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Garrison Thornton

Professor Turner

Research Paper

17 October 2017

Bullying amongst Teenagers in High School

IWPRs analysis of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, 2013 Youth Risk

Behavior Survey, finds that nearly one in four (23.7 percent) high school girls reported having

experienced bullying on school property one or more times in the 12 months prior to the survey.

In the Netflix series 13 reasons why, a girl by the name Hannah Baker commits suicide due to

her bullying experiences in high school. She was a nice girl who at first was very happy but she

was then tormented, and portrayed around school as a slut or an easy-hookup and many guys

around the school would objectify her by seeking conversation with Hannah simply for sex.

Unfortunately none of these rumors or views on Hannah were no where close to accurate, it

simply took cruel people to say a few things and a collection to believe it. Which is the society

we live in today sadly. A society where kids lie, tease and shame women to make them feel bad

about themselves, so much to the point where, that victim may want to harm or worst of all take

their own life because of it. How do teens in high school bully other high school girls to the point

that they dont feel good about themselves? Teenagers in high school bully teenage girls through

verbal, mental, and physical abuse which leads to self harm.

Throughout American history women have been held to a different standard than men. A

standard which causes people to be looked down upon or treated differently if not followed. In

life or high school especially this form of bullying is called, slut-shaming. Slut-shaming is the
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practice of punishing or making character judgments upon girls and women, based on their

sexual activity. These assumptions can be based on what they wear, what they look like or

rumors about them. (LAT) Slut-shaming was found to be one of the most common forms of

harassment that female students in high school face, according to a nationally represented survey

in 2011 from the American Assn. of Women. This form of verbal attack upon teenage girls

causes their school lifestyles to change greatly in various aspects. 37% of women from grades

7-12 did not want to go to school due to them being harassed (AAUW) and 14% actually did

not even bother going to school due to this abuse (AAUW). In 13 reasons why, the bullying of

Hannah Baker began when she kissed the cutest boy in school, Justin, who had also taken an

upskirt photo of Hannah as she was coming down the slide. This picture had surfaced around

school and alongside the picture came a story that Justin had gotten much further than just first

base. This was the first impression for students around campus of the new girl Hannah, a

whore who in reality had only kissed Justin, but this negative connotation would remain with

Hannah until her death and weighed very heavily on her to that horrible end.

The effects of verbal abuse/bullying can take a great toll on women in school. It can

cause depression, mental health issues, and poor grades. Mentally it can break a girl as they are,

36% more likely than boys to be affected by negative comments, jokes or gestures. (AAUW)

When dealing with bullying the number one thing is to speak up and let people know what is

going on but many people are scared to face it as, 47% of girls in high school completely ignore

the bullying and in contrast only 2% would contact upper authorities about the incident that

occurred. (AAUW) Due to women withstanding the verbal abuse, all of these things just add up

to the point where it has to come out. When Hannah baker was dealing with her personal
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bullying issues she would vent off to one of her newly acclaimed friends who would come and

go about every month. She would first meet a seemingly nice person who she accidentally

trusted and would get betrayed later on. This trust she gave people, is the same trust that got her

to be so broken and hurt as a person. She grew into a walking rumor, every where she would go,

people would bully Hannah on how she was, easy or can show you a good time. Its tough

enough to imagine being tormented but it must have been a horrible helplessness for something

that didnt even happen. A famous writer by the name, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie had a recent

TED talk, where she talks about being assumed as something, before even being met. Adichie

says during her talk, that her roommates default position toward me, as an african, was a kind of

patronizing well-meaning, pity. My roommate had a single story of Africa. A single story of

catastrophe. Within Adichies story, it is found to be in line with Hannahs in High School, as

an innocent girl who was subject to a bad rumor and has to face the reality in which she never

lived.

When things get to a higher level than just verbal, the damage gets much worse. In the

U.S., 25% of high school girls have been abused physically or sexually. Teen girls who are

abused this way are 6 times more likely to become pregnant or contract a sexually transmitted

infection (do something). That is a fourth of high school girls who are being affected by abuse

who could potentially end up in a detrimental state if overlooked. In 13 Reasons Why, Hannah

was raped, after all the torture she had endured from the students around her, she finally reached

her tipping point. At that young of an age around the time a high schooler should be in school,

women of the ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be assaulted, raped, or abused.(RAINN)

also, rape victims were 4.1 times more likely than non-crime victims to have contemplated
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suicide. (RAINN) Throughout the series, after more and more pieces of dignity had been taken

away from Hannah you could see how she was not enjoying life anymore. It was tough to watch

the constant neglect, from Justin, Clark, all the way to the very last tape with Bryce on it, the guy

who raped her. Life grew to be really tough and suicide soon became a viable option for her as

she felt nobody wanted to accept her rather they denied her. But she had reached a point where,

for her there was no turning back, she knew where she belonged and acted upon the way she felt

following those horrible actions placed upon her.

Overall teenagers in high school bully teenage girls through verbal, mental, and physical

abuse which in all can lead to self inflicted damage. 50% of young people who experience rape

or physical or sexual abuse will attempt to commit suicide. (dosomething) That is a tough

reality to face as one fourth of high school girls are victims of rape. In the closing scene, Hannah

slicing her wrists and bleeding out in the bathtub was way too vivid for television as watching it

made not only mine, but many Americans cringe when watching. Studies show that, at least

90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental health problem, such as depression,

anxiety, drug or alcohol abuse, or a behavior problem.(AAUW) Most teens do not plan out how

they will kill themselves, it usually occurs in the spur of the moment and can be based around a

traumatic event that recently occurred. Unfortunately for Hannah that exact moment is when

Bryce raped her, she felt, empty, and out of her body after she was violated. Though she did

not exactly take her life on the same day of this event. She planned out 13 tapes and created a

strategic order for a set group of people to follow. In all, with seeing the stages of women and

how they are bullied at such a young age. It shows me the tough reality of dealing with rumors,

and lies everyday, alongside the constant scrutiny they would have to face as kids heckle
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students for nearly no reason. The one solution to bullying amongst these girls starts with you.

By speaking out or reaching out to the person in need, victims are much better off. 30% of

victims who are reached out too are much more likely not to hurt themselves. (AAUW) So it

starts with you!

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Works Cited

United States, Congress, YRBS, and Laura Kann. Youth Risk Behavior Suveillance . Youth

Risk Behavior Suveillance , 4th ed., vol. 63, Government, 2014, pp. 912.

www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6304.pdf?utm_source=youth.gov&utm_medium=Feature-Article

&utm_campaign=2013YRBSS.

Kohli, Sonali. The Problem with Slut Shaming in Schools. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles

Times, 22 Feb. 2016,

www.latimes.com/local/education/lausd/la-me-edu-slut-shaming-20160218-story.html.

Hill, Catherine, and Holly Kearl. Crossing the

Line.Https://Www.aauw.org/Files/2013/02/Crossing-the-Line-Sexual-Harassment-at-School.pd

f, AAUW, Nov. 2011,

www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/Crossing-the-Line-Sexual-Harassment-at-School.pdf.

Adichie, Chimanda Ngozi, director. The Danger of a Single Story. The Danger of a Single Story,

TED Talk, July 2009, www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.

11 Facts About Teen Dating Violence. DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change,

www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-teen-dating-violence.

Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN, www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence.

Yorkey, Brian, director. 13 Reasons Why, Netflix, 31 Mar. 2017.