Many bullied teens do not report incidents to adults

By Staff Writer

More than 60 percent of gay and lesbian teens who are bullied do not report the harassment to school officials, according to FOX News.

Researchers at the University of Toronto said that there are a variety of reasons why a bullied adolescent would remain secretive about their negative experience. Some children feel shame and blame themselves for being bullied, so they do not feel it is necessary to report an incident. Many kids feel embarrassed about their predicament and they do not want anyone else to know about it.

Some children who are bullied fear retaliation from the instigator. They believe that by telling an adult, they may be putting themselves in a worse situation. There is also a belief among some kids that an adult will not do anything to punish or reprimand the offender.

According to FOX News, bullied gay and lesbian kids are especially afraid to report a bully because it may risk revealing their sexual preference to a larger audience. Ritch Savin-Williams, an expert on adolescent development and sexual minority youth, told the news provider that kids - whether gay or straight - feel pressure to conform to gender norms.

Bullying is widespread in American schools, with more than 16 percent of U.S. children saying they had been bullied by other students during the current term, according to a survey funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.