Teenager killed himself after 'constant bullying' about his sexuality
Tyrone Unsworth’s mother says the 13-year-old year 7 student at Aspley state high school in Brisbane was repeatedly harassed
The mother of a Brisbane teenager who killed himself says he did so after being bullied about his sexuality.
Tyrone Unsworth, 13, was a year 7 student at Aspley state high school in Brisbane. He died on Tuesday.
Amanda Unsworth, his mother, remembered him as an ambitious, loving boy interested in animals and fashion. She told the Courier-Mail that “a lot of people started picking on him” over his sexuality.
“He was a really feminine male, he loved fashion, he loved make-up and the boys always picked on him, calling him gay boy, faggot, fairy; it was a constant thing from year 5,” she said. “I feel like these people who were bullying Tyrone are the cause of why he is not here any more. They pushed him to the edge.”
She posted an image of herself holding the front page of the Courier-Mail, showing a photo of Tyrone above the headline “Bullied to death”, on Facebook on Friday.
“We Love and Miss you so much Tyrone,” she wrote. “We will stand up and fight to get as much awareness help and support for others out there, SAY NO TO BULLYING.”
Guardian Australia has attempted to contact Amanda Unsworth.
Tyrone Unsworth had been hospitalised less than a month ago after an incident allegedly involving another student. Queensland police confirmed to the Courier-Mail that their investigation into the alleged assault was ongoing on Thursday.
His funeral will be held on 1 December at Albany Creek. His mother requested that attendees wear brightly coloured clothes.
Aspley state high school’s principal, Jacquinta Miller, said in a statement circulated by the Queensland department of education there were concerns about the wellbeing of Tyrone Unsworth’s peers following “this tragic incident”.
The school did not tolerate bullying, she said, and asked the community “refrain from inflaming what is already a complex and challenging situation”.
Miller had told the Courier-Mail that neither Tyrone Unsworth nor his family had reported any allegation of bullying to the school. “Neither the student nor his family ever came to us to say there was a problem of any kind.
“If they did, we absolutely would have stepped in.”
Her statement clarified that the recent incident reported to police occurred outside of school hours.
The Safe Schools Coalition Australia extended its sympathy to those affected by Unsworth’s death, which it said was evidence of the impact of bullying and discrimination faced by all LGBTI young people.
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It pointed to research that said 75% of same sex-attracted young people aged between 14 and 21 had experienced some form of homophobic bullying or abuse because of their sexuality, or perceived sexuality. Eighty per cent said it was while they were at school.
In Queensland, school principals are free to decide whether their schools join the controversial Safe Schools anti-bullying program. A number of schools that had opted in were previously listed on the Safe Schools website but the list was removed after they began to receive abuse from opponents.
Guardian Australia has asked both the education department and Aspley state high school whether it is a member of the program.
“Safe Schools” was trending on Twitter in Australia early on Friday afternoon as many said Tyrone Unsworth’s death was evidence of why the program was needed.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/25/teenager-killed-himself-a...
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