A total of four US teenagers have now taken their own lives after being bullied over their sexuality, this month.
Last week, Tyler Clementi, 18, killed himself after his roommate allegedly recorded him having sex with another man. He is presumed dead after jumping off the George Washington Bridge.
Since then, Dharun Ravi, 18, and Molly Wei, 18, who are alleged to have hidden a camera inside Clemente’s bedroom and streamed his sex session live over the internet, have been arrested and charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy.
But this is only the latest in a spate of suicides. During the last month, three other teenagers have killed themselves following bullying from their peers.
On 23 September, Asher Brown, from Houston, Texas, shot himself in the head after reportedly being bullied, the Daily Mail report.
In Indiana on 9 September, Billy Lucas hanged himself at his grandmother’s home.
And in Minnesota, 13-year-old Seth Walsh died nine days after hanging himself from a tree in his garden.
No charges are to be pressed against the pupils though after the police said their actions did not constitute a crime.
TV talk-show host Ellen Degeneres called for America to "wake up" to the problem.
"I am devastated over the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi," DeGeneres said. "He was outed as being gay on the Internet and he killed himself." "Something must be done. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.
"We have an obligation to change this."
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