Chris Paredes recently wrote about a new study that shows that victimization due to sexual orientation correlates with suicidal behavior. I include an excerpt:
Students victimized because of their sexual orientation are more prone to commit suicide, according to a new study by UW researcher Heather Murphy.
The impetus for the study was a question posed by a 15-year-old gay male with suicidal tendencies whom she counseled during an internship at the School of Psychology.
The student asked her: “Does it get better in college?”
The study, conducted in 2007, found that individuals who identified as heterosexual but also reported being attracted to same-sex individuals were three times more likely to plan suicide and six times more likely to have attempted suicide in the past year, when compared to heterosexuals.
Individuals who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual were found to have been twice as likely as those who identify as heterosexual to have planned or attempted suicide.
I find it interesting that students with homosexual thoughts but who do not identify as gay have more suicidal tendencies than those who openly admit their homosexuality. It makes sense, though. Someone who admits their homosexuality both to themselves and others has probably accepted it more than someone still on the fence.
I hope that our society learns to accept and tolerate homosexuals, and all people for that matter. It saddens me greatly that nice people get victimized based on their sexual orientation. It’s bad enough when violence happens from personal conflict or for personal gain, such as when someone gets hurt during a robbery, but hate crimes happen merely out of intolerance.
Hopefully, universities will do what they can to stop intolerance and prevent hate crimes and all victimization for that matter. By doing that, they can help create an environment where students neither get victimized nor feel depressed as a result of their sexual preference.
