LGBTQ Youth Suicide
For reals. All the humans. All the time.
Me and my other happy gay kiddo!
Using your SUPERPOWERS for the greater good...
Let's learn about the LGBTQ things. First you have to learn some sad and not so great things about being LGBTQ.
Feel your feelings...then do something to make it better.
Donate money, tell other people the things you learned, start a group, send a letter to your newspaper or representative, get a new policy enacted in your workplace, attend safe space training...the possibilities are endless.
If you want to understand why I personally care about the LGBTQ things, please watch the below video created by my super amazing kiddo; yes, the gay one.
Okay, let's do the learning.
The Trevor Project (2021), the world’s largest LGBTQ suicide prevention organization, reported 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously contemplated suicide in the last twelve months, 30% reported food insecurity in the last month, and 72% reported generalized anxiety in the previous two weeks.
Read more about the Trevor Project here.
To understand why it is so hard to be LGBTQ you have to understand the world is designed for the heteronormative (straight and not trans) and constantly trying to fit into this mold (or risking alienation) is EXHAUSTING.
Deciding with every person you meet which version of yourself you are going to present is a source of constant stress.
As an LGBTQ person, you learn to quickly switch from one version of yourself to another; a concept known as code-switching.
Read an LGBTQ perspective on code-switching here.
Things are getting better, BUT...as of 2019, LGBTQ laws varied widely across the globe: (1) same sex marriage is not recognized in more than 85% of countries; (2) nearly 80% of countries do not have LGBTQ specific hate crime laws; (3) roughly 37% of countries criminalize same sex activity; (4) over 4% of countries use the death penalty as punishment for same sex activity (Pachankis & Bränström, 2019).
So...we just barely skimmed the surface.
We talked about how hard it is to be LGBTQ in America. We focused on youth, because well middle school and high school sucked for most of us, but yikes imagine carrying the stigma of being LGBTQ on top of that.
We need SAFE SPACES.
Safe spaces are not always a place...they can be a person.
"Safe spaces allow you to be who you really are, free from judgement, and in that freedom you truly excel" - Hannah Schneidewind (my gay kiddo).
Here are some more not very fun facts.
Imagine telling your family you are gay and getting KICKED OUT OF THE HOUSE? Homelessness is a truth too many LGBTQ kiddos are forced to deal with; 25% of LGBTQ kiddos report unstable housing (The Trevor Project, 2021).
LGBTQ kiddos are FOUR TIMES AS LIKELY to commit suicide as their counterparts...but thankfully studies show one supportive adult in the life of an LGBTQ kiddo reduces suicide by 40% (The Trevor Project, 2021).
Please be that adult!
Polls estimate between 5 and 17% (depending on the generation) of people are part of the LGBTQ community (Jones, 2020).
That means inside every classroom in America there is most likely at least ONE GAY KIDDO...and most likely that kiddo feels unsafe.
It can get better.
We have the ability to make it better...so much better...for all the people...all the time.
Okay, if you are still reading...you care, you want to make things better.
I am attaching some great resources below.
Free Safe Space Training: CLICK HERE
Genderbread person: understanding gender in bite sized pieces. CLICK HERE
Stories from LGBTQ kiddos: CLICK HERE
We are a 501c3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.
If you are old school and want to mail a check, please mail to 105 Oakwood Circle, Niceville, FL 32578.
References from this page...not Policy Brief (ya know...just for fun and to be scholarly and all)
Genderbread. (2021, November 18). The genderbread person 4.0: A teaching tool for breaking down gender into bite-sized, digestible pieces. https://www.genderbread.org/
Golio, L., & Scholl, D. (2021, November 18). We are the youth: Sharing the stories of LGBTQ youth in the United States. http://wearetheyouth.org/
Holden, M. (2019, August 12). The exhausting work of LGBTQ code-switching. Vice. https://www.vice.com/en/article/evj47w/the-exhausting-work-of-lgbtq-code-switching
Jones, J. M. (2000). LGB Identification Rises to 5.6% in Latest U.S. Estimate. [Gallup Poll]. https://news.gallup.com/poll/329708/lgbt-identification-rises-latest-estimate.aspx
Olney, C. (2000). Better bitch than mouse: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, feminism, and VMI. Buffalo Women's Law Journal, 9(12). https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/bwlj/vol9/iss1/12
Pachankis, J., E. & Bränström, R. (2019). How many sexual minorities are hidden? Projecting the size of the global closet with implications for policy and public health. PLOS
ONE, 14(6): Article e0218084. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218084
Schneidewind, M. (2020, April 29). Not every kid is so lucky. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qvCevhF8rQ&t=9s
The Safe Zone Project. (2021, November 18). The safe zone project. https://thesafezoneproject.com/
The Trevor Project. (2021). National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2021 [Survey]. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2021/
References from Policy Brief (ya know...just for fun and to be scholarly and all)
Bagley, C. & Tremblay, P. (2000). Elevated rates of suicidal behavior in gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention,21(3): 111–117. https://doi:10.1027//0227-5910.21.3.111
Gay, L. (2009). The safe space kit: guide to being an ally to LGBT students. Gay, Lesbian And Straight Education Network (GLSEN). https://www.glsen.org/activity/glsen-safe- space-kit-solidarity-lgbtq-youth
Greytak, E. A., Kosciw, J. G., & Boesen, M. J. (2013). Putting the "T" in Resource: The benefits of LGBT-related school resources for transgender youth. Journal of LGBT Youth, 10(1–2): 45–63. https://doi:10.1080/19361653.2012.718522
Haas, A. P., Eliason, M., Mays, V. M., Mathy, R. M., Cochran, S. D., D'Augelli, A. R., Silverman, M. M., Fisher, P. W., Hughes, T., Rosario, M., Russell, S. T., Malley, E., Reed, J., Litts, D. A., Haller, E., Sell, R. L., Remafedi, G., Bradford, J. Beautrais, A. L., Brown, G. K., Diamond, G. M., Friedman, M. S., Garofalo, R., Turner, M. S., Hollibaugh, A., & Clayton, P. J. (2010). Suicide and suicide risk in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations: Review and recommendations. Journal of Homosexuality, 58(1): 10-51. https://doi:10.1080/00918369.2011.534038
Hammelman, T. L. (1993). Gay and lesbian youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 2(1): 77–89. https://doi:10.1300/J236v02n01_06
Harris, K. M. (2013). Sexuality and suicidality: Matched-pairs analyses reveal unique characteristics in non-heterosexual suicidal behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42(5): 729–737. https://doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0112-2
Hatzenbuehler, M. L., McLaughlin, K. A., Keyes, K. M. & Hasin, D. S. (2010). The impact of institutional discrimination on psychiatric disorders in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: A prospective study. American Journal of Public Health, 100(3): 452–459. https://doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.168815
Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2011), The social environment and suicide attempts in lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. Pediatrics, 127(5): 896–903. https://doi:10.1542/peds.2010-3020
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2017). Same-sex marriage legalization linked to reduction in suicide attempts among high school students. Johns Hopkins University. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2017/same-sex-marriage-legalization-linked-to-reduction-in-suicide-attempts-among-high-school-students
Johnson, R. B., Oxendine, S., Taub, D. J., Robertson, J. (2013). Suicide prevention for LGBT students. New Directions for Student Services, 2013(141): 55–69. https://doi:10.1002/ss.20040
Kennedy, A., Genç, M., & Owen, P. D. (2021). The association between same-sex marriage legalization and youth deaths by suicide: A multimethod counterfactual analysis. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(6): 1176–1182. https://doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.01.033
Knotts, G., & Gregorio, D. (2011). Confronting homophobia at school: High school students and the gay men's chorus of Los Angeles. Journal of LGBT Youth, 8(1): 66–83. https://doi:10.1080/19361653.2011.519193
NBC News. (2020, September 21). It gets better: How a viral video fueled a movement for LGBTQ youth. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/it-gets-better-how-viral-video-fueled-movement-lgbtq-youth-n1240608
Proctor, C. D., & Groze, V. K. (1994). Risk factors for suicide among gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths. Social Work, 39(5): 504–513. https://doi:10.1093/sw/39.5.504
Raifman, J., Moscoe, E., Austin, S. B., & McConnell, M. (2017). Difference-in-differences analysis of the association between state same-sex marriage policies and adolescent suicide attempts". JAMA Pediatrics, 171(4): 350–356. https://doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.4529
Remafedi, G., Farrow, J. A., & Deisher, R. W. (1991). Risk factors for attempted suicide in gay and bisexual Youth. Pediatrics, 87(6): 869–875. https://doi:10.1542/peds.87.6.869
Russell, S. T., & Joyner, K. (2001). Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 91(8): 1276-1281. https://doi:10.2105/AJPH.91.8.1276
Savin-Williams, R. C. (1994). Verbal and physical abuse as stressors in the lives of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual youths: Associations with school problems, running away, substance abuse, prostitution, and suicide. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2): 261–269. https://doi:10.1037/0022-006X.62.2.261
Smalley, K. B., Warren, J. C., & Barefoot, K. N. (2017). LGBT health: Meeting the needs of gender and sexual minorities. Springer. ISBN 978-0-8261-3378-6.
Toomey, R. B., Syvertsen, A. K., & Shramko, M. (2018). Transgender adolescent suicide behavior". Pediatrics, 142(4): e20174218. https://doi:10.1542/peds.2017-4218
The Trans Pulse Project. (2012). Impacts of strong parental support for trans youth. https://transpulseproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Impacts-of-Strong-Parental-Support-for-Trans-Youth
The Trevor Project. (2011). Additional facts about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Thetrevorproject.org.
The Trevor Project. (2022). 2022 national survey on LGBTQ youth mental health. The Trevor Project. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2022/
Van Wormer, K., & McKinney, R. (2003). What schools can do to help gay/lesbian/bisexual youth: A harm reduction approach. Adolescence, 38(151): 409–420.
Walls, N. E., Wisneski, H., & Kane, S. (2013). School climate, individual support, or both? Gay straight alliances and the mental health of sexual minority youth. School Social Work Journal, 37(2): 88–111.