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Photo credit: Family Photo |
Sexting! It’s not a word that everyone is familiar with; it’s a new term and one that speaks to a new generation. Sexting is the practice of sending text messages by cell phone that contains sexually explicit photos, or language. A new trend in youth, the law has yet to catch up with the practice: those who send sexually explicit images are engaging in transmitting child pornography.
In addition to the legal consequences, the emotional aspects of sexting can be equally devastating, take for instance the case of Wimauma, Florida teen Hope Witsell.
Hope Witsell was 13 years old and attended Shields Middle School; she was in the eighth grade. Eighth grade can be a particularly rough time for many, even those who appear to have things together in their life. For those with self esteem issues, emotional problems, or who might feel things deeply, eighth grade can be a devastating time as children at that age often succumb to peer pressure. When one child begins teasing and taunting, an onslaught of teens will join in as the ability to resist the crowd and make an independent stand is often too difficult. Imagine then being the child whose topless photo circulated amongst the middle school class.
Hope Witsell was that child. At 13 she sent a topless photo of herself to a boy that she liked. She later referred to that decision as the greatest mistake of her life. It was that photo that later began to circulate amongst her classmates. Instantly her reputation was destroyed and she endured the taunts of her peers. One topless photo was all it took for her schoolmates to call her ‘slut’ as she walked through the school’s halls.
Though details are sketchy, there were signs at school that she may have been engaging in self-harm. She had promised a school counselor that she would tell someone if she were going to harm herself. Hope didn’t tell. She internalized the pain and on September 12, 2009, her mother, Donna Witsell found her daughter hanging in her bedroom. Hope had committed suicide.
Donna Witsell spoke about her daughter’s tragic death on the Today show.
You may view the video interview here
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Comments
What do you mean she didn't tell. She got suspended from school for a week and her parents put her on restriction.
What do you do make it up as you go?
September 12, 1994? You fail.
I have no symphany for dumb girls who kill themselves after they give out naked pictures. So I think she is to blame, if anyone. Just like all suicides.
To Bob:
She didn't tell about the teasing she was enduring, or that it was so severe she wanted to kill herself.
Also, to Bob- this is the source for my basis that Hope did not tell her family that she wanted to kill herself:
Those types of kids also are more likely to keep their deepest emotions hidden from their parents, experts say. That was the case with Hope. When she was feeling down, she wrote about it in her journal but did not confide in her parents.
"Hope certainly did not let on that something was wrong," said Charlie Witsell, 46. "She never really said anything to us."
www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/sexting-related-bullying-cited-in-hillsborough-teens-suicide/1054895
The social worker quizzed Hope, then had her sign a "no-harm" contract in which Hope agreed to talk to an adult if she felt an urge to hurt herself. Both Orlando and Hope signed the undated contract, which her parents found in Hope's bedroom trash can after her death.
Hope's parents say no one from the school called them to say their daughter might harm herself.
But Hope was not okay. She wrote in her journal:
Sept. 12, 2009
I'm done for sure now. I can feel it in my stomach. I'm going to try and strangle myself. I hope it works.
A few minutes after 10 p.m., Donna checked in again to see if Hope wanted to come downstairs and watch television with them. Hope declined.
About an hour later, Donna eased open Hope's door again to kiss her good night. She saw her daughter standing a few feet away — her head lowered, her hair was hanging over her face.
I hope you understand my point. Should Hope have spoken to any adults, or her parents about what she was enduring, or the realities she was facing at school, or the fact that she was considering suicide, help may have been provided.
She did not speak out for help, as I assume it must have been a difficult thing for her to talk to her parents (or anyone) about.
Wes- do you really mean that?
No sympathy at all? Today's culture is raising a great number of kids who think that sexting and posting nude/semi nude photos on MySpace is typical teenage behavior.
I guess you don't remember being thirteen or making mistakes at that age.
Let’s be real. This poor girl committed suicide after a steady diet of “tough love” and a humiliating suspension from school her first week after the summer. Instead of reaching out and being supportive, the grownups in her life turned and helped make her life a torment until the pressures became too much and she hanged herself in her bedroom.
Without a doubt, sending naked pictures is poor judgment, but she killed herself because of how people treated her.
What do you think should have or could have been done to save Hope? Reports state that she didn't want to change schools. Homeschooling maybe would have been a good option, what do you think?
Let’s be real. This poor girl committed suicide after a steady diet of “tough love” and a humiliating suspension from school her first week after the summer. Instead of reaching out and being supportive, the grownups in her life turned and helped make her life a torment until the pressures became too much and she hanged herself in her bedroom.
Without a doubt, sending naked pictures is poor judgment, but she killed herself because of how people treated her.
lets be real, she needed to suck it up and not send lurid photos of herself to boys. at least there is one less babified dumb blonde in the world.
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