A recent rash of suicides among gay youth has captured the attention of the nation, with President Obama releasing a video Thursday aimed at reaching gay teens threatened by bullying.
Among the deaths most heavily reported by the media was that of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University student whose intimate interactions with another man were broadcast over the internet.
While Clementi's death is heartbreaking, and the details surrounding it particularly vivid, some experts say the bigger story is that hundreds of suicides go unreported or underreported every year.
"While it's great to have this topic in the news, unfortunately this isn't news. This is an issue that has been going on for a long time," said Leigh Powers, head of Information Services at the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
The most recent data from The American Association of Suicidology shows that there are more than 1,000 suicides on college campuses ever year. In 2007, more than 4,000 young people aged 15 to 24 killed themselves.
"Given the data, it's clear that all of us need to be equipped to identify youth -- particularly lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth -- who may be thinking about suicide so we can keep them safe and connect them with services and support," Powers said.
Solid statistics are hard to find since most mortality data does not include sexual orientation, and anyway many youngsters have yet to come out…
Read more:
LGBT Ally Week: Take a Stand for LOVE!
by Jason Mannino,
October 22, 2010
The Huffington Post
I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I didn't have gay allies loving me and supporting me since long before the time I came out, until the very moment in which I am writing this article and I expect beyond the time that I transition into my next life. Then I coach myself to stop and simply bask in the gratitude of not having to know. The truth is I have had so much love and support that I have at times found myself having to work through embarrassment of not always being able to relate to the plethora of bullying, violence, and family ostracizing that others go through.
In September we witnessed five suicides by LGBT teens, and just this week on Tuesday evening the sixth was discovered. This LGBT teen was 19-year-old Corey Jackson on the campus of Oakland University in Southeast Michigan. According to the investigation, thus far this suicide does not seem to have been elicited by bullying.
Melissa Pope, director of Oakland University's Gender and Sexuality Center, said the issue points to a larger, hidden epidemic of suicides among LGBT youth.
Read more:
Sexual orientation
is
less about sex
and
more about
LOVE,
being one with another human being.
Attachment Theory - - LOVE & RELIGION
Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Thalamus Center
Sexual orientation
- Internalized Homophobia –
“Auschwitz – Benedict XVI - Christmas 2008 -A flashback far more severe than in Brokeback Mountain”
GAY TEENAGE SUICIDE - Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Thalamus Center
Attachment Theory
Nothing in life is more precious than the intimate relationships we have with love ones. Healthy love relationships delight us give us confidence to take on challenges and support us in difficult times. PhotoGay marriage ->Restoring
"Hope of Love"
To Children In Early Childhood -> Marriage Equality
March 23, 2010 – by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz
Thalamus Center
Marriage Equality, like Galileo, is the truth about the facts of growing up gay. Marriage Equality will not become a reality until people learn that its most vital purpose is that it restores the “hope of love” to children in early childhood – essential to their development and well-being for life. Without Marriage Equality we teach children how to hate love and how to be mean and indifferent to people as adults. With all due respect, without Marriage Equality we would teach them in much the same way as has been shown by Benedict XVI and the hierarchy, especially in their lack of care and protection of children for decades.
It gets better:
A video campaign featuring hundreds of videos
by people
standing up for gay youth
by Dr. Brian Mustanski
October 8, 2010
Psychology Today
Video campaign to gay youth says, "It gets better."
In September several LGBT young people tragically took their own lives. In the media it was reported that they had experienced bullying, victimization, and harassment. While the reasons why someone chooses to take their own life are very complicated, we do know that things do get better and that suicide is not the answer. To help tell the story of how things get better famous syndicated columnist Dan Savage launched a YouTube channel that allows gay adults to upload videos of themselves describing the bullying they might have experienced in high school, but also talking about how much better their lives are now.It is a rare opportunity for gay adults to speak directly to gay youth and explain that while sometimes you may feel isolated, that life gets better. Many celebrities joined in and shared their words of encouragements with the simple message that "it gets better."
f you are struggling with a difficult time and need someone to talk to I encourage you to call the Trevor Project 24 hour hotline designed specifically for LGBT young people at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR. We also have a lot of resources for LGBT and questionning youth on our website at the IMPACT LGBT Health and Development Program.
I encourage all youth to think about how great your life can be in the future. This can be a powerful way to cope with some of the tough times you might be experiencing right now. It will get better and you can have an amazing life!
Read more/ view videos:
Dr. Brian Mustanski is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Juvenile Research and is an expert in LGBT health and development. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/bloggers/brian-mustanski-phd
Discussing all things related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) health and development: from the biology of sexual orientation to talking to your family about sexuality to the pros and cons of the Internet in our romantic lives.
by Dr. Brian Mustanski
President Obama: It Gets Better,
October 21, 2010
The White House
Recently, several young people have taken their own lives after being bullied for being gay – or perceived as being gay – by their peers. Their deaths are shocking and heartbreaking tragedies. No one should have to endure relentless harassment or tormenting. No one should ever feel so alone or desperate that they feel have nowhere to turn. We each share a responsibility to protect our young people. And we also have an obligation to set an example of respect and kindness, regardless of our differences.
We all have a responsibility to protect all of our children. But we also have an obligation to set an example of respect and kindness regardless of our differences.
This is personal to me. When I was a young adult, I faced the jokes and taunting that too many of our youth face today, and I considered suicide as a way out. But I was fortunate. One of my co-workers recognized that I was hurting, and I soon confided in her. She cared enough to push me to seek help. She saved my life. I will always be grateful for her compassion and support – the same compassion and support that so many kids need today. Photo
In the wake of these terrible tragedies, thousands of Americans have come together to share their stories of hope and encouragement for LGBT youth who are struggling as part of the It Gets Better Project. Their messages are simple: no matter how difficult or hopeless life may seem when you’re a young person who’s been tormented by your peers or feels like you don’t fit in: life will get better...
Read more/watch video - President Obama:
Related links:
In 'It Gets Better'
Video, Nancy Pelosi Says
Diversity Is An 'American Strength'
– October 24, 2010
- On Top Magazine
"Most religious denominations
continue
to
condemn homosexuality as sinful
and
provide a rationale
for
marginalizing LGB people.”
Suicide Risk and Prevention for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender YouthSocial Environment
...Morrow (2004) points out that “GLBT adolescents must cope with developing a sexual minority identity in the midst of negative comments, jokes, and often the threat of violence because of their sexual orientation and/or transgender identity” (p. 91-92) and that, given the pervasive homophobia in our culture and in the families of LGBT youth, “the internalization of homophobic and heterosexist messages begins very early—often before GLBT youth fully realize their sexual orientation and gender identity” (p. 92). Morrow also says that positive role models for LGBT youth are hard to find. Photo
Herek and colleagues (2007) describe a framework to understand the social environment for sexual minorities. The framework integrates the sociological idea of stigma with the psychological idea of prejudice. Through stigma, society discredits and invalidates homosexuality relative to heterosexuality. Institutions embodying stigma results in heterosexism, and heterosexual individuals internalizing stigma results in prejudice. The United States legal system has faced challenges by sexual minorities and sympathetic heterosexuals that have led to significant changes. However, the legal system continues to reinforce stigma through discriminatory laws and the absence of laws protecting sexual minorities from discrimination in employment, housing, and services. A minority of states had antidiscrimination laws as of 2005, and most of these only referred to employment and not to housing or services. Most religious denominations continue to condemn homosexuality as sinful and provide a rationale for marginalizing LGB people...
Read complete research:
Suicide Risk and Prevention for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth - Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
Bullying in Schools: Harassment Puts Gay Youth at Risk
Mental Health America
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
Supported by Grant No. 1 U79 SM57392-02
2008
About:
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) provides prevention support, training, and resources to assist organizations and individuals to develop suicide prevention programs, interventions and policies, and to advance the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
Read more:
Suicide Prevention Resource Center
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street
Newton MA 02458
877-GET-SPRC (438-7772)
Child Protection Service of the
Archdiocese of Dublin
Gay Marriage Obsession of
Benedict XVI
Neglected Safety of Children
&
Cover-ups Wrongly Blaming Gays - -
“What the Pope Knew”
Gary Tuchman,
September 25, 2010,
CNN & CNN International
(Investigative documentary)
video
Related links:
No comments:
Post a Comment