By: Jessica Cordova

 Are the initials used since the 1990s to identify the “gay community”. It started replacing the phrase “gay community” since it did not accurately represent those to whom it referred to.  LGBTQ is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender-identity based cultures and Is used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual.

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer or Questioning  There are other initials that might be used such as: U: unsure, C: curious, I: intersex, T: transsexual or transvestite, TS: two-spirit, SA: straight-allies, A: asexual, P: pansexual or polyamorous, O: other.

 Research shows that LGBT youth report higher rates of anti-LGBTQ harassment and bullying than straight youth.  But not every person who is the target of anti-LGBTQ bullying is LGBTQ.  Many who are bullied are targeted because of their perceived sexual orientation or because they do not conform to someone’s expectations about gender.

 The relationship between bullying and suicide is complex. Research indicates that persistent bullying can lead to or worsen feelings of isolation, rejection, exclusion and despair, as well as to depression and anxiety, which can contribute to suicidal behavior. 20% of LGBTQ teens make an attempt to commit suicide versus 4% of heterosexual teens.  According to a recent report by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, nine of 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students said they experienced some form of harassment at school.

 Nine out of 10 LGBT students (86.2%) experienced harassment at school; three- fifths (60.8%) felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation; and about one-third (32.7%) skipped a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe (GLSEN National School Climate Survey 2009).  LGBT students are three times as likely as non-LGBT students to say that they do not feel safe at school (22% vs. 7%) and 90% of LGBT students (vs. 62% of non-LGBT teens) have been harassed or assaulted during the past year. (GLSEN From Teasing to Torment 2006)  Sexual minority youth, or teens that identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, are bullied two to three times more than heterosexuals. (Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH 2010)  Almost all transgender students had been verbally harassed (e.g., called names or threatened in the past year at school because of their sexual orientation (89%) and gender expression (89%) (GLSEN: Harsh Realities, The Experiences of Transgender Youth In Our Nation’s Schools 2009).

LGBTQ & Bullying Facts continuedLGBTQ & Bullying Facts continued  LGBT youth in rural communities and those with lower adult educational attainment face particularly hostile school climates (JG, Greytak EA, Diaz EM – Journal of Youth & Adolescence 2009)  Lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents are 190 percent more likely to use drugs and alcohol than are heterosexual teens (Marshal MP, Friedman MS, et al – Addiction 2008).  It is estimated that between 20 and 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (2006 National Gay & Lesbian Task Force: An Epidemic of Homelessness). 62% of homeless LGB youth will attempt suicide at least once—more than two times as many as their heterosexual peers (Van Leeuwen JMm et al – Child Welfare 2005)  Gay, lesbian and bisexual teens living in counties with the lowest social index scores were 20 percent more likely to have attempted suicide than gays in counties with the highest index scores.

 Overall, about 25 percent of gay teens in low- scoring counties had attempted suicide, versus 20 percent of gay teens in high- scoring counties.  Among straight teens, suicide attempts were 9 percent more common in low- scoring counties.  There were 1,584 total suicide attempts — 304 of those among gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

 Prior research suggests that gay men, lesbians, and bisexual persons have higher rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicides than do heterosexual individuals.  Lifetime prevalence rates of serious suicidal ideation ranging from 24% to 41% have been reported, along with lifetime prevalence rates of suicide attempts ranging from 7% to 20% among adult gay men and lesbians.  Studies of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths have reported levels of attempted suicide ranging from 20% to 40%, with rates in some special subpopulations (e.g., street youth, GLB youths who have been victims of violent assault) being even higher.  The available evidence suggests that the relative risk for serious suicide attempts among gay and bisexual males is substantially greater than that among their heterosexual counterparts, but basic epidemiological research on suicidal behavior in this population is both sparse in quantity and deficient in quality, plagued by methodological deficits, particularly with respect to sampling.

 Many studies examining determinants of suicide specific to gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens have focused on both developmental life transitions (e.g., “coming out” or adopting an identity and sense of community based on one’s sexuality) and social and cultural stressors (e.g., stigmatization, victimization, pervasive antigay hostility).  The stresses related to antigay victimization and the “coming out” process (e.g., loss of friends, antigay victimization) can be seen as having both a proximal and a distal relation to suicide, similar to the immediate and long-term consequences of other traumatic events.  First, they may provoke emotional distress sufficient to cause youths to contemplate suicide, and second, they may be linked to low self- esteem, substance abuse, and subsequent mood disorders that increase lifetime vulnerability to suicide.  Younger gay men, bisexual individuals, and lesbians appear more likely to both anticipate and experience stigmatization and victimization, which are linked to greater psychological distress.

Cast from The Real L Word for NoH8 campaign

By: Jessica Cordova

General Suicide Prevention, Research and Help-Seeking Resources  American Foundation for Suicide Prevention  Johnson Family Foundation  Media Education & Messaging Resources Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation  Messaging Resources Movement Advancement Project  Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network  It Gets Better Project  The Trevor Project Trevor Lifeline: U-TREVOR ( )