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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth often feel invisible in their schools. Their invisibility is typically reinforced by heterosexism in their environment, which causes these young people to feel invisible, unsupported and isolated. The following statistics vividly illustrate some of the reasons why The Hetrick-Martin Institute and The Harvey Milk School exist:
Sexual Self-Concept, Orientation and Identity:
- During adolescence, young people form their sexual identity.+
- Developing a sexual self-concept is a key developmental task of adolescence. +
LGBTQ Youth in School
- 41.7% of LGBTQ youth do not feel safe in their school. +
- 28% of gay teens drop out of school annually, three times the national average. +
- 69% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing some form of harassment or violence. +
- 46% of LGBTQ youth reported verbal harassment, 36.4% reported sexual harassment, 12.1% reported physical harassment, 6.1% reported physical assault. +
- 86.7% of LGBTQ youth reported sometimes or frequently hearing homophobic remarks. +
- 36.6% of LGBTQ youth reported hearing homophobic remarks from faculty or school staff +
Suicide
- LGBTQ youth are 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than other youth.*
- 40% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide compared to their heterosexual peers. +
Student Attitudes about LGBTQ issues
- 40% of high school students say that they are prejudiced against homosexuals. +
Teaching about Sexual Orientation in Schools
- In one study of LGBTQ adolescents, half of the students said that homosexuality had been discussed in their classes. 50% of the females and 37% of the males said it was handled negatively. +
‡Statements indicated with (*) derive from the National Mental Health Association website: http://www.nmha.org, and with (+) from the Sexual Information and Education Council of the United States: http://www.siecus.org.
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