Queer youth suicide risk PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Rachel Cook

The Council of Europe has released new research showing that GLBT youth are more at risk of suicide that the general population.

The report, Child and Teenage Suicide in Europe: A Serious Public Health Issue, states that, ‘Special attention must be paid to young people with unconventional sexual orientations. In such cases there is a higher risk of psychological crisis linked to discovering their own homosexuality, rejection by family or friends, harassment or homophobic assault.’

Suicide rates among same-sex attracted youth in Australia are not known, as data is not gathered on the sexuality of suicide victims. However, Lynne Hillier senior research fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) told MCV that statistics collected from the Writing Themselves In report, conducted in 1998 and 2004, confirmed that young same-sex attracted Australians attempt suicide at a “far greater rate”.

“Same-sex attracted youth are several times more likely to attempt suicide, with young lesbians more likely again,” Hillier said.

“They are more at risk when they are first discovering their sexuality. Young people will try to attempt suicide before they come out to anyone.”

“We know that for young people to grow up well-adjusted, they need to have trust and reciprocity. Homophobia destroys those things; it divides them off from their communities; and the more abuse, the more alienation.”

Hillier says homophobia is still dominant in Australia and there are not enough services to deal with suicide among same-sex attracted young people.

“Once homophobia is a thing of the past we won’t need those services anymore,” she concluded.