蜜桃传媒

The Southern Poverty Law Center (蜜桃传媒) took aim at anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) bullying Tuesday with a free community screening of its new film, Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case that Made History, at the historic Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

鈥淢innesota has experienced firsthand the devastating consequences of bullying,鈥� said 蜜桃传媒 President Richard Cohen. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that the community have a serious conversation about this crisis, and we hope that our film can help bring some insight to that.

The 蜜桃传媒 called for the Anoka-Hennepin School District, where, community-based advocates say, at least four LGBT students have committed suicide in the past year alone, to eliminate its current 鈥渘eutrality鈥� policy. (Anoka-Hennepin school officials say that only one of the students who committed suicide was confirmed to be gay and that none had reported bullying to school staff.) The policy instructs teachers to remain 鈥渘eutral鈥� on matters regarding sexual orientation.

鈥淭he policy is 鈥榥eutral鈥� in theory, but one-sided in fact and dangerous in practice,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淎s Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once said, 鈥楴eutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.鈥欌��

Bullied was produced by the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Teaching Tolerance program, a leading provider of free, anti-bias materials to schools. The film chronicles the powerful story of Jamie Nabozny, who suffered relentless verbal and physical abuse at the hands of classmates in Ashland, Wis. Nabozny filed suit, leading to a landmark federal court decision holding that school officials could be held accountable for not stopping the harassment and abuse of gay students.

Despite the ruling, anti-gay bullying continues to be a severe, nationwide problem. At least four student suicides across the nation were reported in September alone.

鈥淪tudents should never be afraid for their safety at school,鈥� said Nabozny, now 35. 鈥淭his film offers hope to students who are being harassed and should inspire educators to live up to their responsibility to stop the bullying that is shattering lives.鈥�

Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment in the past year 鈥� a rate three times higher than students in general, according to a recent 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-LGBT 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.

The 蜜桃传媒 is making the Bullied film and teaching kit available 鈥� free of charge 鈥� to every school in Minnesota and across the country. They can be requested at: . Educators have already ordered more than 30,000 kits.

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.