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Gay
bisexual
TRANS
GENDERED
GAY & SUICIDAL
Sexual and Gender Minorities and Suicide
Resource Toolkit
Q U E S T I O N I N G
STATISTICS
Approximately 1 person in 10 is lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, or questioning (Elementary School Teachers of
Ontario).
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are at a higher risk of
attempting suicide (28% vs. 4% of heterosexual youth)
1 in 4 LGBTQ students is physically harassed about their
sexual orientation (Egale Canada)
LGBTQ youth are nearly 1.5 to 3 times
more likely to have reported
suicidal ideation than non-LGBTQ youth
(Suicide Prevention Resource Centre [SPRC])
LGBTQ youth are 1.5 to 7 times more likely than non-
LGBTQ youth to have reported attempting suicide (SPRC).
Because sexual orientation is not usually included in a cause
of death report or on a death certicate there is a little data
connecting sexual and gender minorities and suicide. Research
has established that the most reliable indicators of suicide risk
are suicidal ideation and prior suicide attempts (SPRC). More
studies are needed to establish whether there is a direct link to
suicide.
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
To date, there is little research on gender identity and suicide.
What research there is determines, as in LGB populations, a
predisposition among the transgendered for depression, anxiety
and substance abuse (Haas, 27).
There is evidence that suggests that youth who are LGBTQ are
more susceptible to suicidal thoughts and actions than LGBTQ
men and women who are older. This is probably due to adults
being more accepting of who they are and developing a greater
amount of protective factors and support networks. This is
probably most notably voiced in the It Gets Better campaign
www.itgetsbetter.org/, which urges teens to stick it out as things
will improve as they get older. (This is of course cold comfort for
many youths stuck in the never-ending present. And it does not
take into account many adults who continue to struggle with their
sexuality long into their adulthood.)
DEFINITIONS
Sexual and Gender Minoritiesgenerally refer to those who
have a different sexual orientation than the majority, as well as
those who are in conict with their biological gender at birth and
the gender they feel themselves to begender identity.
Sexual orientationhaving three dimensions: sexual self-
identication, sexual behaviour and sexual attraction, most often
manifesting itself through self-identication as gay/lesbian,
bisexual or heterosexual.
Gender identityrefers to a persons internal sense of being
masculine, feminine or androgynous. Transgender is an umbrella
term that is broadly used to describe people with gender
identities, expressions which differ from their biological sex at
birth (Haas).
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
RISK FACTORS
DEMOGRAPHIC factors: adolescents and young
adultshigher in gay/bisexual young men.
MENTAL DISORDERS: depression,
generalized anxiety disorder, conduct disorder and alcohol/
substance use disorders.
STIGMA: the dual stigma of being both different
sexually as well as suffering suicidal thoughts and actions
DISCRIMINATION and prejudice: personal
rejection, hostility, bullying (including cyberbullying),
harassment and physical violence. A huge stressor is lack
of support from parents and other family members.
INSTITUTIONAL PREJUDICE: laws
and public policies that create inequalities and or fail to
provide protection for sexual-orientation or gender-identity
based discrimination.
ACCESS TO FIREARMS and other lethal
means (Haas, SPRC).
Some groups of LGBTQ youth are at particular risk: those
who are homeless or runaways, living in foster care, and/or
involved in the juvenile justice system (SPRC).
PROTECTIVE
FACTORS
Resiliency and protective attributes:
access to effective care
community and school support
strong relationships with family
and friends
restricted access to lethal means of
suicide
independence of thought
sense of humour in face of
adversity
(Dorais, 85)
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
HEALTH
PRACTITIONERS
Those on the front lines of health care need to be more
involved in identifying those who might be at risk of suicide
in the LGBTQ community and to educate themselves at the same
time. Kitts says it is a topic that clinicians rarely discuss.
In addition to the tell-tale signs of depression physicians
should look for stressors such as: gender non-conformity,
early awareness of being gay, victimization, lack of
familial and social support, school dropout, family
problems, acquaintances who have had suicide attempts,
homelessness, substance abuse, and other psychiatric
disorders (Kitts, 624).
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victimization
homelessness
substance abuse
psychiatric
disorders
early awareness
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
EGALE STUDY
Egale Studya study conducted by Egale Canada in 2011
recognized the urgency for schools to get more involved in ending
LGBTQ harassment and discrimination. Some of the ndings
include:
LGBTQ students were more likely than non-LGBTQ
individuals to report that staff never intervened when
homophobic comments were made.
Six out of ten LGBTQ students reported being verbally
harassed about their sexual orientation.
The survey also shows, however, that the situation is much
improved where schools and school divisions have developed:
Safe- schools policies and procedures explicitly addressing
homophobia and made them known to students. In
such schools, LGBTQ students are less likely to hear
homophobic comments or to be targeted by verbal or
physical harassment, they are more likely to report it to
staff and parents when they are, and staff is more likely
to intervene. They feel safer, more accepted, and more
attached to their school.
Policies which are supported from the division-level down
to the individual school, so staff and students realize the
policies have institutional endorsement.
Support for the efforts of students to start Gay-Straight
Alliance clubs (GSAs). This would help encourage solidarity
amongst a larger group of the student population (Egale).
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
REFERENCES
Dorais, M.(2004).Dead boys cant dance. Montreal-Kingston:
McGill-Queens University Press.
Egale Canada.(2011). Every Class in Every School: The rst
national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia
in Canadian schools (Final Report - May 2011)Retrieved from
http://archive.egale.ca/index.asp?lang=E&menu=4&item=1489
Grace, A. and Wells,K.(2005). The Marc Hall prom predicament:
Queer individual rights v. institutional church rights in Canadian
public education. Canadian Journal of Education 28(3), 237270.
Haas, A., et al.(2011). Suicide and suicide risk in lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender populations: Review and
recommendations. Journal of Homosexuality, 58(1),10-51.
Kitts, R.(2005).Gay adolescents and suicide: Understanding the
association. Adolescence, 40(159),621-628.
princesshsn.(n.d.) A year has past(sic). Message posted to
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jamie+hubley_
Seba, J.(2011).Gays and mental health: Fighting depression,
saying no to suicide. Brookmall, Pa.: Mason Crest Publishers
Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (2008). Suicide risk and
prevention in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.
Newton, MA: Education Development Center, Inc.
Elementary School Teachers of Ontario.(2003). Challenging
Homophobia and Heterosexism. Retrieved from http://www.tdsb.
on.ca/_site/viewitem.asp?siteid=15&menuid=5401&pageid=4717
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
(Grace and Wells, 2005, p.246)
Dont you see... Im
fighting for... my whole
life and the lives of
other gay people. Im
fighting for what so
many people dont
understand. Im trying to
speed up the process
of equality because I
am sick of being treated
like someone absent of
feeling and emotion.
Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012

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Centre for Suicide Prevention, Copyright 2012
RELATED LINKS &
RESOURCES
The Trevor Project is an organization providing crisis intervention
and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay,bisexual,
transgender, and questioning youth:
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Camp Fyrey is a Canadian leadership retreat for sexual and
gender minority youth:
http://www.fyrey.ualberta.ca/
Egale Canada is Canadas LGBTQ human rights organization:
advancing equality, diversity, education, and justice:
http://archive.egale.ca/
It Gets Better is a project created by Dan Savage to inspire hope
for young people who are lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender
facing harassment:
http://www.itgetsbetter.org/
The Youth Project is a premier resource for LGBTQ youth and the
general public in learning about sexuality and gender issues:
http://www.youthproject.ns.ca/
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Resource Toolkit produced by the Centre for Suicide Prevention
Copyright 2012
Released November 2012
Centre for Suicide Prevention
Suite 320, 105 12 Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 1A1
Phone (403) 245-3900 Fax (403) 245-0299 Email csp@suicideinfo.ca
WWW.SUICIDEINFO.CA