By Katherine van Wormer, MSSW, PhD

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth often wrestle with issues related to their sexual orientation, which they dare not share with the adults in their lives.They hear biased remarks and cruel jokes. They read about homophobic and transphobic hate crimes. Their own parents and church leaders might express such attitudes aloud in their presence. All of this can be devastating and overwhelming for young LGBTQ+ people.

Harassment at School

Maltreatment of youths who are different is practically a rite of passage in American schools. LGBTQ+ youth are more likely to experience violence than their heterosexual peers. This violence can come from their families, their peers, or from strangers.

Young people who are shunned, taunted, bullied or physically harmed become even more vulnerable by virtue of their social isolation. Teachers often turn away; school staff who are LGBTQ+ often stay silent or complicit out of fear of losing their jobs.

The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 2021 National School Climate Survey Schools found that schools are hostile environments for a distressing number of LGBTQ+ students. The study found that these students frequently experience:

• Feeling unsafe in school because of personal characteristics, such as
  sexual orientation, gender expression,
  gender, or race/ethnicity
• Skipping classes, avoiding school activities, or missing days of school they feel unsafe
• Experiencing harassment or assault in school and online

Many researchers agree that the prevalence of homophobia in schools is by far the single most damaging influence on LGBTQ+ youth. When high levels of prejudice, ignorance, and fear are coupled with negligible intervention (or even collusion) by school staff, anti-gay rhetoric and homophobic attacks go unchecked.

Home and Religious Life

Home life for LGBTQ+ youth can feel unsafe. Parental pressure to conform may be reinforced by sibling teasing and put-downs. A family support system is thus lacking as is support from the usual support systems to which young people can turn.

Gay teens may experience family discord, rejection, and personal threats. LGBTQ+ children in strict religious families can experience deep guilt or dissonance between their spirituality and sexuality.

Risk of Homelessness

An estimated 40 percent of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+. Many were thrown out of their homes when their parents learned that they identify as LGBTQ+. Some have survived their parents’ attempts to “pray the gay away” or to “reprogram” them as heterosexual.

The high rate of homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth is a serious problem. These youth are more likely to experience mental health problems, substance abuse, and involvement in the criminal justice system. They are also more likely to have lower educational attainment and lower earnings as adults.

Suicide Risk

Unsafe schools, parental rejection, and affiliation with homophobic religious institutions put tremendous pressure on young people trying to handle big emotions on their own. Given this environment, LGBTQ+ adolescents report significantly more substance abuse, depression, and other emotional problems compared to heterosexual adolescents.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. In a Canadian study of young adult men from a cross-section of the population, gay and bisexual subjects were found to have nearly fourteen times the suicide ideation of heterosexual males. In trans kids, the suicide rate is disproportionately high. One survey showed that 32 percent of transgendered people had attempted suicide.

Nota Bene

Being LGBTQ+ is not the cause of the increase in suicide.

The increased risk comes of course from the psychosocial stress and the (external and internalized) homophobia associated with the nearly constant pressure to pretend to be someone they are not.

Preventing Harm

Schools can play a key role in adolescent development by providing an environment free of harassment and offering services and curriculum that reflects the life experience and sexual orientation of students. Programs and interventions should be provided to all students to help them sort through sexual identity questions.

School administration should work to create an environment that enables LGBTQ+ staff to serve as role models. A community of gay and pro-gay students to provide peer support is also essential. Gay/straight alliances have also been a major factor in helping teenagers create openly gay lives.

Related Organizations

If you are an LGBTQ+ youth who is experiencing homelessness (or believe you may soon become homeless), visit the National Coalition for the Homeless to get help and ways to find housing, or call their National Helpline for Homeless Youth at 1-800-621-4453.

PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)

Just Like Us is a U.K.-based organization that offers free LGBT+ inclusive educational resources to help make schools safer, happier and more welcoming places for all young people.

The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ+ youth. They offer a toll-free, confidential help line staffed by trained counselors.

How Social Workers Can Help

Most social work educational programs have a strong emphasis on social justice and equity. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has consistently taken strong stands on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights, including same-sex marriage and adoption rights. NASW has filed amicus (friend of the court) briefs in relevant Supreme Court cases.

School social workers and guidance counselors can help through program advocacy, leading after-school groups to work on sexual identity issues, and providing family counseling, and counseling for bullies as well as for their victims.

School social workers can coordinate with students, school authorities, and lawmakers to help transform the culture of schools into a caring culture and to help reduce the incidence and impact of any harm that LGBTQ+ students might experience.