"LGBT+ pupils twice as likely to contemplate suicide"

Just Like Us - May 17th 2021

"LGBT+ young people are three times more likely to self-harm and twice as likely to contemplate suicide than their non-LGBT+ peers, new independent research by Just Like Us has found.

Seven in 10 (68%) LGBT+ young people have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, compared to 29% of young people who are not LGBT+. Lesbian (74%) and transgender (77%) young people are the most likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, followed by bisexual young people (73%) and gay boys (66%). 

Black LGBT+ young people are three times more likely than non-LGBT+ young people to contemplate suicide – 89% of Black LGBT+ young people have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings, compared to 67% of white LGBT+ young people.

A third (31%) of LGBT+ young people have self-harmed, compared to just 9% of non-LGBT+ young people.

LGBT+ young people are also three times less likely to report feeling good about themselves – just 13% of LGBT+ young people say they’ve felt good about themselves on a daily basis, compared to 30% of non-LGBT+ peers.

One in 10 (9%) of LGBT+ young people say they have ‘never’ felt good about themselves in the past 12 months, compared to just 5% of non-LGBT+ peers.

LGBT+ young people are twice as likely to say they ‘never’ feel useful – one in 10 (10%) say they’ve ‘never’ felt useful in the past 12 months, compared to just 5% of non-LGBT+ young people. 

LGBT+ young people are also three times less likely to feel useful – only 12% of LGBT+ young people have felt useful on a daily basis in the past 12 months, compared to 30% of non-LGBT+ peers.

The independent study of 2,934 pupils aged 11-18 (1,140 of whom were LGBT+) across the UK by Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has found that LGBT+ young people are significantly more likely to struggle with mental health and are not getting enough positive messaging from school.

Only 58% of LGBT+ young people have felt safe at school on a daily basis in the past 12 months, compared to 73% of non-LGBT+ pupils.

Half (48%) of all secondary school pupils say they have received little to no positive messaging at school about being LGBT+. According to Just Like Us’ research, 18% say they have had zero positive messaging and 30% say they have only had positive messaging one or twice in the last 12 months."

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