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In Memory of Those who Committed Suicide for Reasons Related to One's Sexual Orientation
Welcome to one of the two1 most complete Internet Resource on gay and bisexual male suicide problems, related issues, and a little known concept related to youth suicide. (Help Lines)

The evidence indicates that homosexually oriented males account for more than half of male youth suicide problems, but mainstream suicidologists generally continue to ignore this aspect of the problem. Information about lesbian youth suicide problems is included, as is other generally unrecognized factors possibly associated with youth suicide problems.

It is hoped that your exploration of the site lead to positive outcomes for the ongoing victims of the traditional Better be Dead Than Gay social ideology. Unfortunately, many professionals  have had a history of abusing, harming and/or ignoring these young individuals. They have also been ignoring the high risk status of many other adolescents targeted for abuse in schools and elsewhere because they are "presumed to be homosexual," usually on the basis of gender nonconformity. A 2004 research summary.  2007 Conference Alert - The Homosexuality Factor in Suicidality: Heterosexual Identified Individuals. - Conference Presentations by P. Temblay & R. Ramsay.

 See "Attempted Suicide" Results For Homosexually Oriented Males & Females: More Than 100 Studies!

Papers & Reports Available Online Related to GLBT Suicidality.

A recipe for suicidality & suicides... by our historical highly sexist female-hating society? Even by our presently socially constructed 'gay' communities? ....

Why Can’t You Just Butch Up? Gay Men, Effeminacy, and Our War with Ourselves!

Read MoreSuicidality Results as Related to Gender-Nonconformity in Gay & Transgender Males.
- Straight or gay, we're all just acting.

Not Alone: You do NOT want to be gay in my home community. If a guy does something that’s considered “faggoty” there’s a pretty good chance he’ll be beaten up, badly too. So I kept my mouth shut even though I was pretty sure I was gay. I would go and sleep with women to be like everyone else, but I needed to be wasted to do it usually, so you can imagine how sexy that was... When I go home to visit my actual family I’m not out--not really. I’ve told my mom and my sister and they are okay, mostly, but they worry that I will say the wrong thing and get hurt. So I stay quiet. But at least I know I’m not alone and I hope that people will open their minds. (More on Homosexuality Issues and Native American Youth Suicidality)
Important Alert! In a study of French Canadian gay males who had attempted suicide Mort ou Fif (Dead Boys Can't Dance), it was reported that some gay men will DREAD the idea that anyone will ever discover their "homosexual" secret! Therefore,  they may have have a girlfriend - to make everyone else believe they are 100% (200%?) heterosexual - or "normal" (and they may also have sex with females in a way that others will know of this, again to be considered "normal!" by others = NOT homosexual, gay or a fag!) One gay male with a girlfriend, for example, timed his very serious attempt to end his life immediately after the relationship with his girlfriend had ended so that others would think the "heterosexual" relationship break-up was the reason or cause for his suicide!  That is, even after his death,  all would surely believe that he was 200% heterosexual. There are likely many dead gay males who, in this way, took their homosexual/gay/Two-Spirit secret to their grave! Unfortunately, to this day, no professional in suicide who mentions that heterosexual relationship break-ups are implicated in male youth suicides had ever caveated this concept by stating what was mentioned above. That some male youth will terminate their lives and also do their best so that no one will ever know the real reason for their suicide - if the cause is related to their non-heterosexual inner desires. This fact remains unresearched and it has yet unrecognized likely monumental implications in male youth suicidology research that includes the higher rates of Native American male youth suicide! (Twice the White Suicide Rate in USA, and Six-Times in Canada!)

The Heterosexual Homosexuality Factor In Youth Suicidality.
Implicated: Homophobia, Gender Nonconformity & The Possible ‘No Man’s Land’ Effect.


Ed Gallagher Dies at 48: Gay suicide prevention advocate reached thousands with his positive message.

Gay in the Ring: 'The more popular I got, the more miserable I got,' wrestler says.

Gay Armenian in LA committed suicide after being forced into marriage.

Victimization For Sexual Orientation Increases Suicidal Behavior In College Students (2007).

Victimization related to suicidal behavior among college students. More: 1.

Anti-Gay Bullying Drives 11 YO Massachusetts Student to Suicide (2009). More: 1.

Gender role, sexual orientation and suicide risk (2005).

Boy, 10, hangs himself after telling his mother: 'I want to be a girl'.

Gay teen's suicide brings some changes (2008).

Gay Teens Commit Suicide: Who is to Blame?

Family Tolerance Can Lower Gay Kids' Suicide Risk (2008/09).

Attempted suicide and associated risk factors among youth in urban Japan (2008).

Suicidality and Self-Harm Among Sexual Minorities in Japan (2008).

A
Suicide in UK: Teenage Gay Male, Hated & Abused by His Family.
Related NY Research by D'Augelli et al. (2005): Abstract. Full Text.
"Factors that differentiated youth reporting suicide attempts and those not reporting attempts were
greater childhood parental psychological abuse and more childhood gender-atypical behavior.
Gay-related suicide attempts were associated with identifiability as LGB, especially by parents."

Boy, 15, lay down in front of train after gay taunts. - Gay torment drove me to suicide bid.

LGBT Students Remain Suicide Risks Despite Changing Attitude & Laws (2009).

It's not easy being gay in rural B.C: "The higher rates of suicide attempts amongst
rural gay and bisexual boys are particularly disturbing..." Study Abstract

Site Index: Seven Major Categories
New Information Added / Related Links
Recent Papers / Studies: GLB Suicidality
Racism Problems in Predominantly White GLBT Communities
Information Listing: Recent
Information Listing: Less Recent
Items That May Be Of High Interest
King et al. (2008). A Systematic Review of Mental Disorder, Suicide, and Deliberate Self Harm in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People. BMC Psychiatry. Online, Aug 18. 8:70.
Conclusion of Meta-Analysis: LGB people are at higher risk of mental disorder, suicidal ideation, substance misuse, and deliberate self harm than heterosexual people... lifetime prevalence of suicide attempt was especially high in gay and bisexual men (RR 4.28, CI 2.32, 7.88).
Full Text. Full Text. Abstract.

Plöderl M, Sauer J,  Reinhold FR (2006). Suizidalität und psychische Gesundheit von homo- und bisexuellen Männern und Frauen – Eine Metaanalyse internationaler Zufallsstichproben. Verhaltenstherapie & psychosoziale Praxis, 38(2): 283-302. Abstract.

Related Alert: The Paul et al (2002) results (Full Text) (Full Text) - random sampling of American homosexually oriented males in 5 cities - indicates that Aboriginal GB males are 3-times more at risk for having attempted suicide than other GB males. They are therefore maybe 12 times more at risk for having attempted suicide compared to white heterosexual males.
See... Related WebSite!

British Columbia's 2008 Adolescent Health Survey (PDF Download, 6 megs): "86% of students identified as heterosexual, 7% as mostly heterosexual, 2% as bisexual, and less than 1% as either mostly homosexual or homosexual (gay or lesbian). The remaining 4% were “not sure.” ... Those at greater risk of having attempted suicide: ... Aboriginal youth (11% vs. 4% non-Aboriginal),
lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (28% vs. 4% heterosexual: 7-times the risk), obese youth (10% vs. 4% healthy weight) and youth with a health condition or disability (16% vs. 4% without a disability)... physically abused (15% vs. 3%) or sexually abused (22% vs. 4%).

Gay students more likely to consider suicide: study. Survey shows D.C. gay youth face bullying, harassment (2008).
DC 2007 High School YRBS: Baseline Findings for GLBQ Items (PDF Download). "30.6 percent of gay teens considered suicide in the previous year, 28.9 percent made a plan to commit suicide and 32.6 percent attempted suicide. That compares to 13.8 percent, 12.1 percent and 8.6 percent respectively in those same categories for their straight counterparts.

Massachusetts' 2007 YRBS Results: "29.1 percent attempted suicide and 12.1 percent attempted suicide that required medical attention. That compares to 6.4 percent and 2.2 percent respectively in those same categories for their straight counterparts.

2007 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey
: In the past 12 months, 26% of gay/lesbian students, 29% of bisexual students and 10% of those 'not sure' of their sexual orientation had attempted suicide, compared to 4% of heterosexual students.

2007 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey (Word Download): Sexual minority students were 3.7 times more at risk for having attempted suicide in the past 12 months, compared to heterosexual students.

2005 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey and Massachusetts Annual Homeless Enrollment Data: "16% of students who self identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are homeless, compared to 4% of their straight peers. 15% of homeless students self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

2005 Chicago Youth Risk Behavior Survey: In the past 12 months, 33.3% of gay/lesbian students and 35.0% of bisexual students had made a suicide plan, compared to 9.7% of heterosexual students. 27.3% of gay/lesbian students and 33.3% of bisexual students had attempted suicide, compared to 7.5% of heterosexual students.

2005 New York City Yoouth Risk Behavior Survey: In the past 12 months, compared to heterosexual youth,  the odds of having attempted suicide were greater for Gay, Bisexual and Unsure male students:  6.2, 12.8, 6.9, respectively, or 9.0 for the combined 3 groups (3.4, with control variables). For Lesbian, Bisexual and Unsure females, the odds were 0.9, 5.3, 2.4, respectively, or 3.7 for the combined 3 groups (2.5, with control variables).
2005 New York City Yoouth Risk Behavior Survey: "Citywide, attempted suicide is almost four times as prevalent among LGBQ teens (31%) as among heterosexual youth (8%)."
See also: Mental Health of New York City Youth


Tentatives de suicide parmi les homosexuels en France: résultats de l’enquête Presse Gay 2004 (PDF): 19% of adult Gay/Bi males report having attempted suicide. News Item.

Press Release, France 2008 (PDF): un quart des tentatives de suicide des garçons âgés de 15 à 24 ans et 10 % de celles des filles du même âge seraient liés à un problème d’homosexualité. [One quarter of suicide attempts by boys - 15 to 25 years-old - and 10% of those by girls are related to homosexuality related problems.]

2008 New Caledonia Study, Ages 16-25 Years (PDF): Same sex attracted males and females have greater odds, compared to their heterosexual counterparts, for having been suicidal, even when controlling for all possible other factors: 5.6, 1.8 respectively.

Closeted Married Men Who Have Sex With Men: Suicide Risk
 (The Advocate, May 4, 2007)

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (2008).
Suicide risk and prevention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Newton, MA: Education Development Center, Inc. Prepared by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center for the Center for Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Download: http://www.sprc.org/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf.
A Related Google Cache Document.

Young R, Sweeting H, West P (2006)
. Prevalence of deliberate self harm and attempted suicide within contemporary Goth youth subculture: longitudinal cohort study. BMJ, 6;332(7549): 1058-61. Epub 2006 Apr 13. PubMed AbstractFull Text.  Commentaries: "
Self harm in Goth youth subculture: Conclusion relates only to small sample." - "Self harm in Goth youth subculture: Study merely reinforces popular stereotypes." - Other Responses. - Goth subculture may protect vulnerable children. - Related Comments: "While I was never a self-harmer, I was definitely suicidal as a teenager, and have had suicidal tendencies throughout my whole life up until today... While I guess being goth reflected my depression, it didn't abate or help it after becoming goth, as the study suggests it did for self-harmers."

"What is Goth? ...the goth scene has a large proportion of gays/bisexuals, and followers of non-mainstream religions and views..." - GayGothBoys.Tribe.Net: "

Pinhey TK, Millman SR (2004)Asian/Pacific Islander Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk in Guam. American Journal of Public Health,  94(7): 1204-1206. (Abstract) Full Text: PDF Download.
The Odds for GB Males Attempting Suicide in the Past year is About  Five Times Greater than Odds For Other Males. Estimated by  Web Page Author: Risk Ratio = 3.2 - 43.5% of GB males attempted suicide, versus 13.5% for other males. For all Males: 14.5%.  3.5% of 674 males studied = GB Males

O'Donnell L, O'Donnell C, Wardlaw DM, Stueve A (2004).  Risk and resiliency factors influencing suicidality among urban African American and Latino youth.  American Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1-2): 37-49. (Abstract)
At Risk = "engaging in same-gender sex" - Logistic Regression OR = 2.7

2003: Research into the needs of young people in Northern Ireland who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT)
N = 362, 14 (4%) = Trannssexual/Transgender, 52 (14%) = Bisexual - Lifetime Suicide Attempt Incidence: Males (28%, N = 232) - Females (30%, N = 130) - TS/TV (64%, N = 14) Report Download (Word): 1, 2.

Warner J, McKeown E, et al. (2004: Related Article, Summary). Rates and predictors of mental illness in gay men, lesbians and bisexual men and women: Results from a survey based in England and Wales (Pub Med Abstract): "Of the 1285 [GLB] respondents who took  part, 556 (43%) had mental disorder.... 361 (31%) had attempted suicide.  This was associated with markers of discrimination such as recent physical attack (OR=1.7, 95%CI 1.3-2.3) and school bullying (OR=1.4, 95%CI 1.1-2.0)..."

Qin P, Agerbo E, Mortensen PB (2003)Suicide risk in relation to socioeconomic, demographic, psychiatric, and familial factors: a national register-based study of all suicides in Denmark, 1981-1997. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(4):765-72. (Abstract) (Full Text)

"...registered [same-sex] partners included as a separate category in the analysis had an odds ratio of 4.31 (95% CI= 2.23–8.36)  in the crude analysis and 3.63 (95% CI=1.71– 7.67) in analyses with adjustment for other factors in the full model [for having committed suicide compared to opposite-sex married couples]".

Note: This is a First-Time Research Result!

See: Frisch M, Bronnum-Hansen H (2009). Mortality among men and women in same-sex marriage: a national cohort study of 8333 Danes. American Journal of Public Health, 99(1): 133-7. Abstract.

After 1995, higher risk of death in same-sex marriages occur in first 3 year of the marriage. Note: The paper does NOT mention the Qin et al (2003) suicide results (above), and suicide is only mentioned as possibly being implicated in the higher risk of death for same-sex couples.

Costa Rica Studies: 2000, 2006

Suicidio en la población homosexual costarricense (Translation).

55 GBT Males. 40% had been suicidal. 22% had attempted suicide.
45 LB Females. 18% had been suicidal. 11% had attemptd suicide.

Estudio alerta sobre intentos de suicidio por discriminación gay:
Investigación en 200 homosexuales halló hasta un 27% de intentos suicidas.
Up to 27% had attempted suicide. (Translation)

Estudio alerta sobre intentos de suicidio por discriminación gay según encuesta exploratoria en población costarricense
(Translation): Una investigación en población homosexual costarricense lanzó una campanada de alerta sobre intentos suicidas por
causa de la discriminación y rechazo por su orientación sexual. Investigación en 200 homosexuales halló hasta un 27% de intentos suicidas.
Rechazo familiar y social, problemas de pareja y soledad son principales causas.

Being Turkish and Gay in Germany
Germany may be considered a tolerant place for homosexuals. But continuing social stigma still makes it difficult for many of the country's gay and lesbian
immigrants to be open about their sexuality... Although it is illegal in Europe to discriminate against anyone because of their sexual orientation, prejudice
against gays and lesbians still exists in Germany. This makes it difficult for many people to come out, especially for those who belong to oftenconservative
immigrant communities. This can have devastating consequences including repressed feelings, living in fear of being shunned and even depression or suicide.

Crosscurrents - Winter 2004/05: Better dead than queer:
Youth suicide and discrimination in a heterosexual world.

Suicidality & Homosexualities: Are we part of the problem or solution? (PDF Download)

We Belong - Producer: Joe Wilson
"This is the story of two rural teens who had the courage
to stand up to bigotry and intolerance in their schools –
and the determination to tell their stories to the world..."

No Sex, Please, We’re Gay Teens:.
GLBT Youth Being Harmed?

The Child Porn Hoax

Paul Cody, Ph.D. U.N.H.Counseling Center: "Older gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who read this can remember how difficult our own experience was when young. Frequently we may want to put that behind us because of the painfulness of remembering it even still. We cannot afford to do that as too many of our youth are in those hells now. Commit or recommit yourself to being as out as you can be, being proud, and reaching out to the youth who need our support. Remember that our lives are only as good as they are because of those who came before us in this struggle. What will you do for those who come after us?... As someone who survived his own difficult gay adolescence, I want you to know that life gets better, so hold on to life and reach out for help."

Gays and lesbians in the Muslim community are quietly shattering
one of the final taboos of Islam (Globe & Mail, 2003).

[He] attempted suicide twice before he turned 18. Growing up in Lahore, Pakistan, the eldest son of devout Muslim parents, he could never come to terms with, let alone explore, his attraction to other men. His best attempts to fake interest in girls failed to impress his peers, who began to bully the self-described "effeminate" man. "It was easy for other kids to practise kick-boxing on me," recalls Mr. Malik, now 25. In 1992, he tried to hang himself from the ceiling fan in his room. If it was a cry for help, it fell on hostile ears since suicide is a haram - religious wrong - in Islamic law. "My dad's reaction was really bad - he beat me. I was frustrated with my own life. I had no one to talk to, not even my own parents." In 1997, after a disastrous infatuation with a high-school friend - who later committed suicide after being forced into an arranged marriage - Mr. Malik tried to take his life one more time. Again, he faced the wrath of his parents, who didn't understand the reason for his depression. Today in Halifax, where he is studying tourism and hotel management...

Abigail's Poem: Stop The Hate

Gay High Schools Offer a Haven From Bullies.
But the schools in Milwaukee and New York also reawaken the debate over school segregation.

Getting Past High School. My Struggle to Accept That I'm Gay Was Painful. For Some, It's Fatal.

Suicide Note of a Gay Teen: "I have been punched and spit on and called faggot, queer, loser, pussy, fag boy..."

Should Jaheem Herrera's Suicide Send Anyone to Prison? The suicide of 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera,
who hung himself with a belt after students called him "gay" one too many times, is now a rallying point for gay
and child advocacy organizations. At vigil for Jaheem, mother weeps over his suicide.

Joshua Melo was a sensitive, shy, polite, caring, talented, and intelligent 15-year-old 10th grader who
attended Strathroy District Collegiate Institute in Strathroy, Ontario, Canada.
He hanged himself on November 26, 2004; he was suffering from severe depression after enduring
endless bullying because some bullies at the school believed that he was gay.

YouTube: Bullied to death: They committed suicide because of bullying.

Suicide teen told to stop wasting taxpayer's money (UK).

Play explores family's reaction to gay son's suicide (2006).

'Lesbian' jibes drive 14-yr-old to suicide (UK). British Teen Driven To Suicide Over Gay Taunts.

Suicide shocks Derry gay community (2007): "Eamon Johnston, the winner of Mr Gay Derry 2003,
has committed suicide. He was 22... Mr Johnston was a hairdresser and support counsellor for gay group Rainbow Project...
His mother told Derry Journal that her son was a "lovely wee boy" and appealed to other suicidal people
to seek help instead of taking their lives..."

Gay Teens Commit Suicide: Who is to Blame?

Parents kick out 14-year-old girl for being bisexual. Memorial. Memorial.
Taylor Jo Doherty (14) shot herself in the head for unknown reasons.
Taylor Jo Doherty. - Taylor-Jo-Doherty.
Mom works to prevent teen suicide warning signs.

A few years ago, here in Maine, two sixteen-year-old girls committed suicide together, driving their car a hundred miles an hour
into a grove of birch trees. They left a suicide note on the seat of the car. The contents of the note were suppressed by the local police,
who claimed ‘the family had suffered enough.’ Let this play [Ugly Ducklings] speak where lesbian and gay young people,
even in death, have found their stories censored and their words erased.” Carolyn Gage, Playwright (PDF Download)

Milk directed by Gus Van Sant (2008): He recites a list of gay men who have committed suicide –
and elsewhere in the movie we see him taking calls from a desperate young man ready to do the same –
and says he wants to end these needless deaths, to abolish the ubiquitous pressure towards guilt and hiding.

Michaelson MT (2008). Inclusion and social justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of the learning community in Queensland state schools. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, ,18(1): 76-83. Abstract: "Although schools are meant to be safe learning environments for all children, some children are not afforded equal access to the protection of their safety and security... Despite increasingly positive shifts in Western societal feelings about homosexuality,educators continue to fail to implement inclusive practices and social justice for children who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT).

Gay adolescents and suicide: understanding the association.

The paper, "Does your school track the suicidal student?" (The Clearing House, November/December, 2001: 92-5) by David Helsel begins with:

"Jared was a troubled teenager. He attended a large modern public middle school in an Ohio city. Although his school had no formal crisis management team, many of his teachers and friends and his counselor all agreed, after his suicide, that he had given them ample warning signs. Jared endured abuse in a family setting of domestic violence and alcoholism. Branded a sexual misfit at school, he did his best to cope with his gender confusion and poor academic performance. He let others know of his despair but could not convince them of his pain. On his last day he told his closest friend, Tony, that he could not endure anymore and that he would end his life that evening after school. Tony had heard those words before but Jared had never acted on them. So there seemed little reason to believe him now. Having given his last warning, Jared went home after school and shot himself" (92).

Gabriel Rotello N/A (Alternate Link) (The Advocate, January 16, 01): "In speaking to PFLAG chapters over the years, I have met several parents of gay kids who committed suicide, and their refrain is always sadly similar: 'If only we had known. Why didn’t we send the right signals to our children, telling them we would have loved them no matter what?'"

Barden, Connie (2004). Lesbian and Gay Youths at Risk: Providers must be more open minded about sexual orientation. American Journal of Nursing, 104(10): 13. "I will never forget the day that a physician colleague and I were chatting about his four children. “I’ll be happy with anything my kids do with their lives,” he said, “just as long as they don’t turn out gay. If I found out one was gay, I think I’d shoot myself.” Stunned, I remained silent. This colleague, who has known and respected me for years, assumed his comment was innocuous. I was hurt but not devastated. But how do such comments affect young people? ... An article published in School Administrator in February 2000 reported that gay-related name-calling (for example, “faggot” or “dyke”) occurs an average of 26 times daily on middle and high school campuses—and that many students harassed in this way identify themselves as heterosexual."

Our Gay Voice: "Most Persians in Southern California have never been exposed to accurate information about homosexuality.Degrading jokes about homosexuality can often be heard in Iranian gatherings. Gay youths (gay refers here to both male and female) growing up in such a homophobic community might find suicide or substance abuse as an escape.

Hatred in the Hallways (2001): Violence and Discrimination Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in U.S. Schools & Hostile Hallways (2001): Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment in School: 74% of students say they would be "very upset... if someone called them gay or lesbian." More on American schools: 2004. - Bad days for gay teenagers.

The gay / bisexual boys who  have sex with men, their problems (including suicidality, high risk for contracting HIV, etc.) and the related scandalous "silence" about this reality by most researchers and gay community leaders. In Oslo, Norway, a 2003 study reports that for every "1" adolescent girl selling sex, there are 3.5 adolescent boys selling sex.

India: The Deaths of Two Women in Love: "Dead bodies of 2 young women were found at the Satyamangalam forest area, Erode district. They had committed suicide as they could not live apart from each other and they had a homosexual love relationship. They wrote in their heartbreaking letter that they couldn't live apart from each other."

The Phillipines: Suicide attempts among Filipino gays on the rise. -  Alarm over high rate of suicide cases among Filipino homosexuals.

France: British Medical Journal - "Within the framework of an exploratory study conducted among young people attending a French annual festival aiming at solidarity with persons living with the HIV, we found a significant difference (p<0.05) in the prevalence of lifetime (at least one) suicide attempts when comparing young MSM with their heterosexual (HS) peers (30% vs. 5.5 %) . These first data on French youth are very similar to those from larger representative studies conducted in other developed countries." Results of larger study given in 2005 "'Le Monde" article: "Les résultats préliminaires du travail de Marc Shelly, médecin de santé publique et responsable du centre de dépistage anonyme et gratuit de l'hôpital parisien Fernand-Widal, font apparaître que, "toutes choses égales par ailleurs" ­ - âge, lieu de résidence, niveau d'études, catégorie socioprofessionnelle, structure familiale parentale, modes de vie (couple ou célibat) ­-, les jeunes homosexuels ont treize fois plus de risque de faire une tentative de suicide que les jeunes hétérosexuels. Ces résultats confirment les chiffres issus des études américaines, canadiennes et australiennes : elles aboutissent, chez les homosexuels, à des chiffres de "sursuicidalité" variant de six à treize..." [When controlling for many factors, homosexually oriented males in Paris are 13 times more likely to have attempted suicide than heterosexually oriented males.] Two related "Le Monde" Articles: Guillaume "n'arrivait pas à parler", alors, à 17 ans, il a craqué. Marc Shelly, médecin de santé publique, responsable du centre de dépistage anonyme et gratuit de l'hôpital Fernand-Widal: "Ils semblent se considérer comme des personnes de moindre qualité". NOTE: Suicide studies and suicide prevention efforts in France, as well as elsewhere, have generally ignored all issues related to homosexuality. When the people at greatest risk for problems are ignored in prevention efforts, the result will be: maximizing the casualties in this segment of the population. Why this unspoken objective/outcome has been a rule in mainstream suicidology - dominated by 'mental health' professionals who once decreed that homosexual people should not exist and therefore should be 'cured' - should be studied.

Austria: The above French study suggests that one in three males who attempts suicide are homosexually oriented (Suicide : les jeunes gays premiers concernés). A Canadian study (random sample) reported that, for serious suicide attempts, about 62% of male suciide attempters would be homosexually oriented (PubMed Abstract). An Austrian study (PubMed Abstract) suggests that about 50% of suicide attempters, both male and female, are homosexually oriented.

How Times Change: "It's a sad story. Five years ago, 19-year-old Jim Wheeler took his own life because he couldn't deal with being the only gay person he knew existed in his rural Pennsylvania town. To Jim, Lebanon was a horrible, lonely place where the local therapist told him gayness was an unpardonable sin. It was the pinnacle of farm-town small-minded America, its idyllic beauty barely masking an undercurrent of intolerance and fear. Jim couldn't handle it. It ate away at him until, even as his own parents reached out with love and support, he crumbled. Jim's story is told in the documentary film Jim In Bold, airing on PBS and MTV in 2003..."

Gay, Bisexual Women Take More Risks Than Gay Men. - Lesbian and Bi Women More Likely to Engage in Risky Behavior, Study Finds. - Gay & Bi Women Greater Risk Takers. - US Study: Lesbian and bi women more likely to engage in risky behavior.

The impact of transphobia on HIV risk behaviors among male-to-female transgenders in San Francisco (PDF Download): Focus Group (N = 48) & Cross-Sectional Sample (N  = 332), most having had a commercial sex work history: 29% reported having attempted suicide, with another 15% having experienced suicidal ideation.

Largest Ever Study of Anti-LGBT Harassment in Schools Shows the Problem is Widespread, Dangerous and Preventable: "The in-depth companion survey found that school campuses in California are hostile climates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students and gender non-conforming students. Two in every three LGBT students reported harassment based on sexual orientation, and 47% of LGBT students experienced repeated harassment. Almost half of their peers agree that their school is not safe for LGBT students. These findings are supported by the fact that 91% of all students report hearing their peers use slurs about sexual orientation and more than 40% reported hearing teachers making such negative comments or slurs. In addition, 27% of students reported being harassed because they weren’t “masculine enough” or “feminine enough,” and more than half of all students said their schools are unsafe for boys who aren’t as masculine as other boys."

Are lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, and transgendered people more suicidal that others??? Presentation by Anthony D'Augelli. PDF Download for PowerPoint Presentation. - "I thought of suicide once. I nearly committed it. I wanted it to look like an accident..." - HIV prevalence, risk behaviors, health care use, and mental health status of transgender persons: implications for public health intervention: "We recruited transgender persons through targeted sampling, respondent-driven sampling, and agency referrals; 392 male-to-female and 123 female-to-male transgender persons were interviewed and tested for HIV... Sixty-two percent of the male-to-female and 55% of the female-to-male transgender persons were depressed; 32% of each population had attempted suicide." Free download of paper is available.

Suicide Research (Scotland): Hutchison C, Porter S, De Voil S (2003). Live to Tell: Finding of a Study of Suicidal Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours Amongst Young Gay and Bisexual Men in Edinburgh. Scotland: Gay Men’s Health - LGBT Youth Scotland. Internet: http://www.lgbtyouth.org.uk/portalbase/pages/download.aspx?locationId=550deae3-11c0-46c9-865a-d38510a7ab6f . (Download Page) -  http://www.mrsite.co.uk/usersitesv/pctherapy.org.uk/wwwroot/USERIMAGES/livetotellpdf.pdf . - Craig Hutchison's Web Site.

Research highlights: 95 Gay/Bi Males aged 15-26 (Average age = 20.8 years). 28% of respondents had at some point deliberately injured themselves with no suicidal intent. This compares to 2% of men in the general population.. 54% of respondents had seriously considered taking their own life, compared to 13% of men in the general population who have ever considered suicide. 51% of respondents who had previously considered suicide now no longer felt suicidal. However, 15% of respondents still seriously considered suicide at least once a month. 27% of young gay/bisexual men have attempted suicide compared to 4% of the general population. Suicide attempts were most common in those young gay/bisexual men aged 14 to 20. 58% of those who had attempted suicide made only one attempt. 35% had made three or more attempts. 23% made five or more attempts. 54% of respondents who had attempted suicide had at some point deliberately injured themselves without wanting to take their own life.

Rosario, M. et al. (2005). Psychological Distress Following Suicidality Among Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youths: Role of Social Relationships. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(2): 149–161. Link to Abstract.

Excerpt: "Youths between the ages of 14 and 21 years were recruited from 3 gay-focused community organizations (85%) and 2 public-college GLB student organizations (15%) in New York City. Approximately 80% of the youths approached for recruitment participated in the study... Of the 156 youths interviewed at baseline, 35% had attempted suicide, 23% had seriously thought about suicide but had not attempted, and 42% had neither attempted nor ideated at any time in their lives. Of the youths who had attempted suicide, many had attempted more than once (M = 3.76, SD = 7.56). The last of these attempts was an average of 3.16 years (SD = 2.88) before the baseline assessment, with 31% having attempted suicide in the year prior to the study. The youths were an average of 15.28 years of age (SD = 2.86) at their most recent suicide attempt. Of the 79 youths who had ever seriously thought about suicide (43 had both ideated and attempted suicide and 36 had ideated but never attempted suicide), 39% reported 1 or 2 episodes of ideation, 35% reported between 3 and 10 episodes, and 26% had more than 10 episodes of suicidal ideation. The youths’ last suicidal ideation had occurred an average of 1.87 years ago (SD = 2.05), with 53% having an episode of ideationago (SD = 2.05), with 53% having an episode of ideation within the year prior to the study. The youths were an average of 16.49 years of age (SD = 2.35) at the time of their most recent suicidal ideation. The suicide attempts of the youths were serious. Of the 55 youths who reported suicide attempts, 93%reported a specific method for their most recent attempt, including cutting (32%), ingesting pills or chemicals (65%), jumping (8%), or some other method (16%). Further, 51% reported that their suicide attempt required medical care, including 33% who were hospitalized. GLB youths who received medical care for their attempt did not differ significantly from thosewho did not receive care on any study variable, including psychological distress and social desirability. Interestingly, social desirability was unrelated to suicidality, further suggesting that this sample of GLB youths accurately reported their history of suicidality. within the year prior to the study. The youths were an average of 16.49 years of age (SD = 2.35) at the time of their most recent suicidal ideation. The suicide attempts of the youths were serious. Of the 55 youths who reported suicide attempts, 93%reported a specific method for their most recent attempt, including cutting (32%), ingesting pills or chemicals (65%), jumping (8%), or some other method (16%). Further, 51% reported that their suicide attempt required medical care, including 33% who were hospitalized. GLB youths who received medical care for their attempt did not differ ignificantly from thosewho did not receive care on any study variable, including psychological distress and social desirability. Interestingly, social desirability was unrelated to suicidality, further suggesting that this sample of GLB youths accurately reported their history of suicidality..."

Kenagy GP 2005. Transgender health: findings from two needs assessment studies in Philadelphia. Health and Social Work, 30(1): 19-26. Link to Abstract.

From Abstract: "A total of 182 people responded to a face-to-face interview or self-administered mail survey: 113 male-to-female individuals and 69 female-to-male individuals. About three-fifths of respondents had engaged in unprotected sexual activity during the past 12 months. The risk for HIV infection from unprotected sex was significantly higher among respondents of color than among white respondents. About one-third (30.1 percent) of respondents had attempted suicide."

Excerpt: "Suicide among transgender people has rarely been studied. Although researchers have speculated that transsexuals are prone to suicide (Block & Tessler, 1973; Levine, 1978; Wicks, 1977), only two empirical studies were found that asked transgender people about suicide (Clements, Marx, Guzman, Ikeda, & Katz, 1998; Xavier, 2000). A study of 515 transgender people in San Francisco found that 32 percent of the sample had attempted suicide (Clements et al.). The percentage of transgender people who had attempted suicide was lower (16 percent) among a Washington, DC, sample (N = 252), however, 35 percent had experienced suicidal ideation and among them, 64 percent had thought about suicide because of gender issues (Xavier)... When asked "Have you ever attempted suicide?" about one-third (30.1 percent) of the 176 respondents who answered the question said "yes." Among the 111 MTFs who answered the question, 32.4 percent had attempted suicide; among the 65 FTMs 26.2 percent had attempted suicide. Respondents who had attempted suicide were asked: "Did you attempt suicide because you are transgendered?" Of the 49 people who answered the question, about two-thirds (67.3 percent) said "yes." Among the 32 MTFs who answered the question, three-quarters (75.0 percent) said being transgender was the reason they attempted suicide. Among the 17 FTMs who answered the question, more than half (52.9 percent) said being transgender was the reason they attempted suicide." Note: Most (68%) were African American.

Transkids.us

Inquest finds asylum refusal was motive for gay Iranian's suicide.

Advice & Information (UK)


Click On the "SEX ED" Logo! 
GLBTQ Information
By:  "Advocates For Youth"
GLBTQ Youth Suicidality in England, Scotland & Ireland

To The Most Recent Papers on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Youth Suicide Problems

Two Books Available Free Online

Another Kind of Love: Male Homosexual Desire in English Discourse,
1850-1920 - by Christopher Craft (1994)


American Homo: Community and Perversity
by Jeffrey Escoffier (1998)

New Sexual Minority Information Pages

GLBTQ
Super Info-Sites

Access

Access

Bisexual, Gay, Queer
Male Suicidality

Access

Access

Aboriginal / North American Indian / First Nations
Two Spirit, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Trangender
Information Pages: 2006

RF Ramsay Social Work Resources

First National Aboriginal Injury Prevention Conference:
Towards Community Action on Aboriginal Injuries
Alerts! ....

A 2002 Re-Evaluation of Massachusetts 1995/97 & Vermont 1995/97 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys: Bisexually Active Adolescents Most At Risk. See related information in 2003 PowerPoint Presentation by Pierre Tremblay & Richard Ramsay.

Is it possible that some researchers would behave somewhat unethically with respect to the "at risk" suicidality of homosexually oriented males? Coming Soon!


Gay leader, 19, dies in apparent suicide
Brad Matthew Fuglei
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
The courage of his convictions. - Students Demand Gay-Rights Policy.
Gay-rights advocate, 19, Dies in Apparent Suicide.
More Than Just a Child.

David Hurcombe, London, age 17: Suicide
Advocate Article
Another example of a suicide linked to greatly feared "gay issue" coming into a boy's life.
Marcus Wayman (Related Items: 1, 2)

Stigma (horror?) related to "gay" as a new invention: From Common to a Rarity
How many Males Know 'it' but don't like word "gay" or "bisexual"? More than many would believe!


From: Sell RL, and Becker JB (2001). Sexual orientation data collection and progress toward Healthy People 2010. American Journal of Public Health, 91(6): 876-82.

""…YRBSS [Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance] data from the localities that measure sexual orientation show that whatever the dimension of sexual orientation measured (sexual orientation identity, sexual behavior, or sexual attraction), sexual minority youths have higher rates of suicide attempts, victimization in school violence, drug and alcohol abuse, early onset of sexual behavior, eating disorders, and teenage pregnancy that other youths. As surveys of adolescents in Connecticut, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Seattle have demonstrated, even a measure of sexual orientation as indirect as perceived homosexual sexual orientation elicits disturbing correlations with deleterious health outcomes." (p. 878) When adolescents are assumed to be homosexual by other adolescents, they are treated accordingly. Click this link to see the results for the Oregon 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. These youth are harassed on the basis of "presumed homosexual orientation," and they are at the greatest risk for the more serious suicide behaviors.

Training In Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Psychology
California School Of Professional Psychology
Alliant International University
San Francisco Campus

The LGBT Mental Health Syllabus (By Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry: GAP, 2007).
Eight modules:
History of Psychiatry and Homosexuality. Taking a Sexual History with LBGT Patients.
Psychological Development & Life Cycle. Psychotherapy. Medical and Mental Health.
Transgender. Intersex. Diversity / People of Color.

C.A.S.P. Conference 2004
Poster Presentation
TO: C.A.S.P. Conference Update 2000: The Homosexuality Factor in Youth Suicide Problems.
 
Étude Faite au Québec: Tentatives de Suicide Chez des Adolescents et Jeunes Hommes Homosexuels.

English Translation of Abstract for the 2000 Québec Study "Mort Ou Fif": Excerpts
The book begins with the story of two Quebec boys who committed suicide.
It is now available in English: "Dead Boys Can't Dance:
Sexual Orientation, Masculinity, and Suicide" par Michel Dorais (2004)
See also: "Homosexualité & suicide" par E. Verdier et J.M. Fridion (2001) - Book Review 1. 2.
Le risque de suicide chez les jeunes à orientation sexuelle non conventionnelle
par Jean-Marie Firdion, Eric Verdier (2003). PDF Download.
Plus: Death by Denial: Studies of Suicide in Gay and Lesbian Teenagers
Edited by Gary Remafedi (1994) - Introduction

Mort Ou FifDead Boys Can't DanceHomosexualites et Suicide

Cultural Diversity And Suicide: Ethnic, Religious, Gender
And Sexual Orientation Perspectives
- 2006 - by Mark M Leach (Contents) (Google Books).

Full Text Papers!  - - AsiaPacifiQueer 3
Sexualities, Genders, And Rights in Asia: An International Conference of Asian Queer Studies
Bangkok, Thailand, July 8-10, 2005
Closing date for submitting paper and panel proposals: October 31, 2004


Vigil-Related Research Result Summaries For Journalists and Others
 
The U.S. Surgeon General will help? The Oct. 1998 Reno Conference.
Web Page - with "Deadly" End-of-July '99 News
Related Issues: The Dark Side of Resilience in USA Suicide Prevention Strategy
Not only "White" GLBT Youth 
Experience Suicide Problems

They know that I'm here at UCSB, doing my Ph.D. in sociology... (Note: White Print & White Background) I have heard so many stories of Asian American gays, lesbians and bisexuals who feel left out of Asian American communities, that they become ashamed of being Asian American, or that they commit suicide because they don't know of any other Asian American gays, lesbians or bisexuals. From the Asian Cultural Diversity Roundtable, Session 3: (Alternate Link) Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Young Asian Americans (April 12, 2000): "Because gay and lesbian youth in general face extremely high suicide rates, Asian American gay or lesbian youth may be at extra risk. Many will not consider coming out to their families because the cultural stigma is so strong." - A South Asian Love Story.

Rickey Williams:  Rickey committed suicide. He jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and plunged 220 feet to his death. He was 28 years old... Rickey understood the tragedy of black men who were and are dying in our communities. Just last summer, after visiting New York for the Black Gay Research Summit and the annual Pride In The City weekend, he signed onto an open letter to black gay men asking them, us to do something, anything about the AIDS epidemic in our midst. Forty-six percent of black men who have sex with men in some cities may be HIV positive. But who gives a damn, the letter asked... I know too many black men who are depressed and lonely, too many black men who have contemplated killing themselves, and too many black men who have actually attempted suicide. It's not easy being a black man. It's not easy being a black man who loves black men... From Comments: "My first boyfriend committed suicide and thats such an awful feeling to be that close to someone and not know the turmoil inside."

Homosexualité au Maroc:  L'homosexualité ne se vit pas de la même manière partout... Il existe malheureusement encore des régions du monde où le coming-out "n'existe pas". Kal28, âgé de 29 ans en 2004, vit dans une petite ville du maghreb. Son coming-out n'est que virtuel, via le net, ne pouvant pas l'annoncer chez lui...Eh bien moi, je ne suis pas européen ! Je suis marocain ! Dans un pays arabomusulman ! Le coming-out pour moi, c'est comme se jeter dans les enfers ! Ni famille, ni amis, ni personne ici ne pourra comprendre ce que c'est d'être homo... ! Alors... ne trouvant aucune lueur d'espoir, en 1997, alors que j'avais 22 ans, et en plus du stress quotidien qui gonfle terriblement quand on est déjà mal dans sa peau, j'ai tenté de me suicider... et j'ai frôlé la mort...

Etre gay en Algérie: Bonjour , moi c'est pinou ,je suis algerien ,j'ai 26 ans mon probleme est que je suis gay et j'en souffre beaucoup car je vis dans une societé qui ne tolére pas l'homosexualité,la séxualité est un tabou dans les société musulmane alors imaginer etre homosexuele dans ses société... Aujourd'hui j'ai décidé d'en parler et de me confie mon secret pour la premier foie de ma vie car j'en peut plus et je pense beaucoup au suicide pour en finir et s'est aussi un autre péché dans notre religion l'islam mais j'en ai pas d'autre choix car l'enfer je le connais déja,mais j'aime trop ma famille pour le leurs faire du mal et leurs causer du chagrin ,mais croyez moi top au tard je passerais a l'acte...

Eritrea: BtM: What is the problem facing individual gays, governmental homophobic behaviour, as well as discrimination? M: Some of them who I meet are HIV positive, they don't have any awareness as gays that they should use a condom, they think condoms are only for heterosexuals. Most of them are in confusion, they don't have interest to accept who they are. One of my close friends goes to church to get cured. Another one killed himself a year ago. But, no one, not even his family knew on what grounds he committed suicide. Only me and other friends of mine knew.

Death hangs over Somali queers (Alternate Link): Faro, is one of the leaders of Queer Somalia, a community based organisation based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He makes frequent visits to Somalia to make contact with small groups of queers there and on a recent visit he sent back startling information that shows that for gay and lesbian people in Somalia the issue of death looms large. Whether through suicide following pressure from families or via loosely applied Islamic law that is uncontrolled due to the lack of a central government, their greatest fear is death—a sentence that can be brought upon them just for being homosexual, or for being perceived to be homosexual.

"Sensei, I Slashed My Wrists Last Night." (The Language Teacher, 1998) "Mike, I slashed my wrists last night," Kaoru announced, "But don't worry. I'm okay now. I didn't cut that hard." Shock? Confusion? Anger? What was I supposed to feel? More importantly, what was I supposed to do? We talked long into the night, and even when my head was falling from exhaustion, I was too terrified to hang up. This particular story, at least, has a happy ending. Over the following four months, Kaoru came out to family and  friends, founded a sexuality discussion group at the university, and began volunteering for gay and lesbian cultural projects. Kaoru's struggles are far from over, of course - rebuilding a life can take years - but now the challenge is being met with optimism and confidence. - Attempted suicide, psychological health and exposure to harassment among Japanese homosexual, bisexual or other men questioning their sexual orientation recruited via the internet. - Mental health and school-based verbal abuse among Japanese gay and bisexual men (Related PowerPoint Download).

Cultural Odyssey in association with the National Performance Network and the NQAF present: FAGGOT, a one-man multi-character performance, is the story of Michael, a boy who, daunted by his mother, Rita, run the gamut of attempted suicide, rape, alcoholism, homelessness and prostitution. From a homoerotic rite of passage into manhood, through spiritual warfare, to self-salvation, Michael inevitably learns what it means and costs to be both black and gay.

South Asian Atlantans Feel Burden of Model Minority Myth: "Career choice isn't the only land mine within the community. Marrying outside the ethnic circle and being homosexual both clearly fall outside acceptable behavior. Aditya Kar, a native of India who now lives in Atlanta, is gay. When he returned home to tell his father this, he literally didn't have the words to break the news. "I was talking in Bengali to my father when I had to use the word 'gay,' but there's no equivalent word in Bengali to get the full meaning," he says. "I had to use the three exact words in English: 'I am gay.' " Kar, 36, says he once contemplated suicide because he thought something was wrong with him. His story was featured in a documentary about gay South Asians, "For Straights Only," by Atlanta filmmaker Vismita Gupta-Smith. "If I had seen one South Asian face in my childhood or teenage [years] who said, 'I'm South Asian and I'm gay and it's OK,' I would not have thought of ending my life and probably used it in a more productive way," Kar says.

In Sri Lanka, sexual orientation puts gays at risk: In her native Sri Lanka, a land of sandy beaches licked by the emerald-hued waters of the Indian Ocean, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera almost lost her wrestling match with homosexuality when she attempted suicide in her teens. With no one to turn to in a country that considers homosexuality a criminal offence, death seemed the better alternative. Attempting suicide, however, wound up saving her...

Laguna Beach Beating Opens Closed Asian Door: "Homosexuality: A Growing Orange County Group is Trying to Overcome the Gay Taboo in Vietnamese-American Families...  Pham, who is not gay, said he started the group after his gay brother, a Catholic who could not accept his sexuality, committed suicide at age 28, and after his Vietnamese girlfriend came out as lesbian." - Malyasia: Homosexuality And The Church Dialogue: "They are living a double life ? putting up a happy mask upfront in the church and society, but privately suffering from shame and guilt because of their homosexual inclinations.
Or they resort to committing suicide to ease the pressure from family and society..."

The Truth About Black Teen Suicide: ""I didn't think that African-American teenagers thought about suicide," my teacher said, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion... Like my teacher, I guess I thought suicide was more of a problem with White teens. Teen suicides talked about in the media were always White. If Blacks of any age were committing suicide, I had never heard about it in the news or on TV. Suicide never came up in a conversation with my friends, and my parents never talked about it... When it comes to the motivations to commit suicide, Ross said, "there is no difference between us." Just like White teens, Black teens have had exposure to conflicts and sexual identity issues." African-American suicide: a cultural paradox: "Risk factors for Black suicide include: male sex, early adulthood, substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, family or interpersonal conflict, antisocial behavior, and homosexuality.' - The influence of dual-identity development on the psychosocial functioning of African-American gay and bisexual men.

Life and Death in Queer Korea: "I consider myself lucky, though. Between 1997 and 1999, three of my gay friends in South Korea committed suicide. In May 1998, Oh disclosed his homosexuality to his family. They immediately rejected him and expelled him from their home. After living and suffering on the streets for months, and at one point sleeping in an office, Oh killed himself. The other two went to Seoul National University, which is South Korea's Harvard or Yale. One was in Law School; the other was a graduate student in biology. Their success in society was "guaranteed." However, when they came to the age of marriage, they both faced a brutal dilemma. Neither wanted to marry. But they also didn't want to disown their families and disappoint their parents. So, they chose to kill themselves. One in 1997, the other in 1999. No funerals were held for these three young men: their families considered them "bad" sons..."

Guyana: Letter to Editor by Vidyaratha Kissoon: "Some of the suicide cases in Berbice felt they were homosexual"** (Stabroek News, August 2, 2001): "The continued condemnation of homosexuality in Guyana has severe consequences. The recent survey of Suicide in Region 5 & Region 6 revealed that 8.9% of the suicides felt they were homosexual. Men and boys who are sexually abused are scared to report because they feel that they will be labelled as homosexual and be condemned as a result.

[Homosexuality] legal but not accepted (Eritrea): "Some of them who I meet are HIV positive, they don't have any awareness as gays that they should use a condom, they think condoms are only for heterosexuals. Most of them are in confusion, they don't have interest to accept who they are. One of my close friends goes to church to get cured. Another one killed himself a year ago. But, no one, not even his family knew on what grounds he committed suicide. Only me and other friends of mine knew..."

Death hangs over somali queers (Somalia) (Alternate Link): "He makes frequent visits to Somalia to make contact with small groups of queers there and on a recent visit he sent back startling information that shows that for gay and lesbian people in Somalia the issue of death looms large. Whether through suicide following pressure from families or via loosely applied Islamic law that is uncontrolled due to the lack of a central government, their greatest fear is death - a sentence that can be brought upon them just for being homosexual, or for being perceived to be homosexual..."

Beyond sex, same-sex marriage and bathrooms: racism in the gay community and homophobia in the ethnic communities:  celebrating the gay ethnic experiences: I felt isolated with the Caucasian LGBTQ community that I was supposedly a part of – as they wanted me to “get over it, move on,” – not realizing that not only had I lost a relationship, but my family and still didn’t feel Canadian. I had no community and my immigrant status, my cultural differences in the way I expressed my pain – the fact that I did what every Caribbean woman does when the pain is great, you wrap your arms around your tummy and wail. This further isolated me from the few straight people in the congregation who were bold enough to try to be with me. That feeling of aloneness and belonging nowhere compounded my depression and lead me to trying to commit suicide not once but twice.

Child of 10% - by Alex Hoa
Alternate Link 

Ona, Fernando Frederick (2002).  Of bougie babes and bangy boyz: A cultural study of suicide and other funky everyday thangs. PhD Thesis, University of California, San Francisco, with University of California, Berkeley. UMI Abstract.

Abstract Excerpt: The cultural experience of suicide within American ethnic groups of color is not well understood within the social science literature. Furthermore, few studies examine the cultural experience of suicide among 18-26 year old Americans of Asian/Pacific Islander descent, especially among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer youth (LGBTQ). This dissertation is a street ethnography among a group of LGBTQ, 18-26 year old, Americans of Asian/Pacific Islander descent.... The dissertation concludes that suicide occurs, not only in a vacuum of pathological psychiatric disorders of the self, but also in a complex cultural arena where disappointments and expectations, hopelessness and despair, loss and yearning fuse within an intimate place of becoming-in-belonging within everyday American culture. 

 
New Support Group Established to Help Lesbians in India
(The Journey: Director Ligy J Pullappally, a film-maker and a lawyer
specialising in women’s rights, created the film to help lower the number
of lesbian suicides in Kerala in the Southern region of India.)

“Women activists alarmed by the rising incidence of suicides among lesbians have formed Sahayathrika, an advocacy group that provides support and counselling to troubled lesbians in Thiruvananthapuram, India. Sahayathrika was created by a group of women activists who got alarmed by the increasing number of suicides in Kerala committed by women who love women. At least 21 suicide cases of women identified as lesbian have been reported over the last five years. Most of these women are from the lower middle class. Lesbians who are frustrated that they are unable to lead the lives that they want because of societal pressures often commit these suicides. Fear of social stigma is always the enemy of these women, along with the condemnation of their family if their sexual orientation was revealed. In Indian society, homosexuality is still considered as a deviant behaviour, and is dismissed as a sexual delinquency or a stage in a woman's life, which she will eventually "pass" or "get over it." Sahayathrika workers fear that more suicides will follow if no one will reach out to these troubled women… In spite of these setbacks, lesbians have been coming out of hiding and are reaching out to the group. Sahayathrika workers are happy that slowly, their efforts are gaining positive results - 25 lesbians have contacted them since the group was formed in October 2002…”

Racism in GLBT Communities
(Includes story of suicide attempt by 10-year-old gay boy)

Homophobic Violence in Immigrant Communities
Even in the Tolerant Nordic Countries Young Gay People Face Violence.
RainbowNetwork.com
Lesbian Self-Injury: Natasha Alexander
(Clinical Health Psychology, University College,
London) explores the reasons why many 
bisexual and lesbian women are self-harmers.
Australian Study Links Depression 
to Un-Safe Sex: depressed gay men may 
be attempting a "soft" form of suicide 
by having unsafe sex
Seventeen and Gay
A Hopeless Future?
From Gay Trinidad - Voices: - Gay In A Straight World - "...It's being taught to hate yourself knowing that you cannot change, knowing you can never share that wonderful feeling of being in love with your family and most of your friends... I am 17 and I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT to LIVE MY "SO-CALLED LIFE" LIKE THIS. One day I WILL try to change this, I PROMISE." - My Lowest Point - "...Sometimes I have to ask myself how can life be so happy at one point in time and then plummet to the deepest depths of despair....  I needed to be able to distance myself from reality. I did to a point. I had that happy place in my mind that I would retreat to whenever everything was bad. However everytime I retreated into it, it grew smaller until there was nothing left... Its horrible being gay and your parents not knowing and not accepting. I hurt inside everytime my father makes a derogatory comment. And he does it alot." - Homophobia and gay youth suicide: two interrelated destructive forces in our society. An open letter to the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Results of Massachusetts' 1999 YRBS

5.5% of students (average age about 16 years, Grades 9 - 12) are "sexual minority youth" defined on the basis of acknowledged identification as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, and/or reporting to have engaged in same-sex sexual activity. In the past 12 months, 29% of them are reported to have attempted suicide, compared to 7% of other students.
One out of five adolescents (19.6%) reporting having attempted suicide in the past year is a sexual minority youth.
One out of four adolescents (26.0%) reporting at least one suicide attempt associated with having received medical attention is a sexual minority youth.
One out of three adolescents (34.6%) reporting ever having injected illicit drugs is a sexual minority youth.
Click this link to see more results and additional Statistical Calculations: The "Greater Likelihoods" and the greater "odds" (Odds Ratios) for sexual minority youth having / reporting many problems. Results also available for 2001, 2003, and 2005. On the same web page: Results fom other large adolescent surveys.


 
To Queer Youth: Take Time to Complete the Survey. Begins September, 2000
Survey Sept 1 to Oct 31 - Results Published January, 2001
Survey Results Highlights"

Highlights with Links to Related Documents.

Seven Major Information Categories

Gay  Bisexual Male Suicide Problems

 GB Male Youth At Risk
For Suicide Problems.
Results Of 30+ Studies.
(In Four Major Categories)
+/- 30% GLB Youth = 
Suicide Attempters
GB Male Suicidality
InfoSource
Web Links
Bibliography
Study Summaries
Theses Abstracts
(Bibliography has Abstract Links)
Gay/Bi Males in Public Schools
More At Risk For
Suicide Attempt Problems?
At Even Greater Risk for
Most Serious Suicide Attempts
Study Summaries.
 Lifetime Suicide Attempt Data
for Minnesota School Sample
Attempted Suicide:28.1% Gay/Bi Males; 4.2% Heterosexual Males -
By age of 15 to 18,
+30% GLB Kids = Attempters.
Lifetime Suicide Attempt Data
for Random Sample of
750 Males aged 18 - 27:
62.5% of Suicide Attempters
= GB Males - Related 1998
Demographic Paper
 Research Summary
G/B Males at Great Risk for
Factors Associated With
Suicide Problems: 
'Colorado' Paper (1997)
  Studies which have Solicited
"Homosexuality" Information
from Male Adolescents / Youth
may have GREAT ERRORS!
  All School-Based Youth Risk
Behavior Survey Studies with
"Homosexuality" Information
are on: One Web Page
  Australian GLB Suicide
Problems & Related
Initiatives
Research Data & InfoLinks
  European GLB
Suicide Problems?
Research Data
& InfoLinks
Norway's GBL
Suicide Problems
Part 1, 2
GBL Suicide Problems
In England, Scotland
& Ireland?
Suicide Attempts, Suicides, and Related Issues

 In  Memory  Of . .
Including the Most "at Risk" GLB Kids
Generally Ignored by GLB
Communities and their Leaders.
Better Dead Than Gay?
A Suicide Note Illustrates this, as does
an Australian Study. Examples of Self-
Harm, Suicide Attempts, anduicides.
Determined to Die
An Edmonton Gay(?) Youth
Commits Suicide.
Determined to Die
A Calgary Gay Youth
Attempts Suicide.
Suicide in Grand
Canyon: Bruce's Mother,
Roz, expresses her Feelings
Bruce's Life

A Photo History

The Suicide of
Kurt Cobain
Bi, Biphobia, The Binary & ???
White Ribbon
Campaign
 Forbidden Love
Two Lesbian Youth Attempt
and Finally Commit
Suicide In England.
 GB Males at Greater
Risk for Factors
Associated With Suicidality:
'Colorado' Paper (1997)
 Suicide Prevention
Conference Paper:
The Homosexuality Factor In
The Youth Suicide Problem.
Summary of Situation to 1995
Problems with Psychiatrists?
GLB Youth of Color
At The Greatest Risk for
Suicide Problems?
See: Section of Paper & Chapter
of a Book. Why is Issue Still
Ignored? White Racism?
 The Gay, Lesbian, and
Bisexual Factor in the Youth
Suicide Problem (1994). Links
to 6 Chapters and Information. -
Contents & Excerpts.
- The Author.
"The Homosexuality Factor"
Associated with almost 40%
of the more serious
suicide attempts. 
The 1995 Seattle YRBS Study.
Lethal Homophobia Effect ?
'Professional' Problems
to be addressed at:
The U.S. Department of Health
(CDC / NIMH) and at Suicide &
Life-Threatening Behavior
(American Association of
Suicidology)
A Serious Problem With
'Professionals' and Others.
"Death by Denial" & Mainstream
Suicidology, Family Physicians,
Social Workers, Psychiatrists,
GLB Communities, Public
Schools also as a part of
"The killing Fields",
and Media Problems.
The U.S. Surgeon General
will help? The Oct. 1998
Reno Conference. New
Web Page - with "Deadly"
July '99 News
Have Some Deans of
Social Work been...?
Answer
The National Strategy for
Preventing Suicide (2001)
includes gay and lesbian
individuals but...?
GB Male AIDS Problem =
Suicide Problem?
A New Page
General GLBT Information and Indexes

 GLBT Web-Based
Education
21 Subject Categories
Internet Infosearch
Web Page with Links to Major
GLBT Information Web Sites &
Search Engines
Homosexuality-
Related Violence
Sexual Abuse of Boys,
Male Youth Gangs,
and Male Prisons
 Gay/Bi Street Youth
At risk for problems, including
survival prostitution and suicide.
Male Youth Prostitution Resources
Adams et al. 1996 Study
Homophobia Linked to
Repressed Homosexuality?
How large could the male
homosexual closet be?
GLB Suicide Problems
General Information.
Links to documents containing
information about lesbians,
adults, and people of color.
Information
Supplement 
For Journalists, Activists,
and Advocates for the Welfare
of Gay/Bi Male youth.


 
Save-The-World  Factor in Suicides

The Save-The-World Factor: Overview/Contents - (01/99)

The Save-The-World Factor: Part 1 - (12/96, 09/97). Notes 1-26. Notes 27-45.

The experiences of a Metis Counselor with highly distressed First Nations Youth over a ten year period, an anomalous venture into understanding the SELF, and a suicide note by a 21-year-old Calgary male who decided to leave this world combine to produce the first part of a concept likely implicated in a significant number of suicides.

The Save-The-World Factor: Part 2 - (09-11/97)

Reports on a short adventure in the world of schizophrenia which is associated with high suicide rates. The Save-The-World Factor - in the form of pathological "grandiosity" - is reported to be common in certain groups of schizophrenic individuals, but misinterpretations are suspected. It is possible that, under the threat of death resulting from The Factor's interaction with the socialized mind, other outcomes are possible such as the development of serious mental disorders.

The Save-The-World Factor: Part 3 - (01/98)

Reports on how The Save-The-World Factor is also manifested in eating disorders. Many die as the result of these disorders which may be a form of suicide. The section was written soon after the publication of Peggy Claude-Pierre' book The Secret Language of Eating Disorders (September, 1997) in which eating disorders are said to be an unconscious form of suicide, but a different interpretation is given for the phenomenon. The adolescent gay male's higher risk for these disorders has implications which remain to be outlined and explained. Links are supplied to related information on the Internet.

TheSave-The-World Factor: Ongoing Anorexia Case 'Study' - (09/98 to 05/99)

In November, 1998, I was contacted by Miriam who reported a seven-year history of anorexia and STW related issues. A study of her case began which has become a collaboration to render as much knowledge as possible about how the STW Factor applies in at least some cases of anorexia. Some very important human realities are also addressed. Additions to this section will be made as they are produced.

TheSave-The-World Factor: Carl Gustav Jung & Other Save-The-World Kids - (01/00 to 02/00)

Perceiving 'psychosis' in a different way! Information made available via the "Save-The-World" Internet files indicates that a related mandate may stem from a fundamental(?) attribute of our psyches sometimes called "the soul" as Jung deemed it to be,  and some individuals may be more connected to 'IT' than others.
 
 
Most Recent papers / Studies: Gay / Bisexual Male Suicide Problems

Most Recent Papers on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth Suicide Problems.

Bagley C, and Tremblay P (2000). Elevated rates of suicidal behavior in gay, lesbian and bisexual youth. Crisis, 21(3): 111-17. (Review)  PubMed Abstract. . 

Bagley C, and D'Augelli AR (2000). Suicidal behaviour in gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. BMJ (British Medical Journal), 320(7250): 1617-8. (Editorial) Full Text.

Cochand P, Moret P, Singy P (2000). Incidence du développement de l'identité sexuelle sur les risques de contamination par le VIH chez les hommes homosexuels et bisexuels de 25 ans et moins en Suisse romande. Full Text. For the young gay identified males studies, 31.7% reported suicide ideation occuring in the past 6 months, and 24.4% reported having attempted suicide in their lifetime. Also noted: A 1999 German study of 217 homosexual idividuals (age = 15-27) reported that 18% had attempted suicide.

Halpert, Stephen  C (1999).  Suicidal behavior among gay male youth:  Fact or fiction? Ph.D. Thesis, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. Abstract supplied by author on August 21, 2000. A paper related to this study is in press, Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy. (Link to Abstract)

Jorm AF, Korten AE, Rodgers B, Jacomb PA, Christensen H (2002). Sexual orientation and mental health: results from a community survey of young and middle-aged adults. British Journal of Psychiatry. 180: 423-7. PubMed Abstract. Australian study: "A community survey of 4824 adults was carried out in Canberra, Australia... Conclusions: The bisexual group had the worst mental health, although homosexual participants also tended to report more distress. Full Text.

Julien D, Chartrand E (2005). Recension des études utilisant un échantillon probabiliste sur la santé des personnes gaies, lesbiennes et bisexuelles. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 46(4): 235-250. Abstract.

King et al. (2008). A Systematic Review of Mental Disorder, Suicide, and Deliberate Self Harm in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People. BMC Psychiatry. Online, Aug 18. 8:70.  Full Text. Full Text. Abstract.

Kulkin HS, Chauvin EA, Percle GA (2000). Suicide among gay and lesbian adolescents and young adults: a review of the literature. Journal of Homosexuality, 40(1): 1-29. (Review) PubMed Abstract.

Leslie MB, Stein JA, Rotheram-Borus MJ (2002). Sex-specific predictors of suicidality among runaway youth. Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31(1): 27-40.  (PubMed Abstract) "348 adolescent runways (197 boys; 56% African American; M age = 16)... Twenty-five percent of the girls and 14% of the boys had attempted suicide at least once. Male suicidality was mainly predicted by individual characteristics: identifying as gay, emotional distress, fewer conduct problems, and avoidant reasons for drug use."

Leu, Christian (2008). Orientation sexuelle et comportements suicidaires: Une enquête sur les résultats de la recherche internationale et nationale sur les facteurs de risque et de protection pour les adolescents homosexuels et bisexuels. Berne, La Suisse / Switzerland: Le collectif Formation de PINK CROSS, LOS et fels. Full Text. Download Page.

Leu, Christian (2008). Sexuelle Orientierung und Suizidalität: Eine Untersuchung der internationalen und nationalen Forschungs-ergebnisse der Risiko- und Schutzfaktoren für adoleszente Homo- und Bisexuelle. bern, Switzrland: PINK CROSS, LOS und fels. Full Text. Download Page. 

McAndrew S, Warne T (2004). Ignoring the evidence dictating the practice: sexual orientation, suicidality and the dichotomy of the mental health nurse. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 11(4): 428-34. Abstract.

McDaniel JS, Purcell DW, D'Augelli AR (2001). The relationship between sexual orientation and risk for suicide: research findings and future directions for research and prevention.. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31(Suppl.): 84-105. (Review) PubMed Abstract PDF Download. (Download Page)

Meyer, IH (2003). Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5): 674–697. Full Text.

Morrison LL, L'Heureux J (2001). Suicide and gay / lesbian / bisexual youth: implications for clinicians. Journal of Adolescence, 24(1): 39-49. PubMed Abstract. Full Text: PDF Download.

Paul JP, Catania J, Pollack L, Moskowitz J, Canchola J, Mills T, Binson D, Stall R (2002). Suicide attempts among gay and bisexual men: lifetime prevalence and antecedents. American Journal of Public Health, 92(8): 1338-45. (PubMed Abstract) (Full Text: PDF). Related Articles: Gay men much more likely to attempt suicide. - A Study Finds High Rate of Suicide Attempts for Gay Men. - Suicide [attempt] rate for gay, bisexual men 3 times higher.

Plöderl M, Sauer J,  Reinhold FR (2006). Suizidalität und psychische Gesundheit von homo- und bisexuellen Männern und Frauen – Eine Metaanalyse internationaler Zufallsstichproben. Verhaltenstherapie & psychosoziale Praxis, 38(2): 283-302. Abstract.

Remafedi, Gary (2002). Suicidality in a venue-based sample of young men who have sex with men. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(4): 305-10. (PubMed Abstract) "One-third of all respondents reported at least one suicide attempt, and 4.7% attempted suicide in the past year... suicide attempts were more prevalent among African-Americans and urban residents... attempts are more prevalent among out-of-school youths..." Full Text .

Robin L, Brener ND, Donahue SF, Hack T, Hale K, Goodenow C (2002). Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of Vermont and Massachusetts high school.  Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 156(4): 349-55. PubMed Abstract. Study Highlights. Full Text .

Skegg K, Nada-Raja S, Dickson N, Paul C, Williams S (2003). Sexual orientation and self-harm in men and women. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(3): 541-6. Lifetime suicide attempt incidences for young adult males: Heterosexual (6%), Minor Homosexuality (16%), Significant Homosexuality (25%). For females: Heterosexual (9%), Minor Homosexuality (11%), Significant Homosexuality (33%). American Journal of Psychiatry web site. Full Text. (PubMed Abstract) - Related New Item: Same Sex Attraction Increases Risk of Self-Harm.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (2008). Suicide risk and prevention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. Newton, MA: Education Development Center, Inc. Prepared by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center for the Center for Mental Health Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Download: http://www.sprc.org/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf. A Related Google Cache Document.

Tamam L, Özpoyraz N, Rasim S, Diler RS (2001). Homosexuality and Suicide: A Case Report. Annals of Sciences, 10(1): 41-44. Full Text. Full Text. "In this case report, we presented a young gay patient who attempted suicide and discussed the major causes of this attempt, primarily sexual prejudice of the society and possible therapeutic approaches."

Special Issue on "Sexual Orientation" in "Vis-à-vie" by the Quebec Association of Suicidology is now available online.La revue le Vis-à-vie, vol. 10 nº 2, 2000: Le thème de ce numéro est « Suicide et orientations sexuelles »: Un double tabou. - Orientations homosexuelles ou bisexuelles chez les jeunes présentant des problèmes suicidaires: recherche, problématique et propositions. - La honte d'être. - Mort ou fif, différence assassinée. - Événements suicidaires chez les hommes gais. - Gai écoute, 20 ans d'espoir. - Suicide-Action Montréal et Gai écoute : un projet conjoint de formation et de sensibilisation. - L'intervention dans Chaudière-Appalaches. - Histoire de vie.  Note: The English version of "Orientations homosexuelles ou bisexuelles chez les jeunes présentant des problèmes suicidaires: recherche, problématique et propositions" by Pierre Tremblay and Richard Ramsay is available as "Suicidal problems of youth with homosexual or bisexual orientations: research, problems, and proposals.

Scotland: High Suicidality Incidences For GB Males
Information Source: GMH, Edinburg. Research Results.

Profile of clients seeking counselling for the first time at Gay Men's Health Services in 2002-2003:

Age of counselling clients

    20% of our clients are aged 20-29
    50% of our clients are aged 30-39
    30% of our clients are aged 40-49

Clients risk of suicide and self-harm

  • 50% of our clients demonstrate no risk of suicide at first contact
  • 10% demonstrate mild risk
  • 30% demonstrate moderate risk
  • 10% demonstrate severe risk of suicide
  • 50% of our clients demonstrate no risk of self harm at first contact
  • 40% demonstrate mild risk of self harm
  • 5% demonstrate moderate risk
  • 5% demonstrate severe risk
Stonewall Youth & Gay Men's Health 2002-2003: Summary of Findings

Gay Men’s Health and Stonewall Youth received funding from the Health Education Board for Scotland to conduct a small piece of research into suicidal thought, feelings and behaviours amongst young gay and bisexual men in Edinburgh. We received 112 completed questionnaires from a random sample of young men in the gay pubs and clubs. 98 of these responses were useable and only 10 men in the gay pubs refused to complete the forms.

  • 58.2% of respondents had at some point felt that their life was not worth living
  • 29.6% of respondents had at some point deliberately injured themselves without intending to take their own life
  • 54.1% of respondents had seriously considered suicide at some point
  • 24.5% of respondents still considered suicide occasionally
  • 25.5% of respondents had at some point made a deliberate attempt to end their life

 
 
October, 2001
Gay-Related Stress & Suicidality Study From South Africa
Master's Thesis Study (2000), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
by
Anthony Theuninck

Study Summaries and Thesis Download available: http://www.q.co.za/news/2000/11/001123-gaystress.htm N/A. (Archive Link)

Highlights: "In the present S.A.community sample of gay/bisexual men, 16.5% have made suicide attempts because of their sexuality... Of the South African gay/bi adolescents, 38.7% have attempted to commit suicide because of their sexuality."

"The sample consists of 329 males from across South Africa... The majority of the sample were from 15 to 34 years of age (87.5%)... The majority were white (73.8%), with 16.7% being black and the rest (9.5%) either Indian, Coloured, or unspecified."

"When considering the influence of stressors and trauma on suicidal tendencies in gay/bi men, it was found that internalised homonegativity had the strongest influence. This is perhaps not surprising since loathing oneself because of one's sexuality, and seeing that sexuality as perverse, would be expected to be closely related to a severe self-hate that could lead to suicide. 

Having witnessed people being victimised for being gay was the next strongest factor related to suicidal tendencies. Witnessing others being harassed or bashed for being gay, places the gay/bi person in a catch 22 position..."

Theuninck AC (2000). The traumatic impact of minority stressors on males self-identified as homosexual or bisexual. Master's Dissertation, the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.


 
Follow this Link to... New Zealand Gay Youth Suicide - Resiliency Study by John Fenaughty

Identity Questions: "Are you... Bisexual, Gay, Fa’afaine, Heterosexual, Queer, Takataapui, Transgender, Transexual, Homosexual, Straight,  and/or other (please indicate)?

Are you... Asian, Maori, Pacific Islands, Pakeha, New Zealand European, European, and/or other (please indicate)?"

Some Examples of Qualitative Categories for Main Reasons for Suicide Attempts

"Loneliness and/or Social Isolation: I was lonely, my flat mates were all against me and I felt really depressed. It was also mid-year exam time. I also felt that my life was going no-where."

"Hopelessness: Felt as if there was nothing in the world there for me. No people, no life, no jobs-nothing. I felt like a burden on my mum and thought the world would be better off without me in it."

"Depression: The sense of isolation, depression, stress. Compounded by my emerging gay identity. This attempt was triggered by fighting with my brother."

"Fear of rejection and/or lack of support from family: Family were drifting from me, and I felt alone, friends had moved on with their lives, I had no relationship which I wished for at the time."

"Societal heterosexism:Being told that being queer was unnatural and people like that don't deserve to live!"

"Low self-esteem, self-confidence and/or self-acceptance"

"Miscellaneous:I thought if I took the problem away by trying suicide, it would solve itself." - 
"Attention I think." - "Felt there were no other options."

The Study's Abstract

I'm Going Home: A personal Journey

"I can understand why some queer youth may decide to end their lives. I realised I was sexually attracted to men at the age of 12. By the time I had my driver's licence, I had suicidal thoughts daily. Everyday, on my way to secondary school I would drive a rural road with a 50-metre cliff off to one side. Each time I breached the top of the hill I would decide whether or not it was worth continuing on my way to school, or if I should have an 'accident' and kill myself." (From the Preface, by John Fenaughty)

Study Available Via University of Auckland Library

Racism in Predominantly White GLBT Communities

Institutionalized Racism Slowing Progress of GLBT Movement
15th Annual Creating Change Conference Takes Place Nov. 6-10.
The 2002 NGLTF Conference Theme is 'Building an Anti-Racist Movement'.
"Never in the history of our movement has such a large, multi-racial GLBT gathering focused on
the impact of racism and the building of an anti-racist movement," said National Gay and
     Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Lorri L. Jean.  "Institutionalized racism is one of the most significant
factors hindering our success as a movement and if we were unified as a community,
we could better pursue and achieve our goals."

Sexual Racism SUX! - Sexual Racism / GAM Pages. - Racism in CyberSpace

The first Internet collation of information on white GLB  "racism" became available in 2000.

Racism in GLBT Communities
(Includes story of suicide attempt by 10-year-old gay boy)

Harmful Results of Racism in Predominantly White Gay Communities:
Excerpts from Peter Jackson's 2000 paper "That's What Rice Queens Study."

Racism in Predominantly White
Canadian Gay & Lesbian Communities

"Gay rights" for "gay whites"? - A Law Paper

A Sociological Analysis of Gay Racism and Its Affect on
Asian Men in HIV Social Research in Australia. 
Unpublished Thesis, Dept of Sociology,
School of Social Sciences and Humanities,
Murdoch University, 2000
by
Carl Gopalkrishnan (Home Page)

Page for Thesis Download. - Or: Download Directly as PDF Files!
Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and his Afterthoughts.
More Information about the Gay Racism Situation In Autralia

Information on Biphobia and Transphobia is also available.

Additional Resources: GLBT Suicidality

More Recent Additions - Older Ones

The GLBTQ Information Pages:
 

GLBT   Identities  &
Coming Out

Lesbian  &  Bisexual
Women

Bisexuality

Transgender / TV / TS
& Intersexual A, B.

Professional   Education

Counseling   Information

Homo-Negativity/-Phobia

Public Schools

Religion & Spirituality

Homosexuality: Biological ?
Or  Learned  ?

Race/Ethic Minority Issues
in U.S., Canada, Europe,
New Zealand & Australia A, B

Latin America / Africa A, B, C.

Middle East / Asia A, B, C, D, E, F

Male  Youth  Prostitution A, B.

HIV  -  AIDS  A, B.

GB Male Suicide A, B, C, D, E, F

GLBT  (Queer ?)  History

The Elderly

Couples / Family

Substance Use/Abuse

GLB Community


2006-08

Aboriginal Two-Spirit Suicidality Issues. Opening of an Associated Internet Resource.

2004-05

Conference-Related Resources. - Updated Interim Version of the paper "The Social Construction of Male Homosexuality..." now titled "The Changing Social Construction of Western Male Homosexuality: Associations With Worsening Youth Suicide problems." 

2003

Development of a Suicidality & GLBTQ Information Web Resource.

The Online return of "The Homosexuality Factor In Social Violence."

2000-2002

Book: Mort Ou Fif  Web Page. - French Resources. - Paper for *Le Vis-à-Vie: Journal de l'Association Québécoise de Suicidologie.

March / July, 2000

To: San Diego paper - The Social Construction of Male Homosexuality and Related Suicide Problems...
October 2004
To: The Table of Content - The Changing Social Construction of Western Male Homosexuality and Worsening Youth Suicide Problems

The Paper (written in collaboration with Professor Ramsay, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary) was Presented by Pierre Tremblay at The 11th Annual Sociological Symposium: "Deconstructing Youth Suicide," San Diego State University - March 17, 2000. A part of the present updated version of the paper was presented at the Gay Men's Health Summit in Boulder, Colorado - July, 2000.

Male 'Homosexualities' In India / South Asia: Excerpts from - Khan, Shivananda (2001). Culture, sexualities, and identities: men who have sex with men in India. Journal of Homosexuality, 40(3/4), 99-115. & Asthana S, and Oostvogels R (2001). The social construction of male 'homosexuality' in India: implications for HIV transmission and prevention. Social Science & Medicine, 52: 707-21. Male 'Homosexualities' In India / South Asia (Part 2)Male 'Homosexualities' In India / South Asia (Part 3).

May, 2000

Odds Ratios were generated for the 1995 Seattle Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

Two more studies report that homosexually oriented individuals are at greater risk for a number of problems, including suicide problems. Cochran and Mays (2000) report on men having sex with men (2.2% of the sample) compared to men who only had sex with women. Lock and Steiner (1999) report on an California upper middle class high school sample with 6% of students identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

Coming in next few months! Three Quebec Studies Exploring suicidality of gay and bisexual males. One study reports a lifetime suicide attempt incidence = 36% - (Related Article). - One study now available! - by Michel Dorais, Unversité Laval.

July/ November, 2000

Silence is being broken about the gay / bisexual youth risk for being sexually abused / coerced and raped in gay communities. Tremblay and Ramsay (2000) summarize the situation and report on the Mutchler (2000) study. The Seal et. al. (2000) study reveals that GB male youth problems are multidimensional in nature and helping these youth will require a multidimensional approach. The American Gay Men's Health Movement (The Gay Men's Health Summits) are a step in the right direction, with much work still to be done. Generally, the welfare of adolescent gay and bisexual males continues to be ignored in gay communities, and especially the fact that many of these teenagers will be relating sexually with males often more than twice their age. Tremblay and Ramsay (2000) report information indicating that it has been very difficult for gay / bisexual teenagers to experience love from older gay males. As a rule, these youth report being used in much the same way as teenage male prostitutes are also used.

Gay communities must end their tradition of sweeping gay community problems under the carpet in an effort to appear acceptable to the greater community. When 20 to 35 percent of American gay and bisexual male adolescents are attempting suicide every 12 months, the objective should not be to ignore the problem apparently because talking about and addressing this situation will make GB youth 'look' bad, or feel bad, God forbid! Ignoring this problem (and all other adolescent GB male problems) for whatever reason will certainly make "all" GB males look infinitely worse, given that the possible death outcomes of such neglect will most please the ones harboring a murderous hatred for gay and bisexual males.

Ignoring this "suicide problem"  - which is linked to the same situation causing many gay adolescent males to drop out of school (become runaways / throwaways), and become sexually available to men who desire them - is likely related to gay community leaders not wanting to vex the often wealthy and powerful gay males who do NOT want their socially constructed "youngest and freshest meat" delivery system interfered with. A part of the story related to this "fact of life" is reported on by Philip Guichard (2000) who describes his adolescence and the adolescence of other gay-identified boys which includes having many relationships with older men as a result of venturing into gay communities: - The Queer Issue: "Lay Off Me! I'm a Boy, Not Your Toy, and I Want To Be With Another Boy. I Hate Older Men." Some of the situations described may well be implicated in suicide attempts and even suicides. The difference between how average gay / bisexual male youth are often treated in gay communities is that average GB male youth are not being paid for their services - thus imposing on them a status less than that of male prostitutes. A Toronto study of gay youth by John Maxwell (Young Gay & Bisexual Men and HIV: A qualitative study of safer sex knowledge and behaviour among young gay and bisexual men - 1998) reported:

Many of the study participants noted that as younger gay/bisexual men, they often felt that they were "preyed upon" by older or more sexually experienced gay men - even other more sexually experienced gay and bisexual youth. One participant lamented the lack of "mentoring" in the gay community: "When I came out into the community (a few years ago) I felt that I needed to become totally immersed in the gay community. So, I left a lot of my straight friends behind. Unfortunately, rather than meeting other gay men who could help me manoeuvre my way in the community, I often met people who just wanted to take advantage of me, sexually."
Information about the purposeful omission / deletion of gay / bisexual male adolescent / youth realities by major GLB advocacy organizations is available in the Surgeon General web page. Information related to the accelerated Christmas migration of the "youngest and freshest male meat" into the San Francisco area is available from CNN which posted "Holidays time of heightened concern for gay runaways in San Francisco (Nov 29, 2000)."
Now Available! - The gay / bisexual boys who  have sex with men, their problems (including suicidality, high risk for contracting HIV, etc.) and the related scandalous "silence" about this reality by most researchers and gay community leaders. As a rule, this "Silence Kills!" situation was maintained throughout the AIDS epidemic. This new page is being written to inform the Surgeon General about an important "at risk" group of boys that he should be concerned about.


August, 2000

The First Page on GLB Suicide Problems in a European Country: Norway's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Suicide Problems. Second Page.

September, 2000

GBL Suicide Problems In England, Scotland & Ireland? A new Web Page.

Anti-Gay School / Society Situation In Australia And Homophobia in Smaller Cities and Towns.

The Suicide of Kurt Cobain: A victim of the Binary and Biphobia?

Summary of Results for the 1999 Oregon Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Serious Suicide Problems For Adolescents Subjected to Anti-Homosexual Harassment.

October, 2000

Suicidal problems of youth with homosexual or bisexual orientations: research, problems, and proposals. By P. Tremblay and R. Ramsay. To be published in French in a GLB issue of Vis-à-Vie, le journal de l'Association Québécoise de Suicidologie. (GLB Suicidality Resources / References - en français.)

Suicidal Crisis and Depression and the Emergence of Homosexual Identity in Young Males. By C. Bagley and P. Tremblay:  USAD Article.

A study from Québec by Michel Dorais, Université Laval: - MORT OU FIF: Contextes et mobiles de tentatives de suicide chez des adolescents et jeunes hommes homosexuels ou identifiés comme tels. Et perspectives de prévention. ---Translation: Death or Fag: The contexts and motives for suicide attempts by adolescent and young adult homosexually oriented males. Recommendations for suicide prevention. Related Internet Resources.

Results of Massachusetts' 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
 

Older Additions: Sept '99 - Feb '00

September, 1999 Web Pages:

1. A 20-year-old American female reports on a secret only one other student knew about: The grade-9 boy who committed suicide at school was gay. "Dead Gay Kid's Don't Talk, But..."

2. A mother's letter to her son who, in his suicide note, revealed that he was gay and could not live with that. A Photo History of Bruce.

October - December 1999

Research confirms the greater risk for suicide problems of homosexual peopleTwo studies published in Archives of General Psychiatry replicate the higher suicidality risks for homosexually oriented individuals. Longitudinal Youth Study in New Zealand (By age 21: Suicide attempt incidence for GLB identified youth is 32.1%, and 7.0% for the others). - A Sample of Vietnam veteran twin (one homosexual, one not). Related article by Reuters.

Gay youth suicide problems in AustraliaMajor changes have been occurring in Australia indicating a return to the status quo: Maintaining a maximum casualty level in the gay and bisexual male youth population. January 2000, Good News about the Youth and Sexuality Project. Final Report available for PDF download.

Norway gay youth suicide problemsAn individual from Norway reports on the existence of a new study of gay youth producing a "suicide attempt" incidence of about 25%.

Gay youth suicide problems in IrelandAn Irish study of gay and bisexual males produces a "suicide attempt" incidence of 32%.

February, 2000

Carl Gustav Jung & Other Save-The-World Kids ! ? Perceiving psychosis in a different way. Individuals at high risk for suicide?
 

The Homosexuality Factor In The Youth Suicide Problem. (10/95)

The 33-page paper by P. Tremblay was presented at the 6th Annual Convention of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, October 1995. Although the paper's focus is gay/bisexual males, one section (and the tables of data) presents suicidality information related to the lesbian and gay/lesbian/bisexual of colour populations.

The negative effects of racist white-dominated GLB communities on GLB people of colour is noted, along with other problems faced in the greater society and in their own ethnic/racial groups - commonly more homophobic than white cultures. Additional "racism" information from the United States is also supplied. The issue of racism in Calgary's GLB community was addressed only in 1993 in a gay/lesbian magazine (Links to Articles Here) - and at a Gay Pride function in the same year, but it continues to be ignored even in the one-year-old Calgary GLB community magazine OUTLOOKS. The magazine, however, has also ignored the GB youth suicide problem which often continues after the "at risk" individuals have made more formal contact with GB institutions. Several GLB individuals of colour in the "leader" category (such as Kevin DeSouza, Susanda Ya, and Paul Ferandez) left Calgary (1995/96) in complete disgust with the situation.

The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem.

The 215 page book (with an Alberta focus) explores the suicidal problems of North American GLB youth of all colours, related problems (including indifference and abuse in GLB communities), and the serious problems with professionals who have generally ignored these issues. The book also supplies the reader with the basic knowledge needed to understand gay, lesbian and bisexual youth and their challenges. This understanding is imperative for all seeking to help these youth by alleviating the societal pressures which have contributed to their suicides. For information about The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem follow this link. - Author's Biography. - Author's "homobio" relating to his childhood and adolescence published by Bagley (1997).. - Photographs of the author at a young age.

Six parts of the book, The Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem are online:

An Appendix containing a published 1991 investigative report on what Alberta professionals working with children and adolescents were doing to help "at risk" GLB children & adolescents. - A 1998 update. - This report led to writing the 1991 52-page report, Gay and Lesbian Youth Need our Help,  submitted to Jim Dinning, Alberta's Minister of Education.

Update 1996: A summary of events which occurred since 1994 is given, along with additional information related to GLB suicide problems, such as child sexual abuse.

The chapter,  The "Gay Factor" In The Street Youth Problem, which is related to male youth prostitution. - A 1998 update. - Internet resources related to male youth prostitution.

The Additional Problems of GLB Youth of Colour: (11/94, 03/98) - Internet Resources related to North American and International GLB People of Colour Issues.  - Supplementary Information.

A Calgary Gay Youth Attempts Suicide. (2/99)  Illustrates how some gay youth, even by the age of 13, may be most determined to kill themselves.

The Suicide of Bobby Steele.  The story also illustrates how researchers such as David Shaffer would have failed to discover that Bobby was homosexually active and also linked to Edmonton's gay community. Such seriously flawed research - rooted in a great ignorance of adolescent homosexual realities - has contributed to mainstream suicidology generally ignoring homosexuality issues in youth suicide research, intervention, and prevention.
 

Internet Survey of GLBT Youth Reports High Suicide Attempt Rate. (03/98)

1,953 GLBT youth responded to 1997 Internet survey. Suicide attempt rate 22% and more than half the attempters (62%) are repeat attempters averaging 2.7 suicide attempts. 37% of attempters attempted suicide 3 or more times. Mean age of first suicide attempt: 14.1 years. A full report related to a self-identified 10-year-old Calgary gay boy who attempted suicide (written by his mother and presented to the Calgary Board of Education in 1995) is available in The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem.

An Internet survey reports a 44% suicide attempt rate N/A for 198 GLBT respondents (Average age = 31-years-old); 80% of the first suicide attempts occurred before the age of 20.

A survey of 255 GLB adults seeking counseling - reports a suicide attempt incidence of 41% and the average age of the first suicide attempt was 12-years-old. Almost one-third of the attempters attempted suicide 3 or more times.

Help Lines

On August 11, The Trevor Project launched The Trevor Helpline, the first round-the-clock national toll-free suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth. It's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Teens with nowhere to turn can call 1-866-4-U-TREVOR. - Gay and Lesbian Helpline (1-888) 340-4528: The national toll-free Gay and Lesbian Helpline is operated by Fenway Community Health Center in Boston. It provides free confidential information, referrals, crisis intervention, and support to callers seven evenings a week. Typical topics include safer sex and coming out. Typical topics include safer sex and coming out. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Helpline - 617-267-9001 - Toll-free 888-340-4528. - Peer Listening Line 1-617-267-2535. Toll-free 1-800-399-PEER (1-800-399-7337)USA: Suicide & Crisis Lines.

GLBT National Help Center (http://glbtnationalhelpcenter.org): The GLBT National Help Center offers several important programs, in addition to our two national hotlines. They operate two local GLBT hotlines in New York and San Francisco, and they also offer other programming to help independent organizations build the infrastructure needed to provide strong support to GLBT communities at the local level. Toll-free 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564). See related information, such as operation hours,  at the website.

Kids Help Phone, Canada: 1-800-668-6868 - The Youth Line is a phone line for youth in Ontario, Canada: You are not alone! You can call the Lesbian Gay Bi Youth Line at 1-800-268-YOUTH (1-800-268-9688) across Ontario, or (416) 962-YOUTH (962-9688) in the 416/905 local calling area. The Youth Line Website: http://www.youthline.ca/.

Gay Boys Support (http://www.gayboysupport.nl/en/): Listing of International Resources (http://www.gayboysupport.nl/en/helplines.htm).

Transgender Help Lines (NorthEast Indiana Transgender Support Groups): http://www.neitsg.com/helplines.html.

A Quick Search to Locate Help Lines Worldwide! Made Available by Befrienders: http://www.befrienders.org/.

This Website Was Created By Pierre Tremblay With The Greatly Appreciated Help of Chris Hooymans, The Webmaster at Websight West and Former Publisher of CLUE! Magazine Which Was the Best Gay Magazine to Have Been Published in Calgary. A Tragic "Downhill" Situation Has Existed Since Then, but a New Magazine ("Outlooks" http://www.outlooks.ca) has Become Available (Premiere March Issue, 1997) and Shows Promise. Will it be another "fluff" gay publication which avoids addressing important issues in insightful (even truthful) ways? Time will tell.
By September, 1998, the magazine had not ventured into any controversial - meaning "significant" - GLB community issues. Nothing "insightful" - beyond what has not worked for increasing "safer sex" practices by gay/bisexual males - has been printed. Silence was still being maintained with respect to racism problems in Calgary's gay and lesbian communities, and nothing has been written about the most "at risk" gay and bisexual male adolescents and their problems often involving gay or bisexual men with whom they may be involved. Maybe, they could even write about a situation brought to my attention in September, 1998: A gay high school teacher walks into a Calgary gay club and sees that one of his male students - not yet of legal age to be in such a club - is stripping. This situation involves serious "ethical" issues, but related discussions are not occurring in Calgary's GLB community, nor at the Calgary Board of Education.

Other important ethical issues are: A Calgary gay high school teacher is approached by a gay male student who reports on his relationship with a middle-aged gay male television personality. The teacher knows that the TV personality is HIV+ but the boy does not know this. What should the teacher do? Are school counselors educated and trained to deal with such issues? If not, why not?

Bisexual female youth and lesbian youth do attempt suicide. Jayelle tells her story and more in Life, Death, And the Movies. - A Significant Problem for Homosexually Oriented Males. The Homosexuality Factor In Social Violence. Older Index page.

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