Bullying and harassment are long-standing problems in public schools around the world. Factors such as race, skin color, physical characteristics, gender or religion can play a role in how schoolchildren and adolescents are abused. Although bullying and harassment have always existed, both problems have recently become worse. More than 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year and suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, accounting for 4,400 deaths per year. This is an alarming figure given the rising figures for bullying and harassment. When bullying is mentioned, people tend to automatically associate bullying and American schools. However, the problem goes much deeper than that, and the roots of bullying have not only spread beyond school districts across the United States, but also around the world. Just as bullying is a global problem, so is harassment. This can range from a child picking on another child in the school hall to a grown man criticizing a member of staff in Australia. Several cases have been reported and several stories have circulated around the world, and no matter where they come from, they all have one thing in common: the involvement of bullying and harassment. Most often, the word "bully" is naturally associated with physical violence, because this is how bullying has been perceived as an influence. Physical bullying and harassment undoubtedly exist, but primarily from late elementary school through middle school. Although this does not necessarily mean that it only occurs from the transition from elementary to middle school, a high percentage of physical bullying occurs in these age groups. Physical bullying can include anything from... middle of paper ...... Kuo, Vivian, and Aaron Cooper. "Parents' lawsuit says school ignored bullying that led to teen's suicide." CNN. Cable News Network, March 29, 2011. Web. May 8, 2014. Macdonald, Chris. “Tips for writing a code of ethics”. Tips for writing a code of ethics.Ethics.web.ca, nd Web. May 6, 2014. Obregon, Vanessa. MHS Student Interviewer. Mr. Russ Standford, 4th period class “Protect yourself from cyberbullying”. CollegeXpress: Scholarships, College Search, Lists & Rankings. Np, and Web. May 6, 2014. “Welcome to bullying statistics. » Bullying statistics. Np, and Web. May 04, 2014. "Photo Gallery of the Worst Bullying Cases - Megan Meier - Crime Library." Photo gallery of the worst cases of bullying - Megan Meier - Crime Library. Np, and Web. May 6, 2014. “The worst cases of bullying. » Crimelibrary.com. Np, and Web. May 8 2014.