August 12, 2013
Italian Teen Commits Suicide Over Anti-Gay Bullying
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
A 14-year-old Italian teen committed suicide due to anti-gay bullying he endured, Pink News reports.
The boy, who resided in Rome, took his life last Friday at 2 a.m. by throwing himself from a balcony after being subjected to anti-gay bullying online and at school. He left behind two messages apologizing to his family. One was on a USB drive, and the other was handwritten.
"I am a homosexual, no one understands my drama, and I do not know how to make it acceptable to my family," one of the notes read, according to Pink News.
Local police found text messages of anti-gay bullying on the teen's cell phone. The teen's friends apparently did not know that he was gay.
In a related incident, LGBT Nation reports that an out 15-year-old Italian student, who regularly wore pink clothes, hanged himself in November 2012 after being a victim of daily anti-gay bullying online and at school.
Italy currently does not have any laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in public. The country currently does not recognize marriage equality.
