Trevor Project: Discrimination Trauma Leads to Higher Suicide Risk
The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization aimed at supporting LGBTQ youth, recently released a report that shows queer youth who have experienced trauma related to discrimination are three times more likely to attempt suicide. This most recent report on the mental health of LGBTQ youth showed important links between the trauma that queer youth suffer and suicide.
In the survey, only 4% of respondents reported that they had never experienced trauma while more than a third of respondents, 37%, stated they had experienced high levels of trauma. Twenty-five percent of those who reported high levels of trauma reported attempting suicide in the past year. Nearly half of trans and nonbinary young people, 44%, expressed they had experienced high levels of trauma as compared to cis LGBTQ individuals.
The Trevor Project’s senior research scientist, Dr. Myeshia Price, says to Medical News Today, “As the very existence of LGBTQ youth continues being debated publicly and regularly—both by lawmakers and across media—it’s imperative we highlight the impacts that trauma-inducing experiences such as discrimination, harassment, and violence can have on the mental health of LGBTQ young people.”
It is speculated that the political climate is taking its toll on queer people, including and especially queer youth. The past year has seen the highest number of anti-queer bills introduced around the country; the report shows that two-thirds of queer young people have had their mental health negatively impacted by the debate around anti-trans laws.
Price also offers that, “LGBTQ youth report feeling scared, stressed, nervous, and a number of other emotions in response to these harmful policies.”
The queer community is tired and scared. Queer youth, especially trans or nonbinary kids, have found themselves at ground zero for a culture war, and it is obviously having an impact.
Earlier this month a report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment showed that Colorado’s queer students in the state feel isolated and are more likely to attempt suicide, so the Trevor Project’s research shows that this is not an isolated issue.
Now more than ever, it is important to be there for the queer young people in our lives. The research shows us that having support and affirmation in their identity lessens the odds of an individual attempting suicide.
