In schools with GSAs (Gay-Straight Alliances) for at least three years, instances of homophobic discrimination and suicidal thoughts among lesbian, gay and bisexual students were cut by more than half. And heterosexual boys were half as likely to attempt suicide than straight boys in schools without gay-straight alliances.
When schools had anti-homophobic policies for at least three years, instances of suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts by gay and bisexual boys were more than 70 per cent lower compared to gay and bisexual boys in schools without them. For lesbian and bisexual girls instances were two-thirds lower.
Gee who would have thought that providing a respectful atmosphere where young people are free to express themselves without fear of ridicule or aggression, would lower the number of teens who want to end their lives?
As the mother of a lesbian daughter who endured much during her teen years - ultimately she asked to be sent to high school in the San Fran Bay Area which I did - this is good news. Unfortunately, the abuse did not end with that move as her younger (straight) sister endured beatings at school for defending gay rights - which she did not tell me about until years later. Our only comfort in what the younger sister endured is that many gay youngsters told her they were so grateful for her standing up for gay rights. Keep in mind this area where we live (central California) is hardly a gay haven. I still think about that and my heart aches as I did not know what was happening.
ReplyDeletePat Padrnos
So long as the US schools are controlled by the religious, "Gay Straight Alliances" will never be commonplace. No matter what they say, as Dan Savage so aptly puts it, the Tony Perkins of the world rejoice every time a LGBT youth kills themselves..
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dallasvoice.com/savage-10100697.html
As one of our former Prime Ministers once said "The state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation." We Canucks love sex, we're just not obsessed by it. And what others do (and with whom) is none of our business, so long as it's consensual.
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