A schoolgirl whose body was found in
woodland was so badly bullied because of her red hair it allegedly contributed
to her death.
Helena Farrell suffered bullying all of
her life over the colour of her ginger hair - and her father Enda claims it
contributed to her death.
The 15-year-old's body was found in
dense woodland half a mile from her home in Kendal, Cumbria, in January this
year.
An inquest has yet to officially
establish the cause of death but her father believes she killed herself.
He said: 'People need to realise that
when they say the things they do, it can have deeply traumatising effects and
can lead to self-harm and suicide.
'Helena's death was not just because of
it but the bullying she faced all her life certainly contributed.'
Mr Farrell said his daughter, who was a
gifted musician, was bullied about her hair colour from a young age.
He believes she committed suicide and
that the bullying contributed to her death.
At the time of her death he said: 'This
beautiful girl is my daughter Helena, and she was the light of my life.
'We tried desperately hard to help her
overcome her dark thoughts that began to cloud over her shining personality. My
family is totally ripped apart.'
Mr Farrell, formerly a Kendal Town
councillor, spoke out after last week's unofficial 'Kick a Ginger Day' which
reportedly led to attacks on redheads across the country.
Mr Farrell said he had heard this
caused one Kendal boy to skip school and to leave early the next day.
Now he is demanding that discrimination
against ginger-haired people be made a hate crime.
Mr Farrell believes police forces
should also recognise victimisation based on hair colour.
His concern was echoed by Westmorland
and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron who yesterday tabled a written question to Home
Secretary Theresa May, asking what plans she had to ensure action was taken
against those who persecute others on the basis of hair colour.
In England and Wales, every police
service records five categories of hate crimes - crimes targeted because of
prejudice about race or ethnicity, disability, religion or belief, sexual
orientation or transgender identity. But individual forces can choose to add
extra categories.
In April, Greater Manchester Police
recognised 'alternative sub-cultures' as a motivation for hate crime.
It followed the death of Sophie
Lancaster, 20, who was attacked for being a 'goth'.
Greater Manchester Police received
eight reports of hate crime against goths, emos, rockers and metallers in the
first three months after they recognised alternative sub-cultures'.
Mr Farrell said Cumbria Police should
'enact and enforce' the same system regarding hair colour.
South Cumbria hate crime manager DS
Mike Wallace said there were no plans to amend the force's policy, but it was
reviewed every 12 months and other potential categories were being considered.
He said: 'We take a strong stance on any
form of bullying. Just because something is not categorised as a hate crime we
would still expect the same quality of investigation.
'If someone is being bullied because of
their appearance I would want it investigated properly and I would urge them to
contact us. It would be classed as an aggravating feature in a case.'
National co-ordinator for the
Anti-bullying Alliance, Luke Roberts, said he believed such attacks should be
dealt with in the same way as any other prejudice.
'For people with ginger hair bullying
seems to be acceptable - the norm. That's what makes it totally inappropriate,'
he said.
Cumbria's former public health chief,
Professor John Ashton, now president of the Faculty of Public Health, said the
issue was part of a wider agenda that needed to be addressed.
'It is something that starts with bad
manners and ends up with violence. Really as a society we need to start being
nice to each other.'
People across the globe have tried to
counter the 'ginger' stigma, with a Redhead Day in the Netherlands attracting
thousands.
A similar event took place for the first
time in Manchester this year.
Daily Mail
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