Teen whose dad publicly shamed her on YouTube commits suicide
A 13-year-old American girl has taken her own life by jumping out of a moving vehicle on a highway overpass — just days after her father allegedly shamed her by cutting off her long hair as punishment and posting a short video of the evidence to YouTube.
The incident has reignited the controversial parenting issue of public shaming as a form of punishment.
The girl, reportedly Izabel Laxamana, of Tacoma, was a student at Giaudrone Middle School.
Blogger Jack Cameron wrote about both the public shaming video and the suicide on his site Tacoma Stories, though he didn’t name the victim.
“Yesterday this same young girl got out of the passenger seat of her grandmother’s car on [an] overpass. She climbed over the railing and jumped, landing on a car,” he wrote.
“There are those who believe that public shaming is an acceptable form of parenting,” Cameron continued. “As this incident clearly shows, it’s not. It’s a form of abuse and it has consequences.”
While a spokesperson at the middle school declined to confirm the victim’s identity for Yahoo Parenting, a public information officer with the Tacoma Police Department told the Independent that Laxamana was both the girl who died and the girl whose hair was cut in the video.
That original 15-second video — posted to YouTube in late May and later removed, then reposted — has become the heart of this story.
The footage shows a girl with a hack-job bob standing before a pile of freshly cut black hair.
A voice, allegedly her dad’s, is then heard in the background saying, “The consequences of getting messed up? Man, you lost all that beautiful hair. Was it worth it?”
The girl says, “No,” and the voice continues, “How many times have I warned you?” She says, “A lot,” and he answers, “OK.”
What followed was news of the girl’s suicide, on June 1, from the News Tribune, which did not report her name. Shortly thereafter, a tribute website and Facebook page for Laxamana have popped up, both from unknown sources, as well as a Flipagram tribute.
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
