The following statistics are depressing but might be useful in speaking and fighting for our acceptance, rights, and privileges

• Suicide is the leading cause of death among gay and lesbian youth. (1)
• Gay and lesbian youth are 2 to 6 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth. (1)
• Over 30% of all reported teen suicides each year are committed by gay and lesbian youth. (1)

• 50% of all gay and lesbian youth report that their parents reject them due to their sexual orientation. (2)
• 26% of gay and lesbian youth are forced to leave home because of conflicts over their sexual orientation. (1)
• In a study of 194 gay and lesbian youth, 25% were verbally abused by parents, and nearly 10% dealt with threatened or actual violence. (12)

• Approximately 40% of homeless youth are identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual. (3)
• Service providers estimate that gay, lesbian and bisexual youth make up 20-40% of homeless youth in urban areas. (18)
• In a study of male teenagers self-described as gay or bisexual, 27% moved away from home because of conflict with family members over sexual orientation.  Almost half had run away from home at least once. (2)

• Gays and lesbians are at much higher risk than the heterosexual population for alcohol and drug abuse. (1)
• Approximately 30% of both the lesbian and gay male populations have problems with alcohol. (1)
• Substantially higher proportions of homosexual people use alcohol, marijuana or cocaine than is the case in the general population. (6)
• 55% of gay men have had a substance abuse problem sometime in their life. (10)

• Approximately 28% of gay and lesbian youth drop out of high school because of discomfort (due to verbal and physical abuse) in the school environment. (2)
• Gay and lesbian youth’s discomfort stems from fear of name calling and physical harm. (4)
• Gay and lesbian youth are at greater risk for school failure than heterosexual children.  Academic failure, lack of student involvement and low commitment to school are profound for gay and lesbian youth because schools are neither safe, healthy nor productive places for them to learn. (1)

• Teenage students (gay AND straight) say the worst harassment in school is being called ‘gay’. (11)
• In a national survey, youth (gay AND straight) described being called “lesbian” or “gay” as the most deeply upsetting form of sexual harassment they experienced. (14)
• Gay students hear anti-gay slurs as often as 26 times each day; faculty intervention occurs in only about 3% of those cases. (9)
• In Seattle, 34% of students who described themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported being the target of anti-gay harassment or violence at school or on the way to or from school, compared to 6% of heterosexual students. (16)
• Gay and lesbian youth live, work and attempt to learn in constant fear of physical harm at school. (4)
• 27% of gay and lesbian youth have been physically hurt by another student. (12)
• In 53 schools in Washington State, 77 incidents of anti-gay harassment and violence have been reported in the past 3 years, with 34 of these incidents (44%) serious enough to warrant possible criminal allegations. (15)

• Few administrators discipline students for name-calling and harassment of gay and lesbian students. (5)
• Teachers may wish to stop harassment and anti-gay comments, but few have had any specific training which would teach them to intervene effectively and many fear reprisals without the explicit support and backing of their administration. (5)
• In Michigan, 28% of school personnel surveyed determined their school environment to be emotionally unsafe for gay and lesbian youth. (17)
• Over 50% of national youth servicing organizations report that they do not have services or resources in place to educate youth on sexual orientation or to support gay and lesbian youth. (13)

• There are very few openly gay staff members or teachers in schools. (5)
• The presence of openly gay and/or lesbian staff members is a crucial component of any school program seeking to reduce bigotry and provide support for gay and lesbian students. (5)

• Gays and lesbians are the most frequent victims of hate crimes. (7)
• Gays and lesbians are at least 7 times more likely to be crime victims than heterosexual people. (7)
• At least 75% of crimes against gays and lesbians are not reported to anyone. (8)
• In a study of 5 metropolitan areas (including Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, and San Francisco), there were 1,833 [reported) incidents of anti-gay and anti-lesbian crimes, which was a 31% increase over the previous year. (8)

•  In a typical class of 30 students, 8 students (27% of the class) will be directly affected by homosexuality of self, one or more siblings, or one or both parents. (10)

For further information please contact clarence@oogachaga.com

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