Father of suicide teen says he was bullied for being gay
The father of a 15-year-old Canadian boy who killed himself last weekend says his son was bullied for being gay.
Jamie Hubley, of Ottawa, said he couldn’t take any more depression, harassment and loneliness before he was found dead on Saturday.
His father, Kanata South Cllr Alan Hubley, released a family statement in which he described the bullying Jamie had suffered.
Mr Hubley wrote that Jamie had tried to set up a Rainbow Club at the A.Y. Jackson school but posters were torn down and he was called a “fag” by other students.
He said his son was “compassionate” and without “a mean bone in his body” but was seeing therapists to deal with his depression and struggle to accept his sexuality.
Mr Hubley wrote: “He struggled with the idea that people can judge you harshly even when you are trying to help others. Jamie asked a question no child should have to ask — why do people say mean things to me?”
He added: “We were aware of several occasions when he felt he was being bullied. In Grade 7 he was treated very cruelly simply because he liked figure skating over hockey.
“Recently, when Jamie tried to start a Rainbow Club at his high school to promote acceptance of others, the posters were torn down and he was called vicious names in the hallways and online. We had meetings with officials at the school and were working with them to bring an end to it but Jamie felt it would never stop.
“We will not say that the bullying was the only reason for James’s decision to take his own life but it was definitely a factor.”
Mr Hubley said he hoped the tragedy would go some way towards helping stop bullying in schools and online and that he would use his “energy and public position” to help anti-bullying groups.
Writing on his blog just hours before his death, Jamie said he was “tired of life”.
Referencing the It Gets Better campaign, he added: “I don’t want to wait three more years, this hurts too much. How do you even know it will get better? It’s not.”
In previous posts, he discussed his loneliness, desire for a boyfriend and self-harming.
