Cameron Langrell, a 15-year-old from Wisconsin, died May 1 by suicide, just a couple of days after coming out as a trans girl to friends online.
Cameron’s mother, Jamie Olender, told media that Cameron had been bullied incessantly for being too “feminine.” She would skip school to avoid the bullies and then face similar harassment online. When Cameron’s parents asked for help from the school, they received no response.
Now, the Olenders are calling on officials to be more proactive about bullying to stave off the kind of harassment their child endured. “There needs to be more within the school, not just some outside resource,” Jamie Olender explained to Milwaukee news station WISN. “[Bullying prevention] needs to be taught in school.”
Meanwhile, Langrell’s death is the tenth reported suicide of a trans youth in the U.S. this year, in an “epidemic” that trans advocates say sees far more casualties than make headlines. Last week, gaming communities mourned the suicide of 23-year-old developer Rachel Bryk, while last month 15-year-old Michigan trans boy Sam Taub took their life. The highly publicized suicides of 18-year-old Charlotte, N.C., activist Blake Brockington, as well as that of 17-year-old trans girl Leelah Alcorn in Union Township, Ohio, last December, saw hundreds of thousands mourning worldwide.
I am so sorry, Cameron. I’m so sorry. If you need help, please please please call Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860, the Trevor Project Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You’re worth it. You’re loved. You’re going to get through this.
Wisconsin teenager dies by suicide days after coming out as trans
Broke Bohemian 