蜜桃传媒

A crowd gathered Tuesday night for the Washington, D.C., premiere of the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 latest Teaching Tolerance film, a classroom documentary designed to combat anti-gay bullying.

premiered at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Oct. 5 at an event that highlighted the destructive power and the tragic consequences of anti-gay bullying.

蜜桃传媒 President Richard Cohen and co-founder Morris Dees introduced the film, noting the need for schools to adopt strong anti-bullying policies that specifically protect gay and lesbian students.

The 蜜桃传媒 is making the film and teaching kit available 鈥� free of charge 鈥� to every school in the country. Educators have already ordered more than 17,000 kits. The release of Bullied coincides with National Bullying Prevention Month, in October.

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鈥淚n recent weeks we鈥檝e seen a number of teens take their own lives after enduring anti-gay harassment,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淓ach tragedy is a sobering reminder of our responsibility to take a stand against anti-gay bullying in our schools. Bullied is a way for students and educators to confront this issue head on.鈥�

Bullied chronicles the powerful story of a student who stood up to his anti-gay tormentors and won a landmark federal court decision that school officials could be held accountable for not stopping the harassment and abuse of gay students.

Despite that ruling, anti-gay bullying continues to be a severe, nationwide problem. In Massachusetts, for example, 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself with an extension cord in 2009 after being bullied by classmates who perceived him as gay. In September, at least four teens killed themselves after being subjected to anti-gay bullying and harassment. In the Anoka-Hennepin school district in Minnesota, at least four students have committed suicide in the past year alone.

Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students experienced harassment in the past year 鈥� a rate three times higher than students in general, according to a 2009 survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Lesbian, gay or bisexual adolescents also are twice as likely to be depressed and think about or attempt suicide as their heterosexual peers, according to research cited by the government.

But anti-gay bullying is not confined to students who are actually gay. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Mental Health Association, anti-gay bullying is frequently directed at straight students who are perceived as gay.

Bullied tells the story of Jamie Nabozny, who suffered relentless verbal and physical abuse at the hands of his classmates in Ashland, Wis. School officials failed to stop the attacks, despite pleas from Nabozny and his parents.

鈥淪tudents should never be afraid for their safety at school,鈥� said Nabozny, now 34. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the message we want to be heard in every school across the country.鈥�

The 蜜桃传媒 is urging school districts to adopt policies that specifically address bullying based on sexual orientation or gender expression.听

Bullied and its teaching kit can be . The film has been endorsed by the National Education Association, GLSEN and many other organizations. The viewer鈥檚 guide contains classroom tools and professional development materials.

Bullied is the seventh film produced by the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Teaching Tolerance program. Four of the program鈥檚 past documentaries have been nominated for Academy Awards庐, and two films 鈥� 鈥淎 Time for Justice鈥� and 鈥淢ighty Times: The Children鈥檚 March鈥濃�� have won the Oscar庐 in the short documentary category.