CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 29

Dancehall artiste Buju Banton
Photo by Jonathan Mannion

“I didn’t want to [commit suicide] but I just
wanted to relax for a while. So I took a few pills
with alcohol.”

Once Rhoden had composed herself, she told
CARIMAC Times she was surprised by her teary
response to talking about her past experiences.

The CDA-commissioned study noted that
the most common effects of being bullied are
“fighting, loss of trust, depression, feelings of
hopelessness, and suicide”.

“I never thought I would actually cry when I
talked about these things again. I thought I
was over it.”

Dr. Marshall explained that there is a range
of responses from those who are victimised
because of issues related to their gender. She
says there are a few who assert themselves
when faced with bullies but a majority tends
to fold in the face of oppression. Dr. Marshall
says effects tend to be long-lasting.

The same can be said for 21-year-old Adrian
Mundie*
Mundie attended a co-educational, nontraditional high school in Kingston and made a
journey similar to Rhoden’s. For him, experiences
with bullying started in primary school as well.
He was nine years old. He said students jeered
him because he spoke in Standard English and

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