit Day, was created in which participants were asked to wear purple as a symbol of respect for the deceased victims of bullying, particularly cyberbullying, and to signify opposition to the bullying of the LGBT community.