In an effort to tie a real tragedy to a misunderstood pop culture movement, British news media are blaming emo for the suicide of a 13–year old British girl.

Hannah Bond hanged herself from a bunk bed in her bedroom with a tie which authorities claim she did to impress fellow followers of the "emo" movement. Roger Sykes, the coroner who recorded a verdict of suicide, found aspects of the youth movement, noted:

A girl of 13 years old has taken her own life for no reason that by anyone could be found to be justifiable. It is a terrible and tragic explanation to what happened. It is not glamorous, just simply a tragic loss of such a young life.

While Punknews.org is hesitant to editorialize; the attribution of this tragic situation to emo ignores the very real issues of depression and anxiety disorders which are common in suicides and rarely made clear to parents. Trying to find a superficial cause like taste in music is a disingenuous and dangerous way of avoiding real mental illness problems. People facing depression or suicidal thoughts should consider calling 1–800–SUICIDE where they can speak to a counselor.

You can find the Telegraph article here.