Yahoo News Netflix drama '13 Reasons Why' blamed for inspiring teen girls' attempted suicide
Concerns have been raised over a popular Netflix teen drama after claims it inspired the attempted suicide of two 13-year-old girls in Austria.
The two girls are now recovering after teachers found them at the last minute.
There have been calls in Austria for 13 Reasons Why, a Netflix drama which tells the story of an American high school student who kills herself, to be banned in the wake of the incident.
But despite widespread claims the series had inspired the two girls, a spokesman for the local school board told the Telegraph there was no conclusive evidence of a link.
“We can’t say it it’s true. All I can tell you is that a lot of the children at the school have said they believe there is a connection,” Karl Steinparz said.
Based on a 2007 novel of the same name, 13 Reasons Why tells the story of an American teen who commits suicide and leaves behind a series of cassette recordings explaining why.
The show has been accused of glamourising suicide and attracted controversy over its graphic depiction of issues such as rape.
The two girls, who have not been named under child protection laws, are students at the local Gymnasium in the small town of Bad Ischl.
Last week they informed a teacher they would be absent from the class during the afternoon and gave him what they claimed was a letter giving them time off school.
But the teacher sensed something was wrong and opened the letter to find it was a suicide note. He immediately raised the alarm and staff searched the school.
The two girls were found in a toilet. A teacher trained in first aid had to resucitate one of them. They were both rushed to hospital and are now out of danger.
The school is still trying to discover why they attempted suicide, Mr Steinparz said. “One of the girls is an exemplary pupil with no problems we know of. The other did have some problems recently but most of them had been cleared up.”
Austrian police are investigating whether there is any link to the attempted suicide of a third girl in the small town, who tried to kill herself after arguing with her mother.
“All three are alive, thank God, so our investigation is limited to whether there was any foul play or third party involved,” David Furtner, a spokesman for the police, said. “There is no evidence of any third party who encouraged them to attempt suicide. It appears this is a case of adolescent problems.”
