A lawsuit filed against the Pittsburgh Public Schools, claiming a girl’s anorexia resulted from bullying, could set a precedent. The suit includes allegations that the failure to protect the girl from harassment is a violation of Title IX legislation:
“…Although experts say they’ve never heard of a lawsuit alleging that anorexia resulted from school bullying, suits over school-based bullying are not new.
The lawsuit contends the school’s alleged failure to protect the girl violates Title IX, an antidiscrimination law affecting any school that receives federal funding.
Title IX has most often been cited in lawsuits about disparities in the number of athletic opportunities and scholarships afforded to male and female athletes.”
link: Pittsburgh mom says daughter bulled into anorexia
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against limitations of Title IX lawsuits. It seems, however, that the legal challenge will be to validate a direct causal relationship between harassment and the young woman’s anorexia.
Catherine Forsythe
