A mother mourning the death of her 12-year-old son is suing the city of New York, after the seventh grader hanged himself because he was bullied for being gay at school. hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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A mother mourning the death of her 12-year-old son is suing the city of New York, after the seventh grader hanged himself because he was bullied for being gay at school.
Bergouhi Elissa, 36, said officials at Public School 84 in Astoria, Queens failed to respond to repeated complaints her son Elijah Mendez was being harassed due to his ‘perceived sexual orientation’.
On March 25, 2010, he took his on life.

The lawsuit claims Elijah was subjected to ‘repeated and frequent taunting, ridicule, menacing, threatening abuse and bullying,’ reports the New York Daily News.
Ms Elissa said she complained more than ten times about the harassment over the course of two years.

During that time, Elijah suffered ‘physical and psychological injuries, distress, pain, suffering, anguish, grief (and) mental and emotional suffering,’ the lawsuit states.
His mother is seeking funeral expenses and damages from the city Department of Education.

She said in a statement: ‘No child should be afraid to go to school. I believe that the school’s inaction brought about the death of my son.’
Ms Elissa hopes taking legal action will help other bullied children from suffering the same fate as her son.
‘Nothing can lessen the pain of a mother who has lost a child,’ the statement continued.
‘We hope that ultimately, this tragedy will increase people’s awareness and thereby bring about change that will help protect other children.’
Kate O’Brien Ahlers, a spokesman for the Law Department, said the case will be reviewed ‘thoroughly’.
Elijah’s death is only the latest in a spate of tragic suicides committed by bullied students, teased because of being gay.
Eighteen-year-old Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi killed himself in September, 2010 – days after authorities said his dorm mate used a webcam to capture him having sex with a man.
And on Friday, a Central California school district was been forced to revise its policies after it was found it did not adequately investigate or respond to complaints of bullying endured by a 13-year-old boy who committed suicide after being harassed by classmates because he was gay.
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