This Camp Rocker is playing to tune of her own heart and speaking out against violence and bullying. The beautiful Demi Lovato took to twitter to vent about the recent suicides of two 11-year-old boys been repeatedly harassed with anti-gay slurs.
While the teen star has touched on her experience before,the death of Jaheem Herrera, a 5th grader from Georgia, prompted her to speak out again.
After months of exhaustive bullying, Jaheem came home from school on April 16th, and hung himself. Jaheem’s death followed the suicide of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, who also suffered bullying from classmates.
“It honestly amazes me how schools refuse to take action in verbal abuse,” Demi tweeted, “they SAY they do, but this what ends up happening. So, so sad.. I can't explain what I went through when I left public school to start homeschooling.. One day I will. But right now… Just know what you say to someone can effect them for the rest of their life.”
Demi wants schools to start listening--nearly two-thirds of LGBT students who experience harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school. Of those who did report the incident, nearly a third said the school staff did nothing in response. Neither boys were openly gay, but anti-gay slurs are some of the most common bullying tactics, regardless of the victim's sexual preference.
What do you think about Demi’s stance? Should she speak out more about her own story? You can do something too by taking a stand against bullying, playing games online to learn more about bullying, or by speaking out about your own struggles.
