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While trying to deal with all the challenges of being a
teenager, gay/ lesbian/ bisexual/ transgender (GBLT) teens
additionally have to deal with harassment, threats, and violence
directed at them on a daily basis. They hear anti-gay slurs such as
"homo", "faggot" and "sissy: about 26 times a day or once every 14
minutes. Even more troubling, a study found that thirty-one percent
of gay youth had been threatened or injured at school in the last
year alone!
Their mental health and education, not to mention their physical
well-being, are at-risk.
How is their mental health
being affected?
- Gay and lesbian teens are at high risk because their distress
is a direct result of the hatred and prejudice that surround them,
not because of their inherently gay or lesbian identity
orientation.
- Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are two to three times more
likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual
counterparts.
How is their education being
affected?
- Gay teens in U.S. schools are often subjected to such intense
bullying that they're unable to receive an adequate education.
They're often embarrassed or ashamed of being targeted and may not
report the abuse.
- GLBT students are more apt to skip school due to the fear,
threats, and property vandalism directed at them.6 One survey
revealed that 22 percent of gay respondents had skipped school in
the past month because they felt unsafe there.
- Twenty-eight percent of gay students will drop out of school.
This is more than
- three times the national average for heterosexual
students.
- GLBT youth feel they have nowhere to turn. According to several
surveys, four out of five gay and lesbian students say they don't
know one supportive adult at school.
What can we do to
help?
Schools should offer a safe and respectful learning environment
for everyone. When bullying is allowed to take place, it affects
everyone. For every GLBT youth who reported being targeted for
anti-gay harassment, four heterosexual youth reported harassment or
violence for being perceived as gay or lesbian. Also, we know that
bullying was a contributing factor in the Columbine shootings and
other school violence. Students, teachers, and school
administrators who look the other way are contributing to the
problem. In contrast, kids who said that they had a supportive
faculty or openly gay staff member were more likely to feel as if
they belong in their school.
Help end bullying at your
school with the following actions:
- Be alert to signs of distress.
- Work with student councils to have programs on respect, school
safety, and anti-bullying.
- Ask school personnel to have a discussion at an assembly or an
after school activity about gay prejudice.
- Help start a Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
(GLSEN) chapter at your local high school. Youth whose schools had
these kinds of groups were less likely to have reported feeling
unsafe in their schools.
- Arrange for a group like GLSEN to present bullying prevention
activities and programs at your school.
- Do encourage anyone who's being bullied to tell a teacher,
counselor, coach, nurse, or his or her parents or guardians. If the
bullying continues, report it yourself.
For more information, contact your local mental health association or the National Mental Health
Association at (800) 969-NMHA (6642).
Other Resources
National Association of School Psychologists www.nasponline.org
American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry www.aacap.org
American Academy of Pediatrics
www.aap.org
American Psychological Association www.apa.org
American School Counselor
Association www.schoolcounselor.org
Association of Gay and
Lesbian Psychiatrists www.aglp.org
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network www.glsen.org
Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.org
Human
Rights Watch www.hrw.org
National Education Association
www.nea.org
National Youth Advocacy Coalition www.nyacyouth.org
Parents, Families, and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays www.pflag.org
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