On September 1 2009 Suicide Prevention Australia released their position statement on "Suicide and self-harm among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Communities".
Quoting from the media release for the launch of this position statement:
The Honourable Michael Kirby, AC CMG said, “There is no
excuse, whether heterosexual or gay, to avoid our obligation to try to
eradicate this discrimination and injustice”. He added, “Heterosexuals
and GLBT individuals and communities must work together to build
strategies that actively address hetrosexism, and promote inclusive,
safe and supportive environments are therefore critical to suicide and
self-harm prevention for GLBT communities.”
Quoting a particularly pertinent section of the position statement:
Similarly, those belonging to religious faiths that
promulgate negative discourses about homosexuality are particularly
vulnerable to suicide and self-harm. Conflicts between spiritual or
religious beliefs and sexuality can result in significant psychological
dissonance as well as division and exclusion from family, friends and
community.
For many, these experiences manifest in deep feelings
of self-loathing and hatred that, in turn, severely elevate the risk of
suicide and self-harm (Hillier et al., 2008). As one young SSA woman
describes:
Knowing
what was facing me religion-wise and with my family I was pretty
suicidal between the ages of about 16 and 19…not so much because of
people’s homophobia but because of feeling totally trapped between a
religion/family that didn’t accept homosexuality and being who I was. (‘Peggy’, aged 20, in Hillier et al., 2008)
The Jewish community leadership and in fact anyone who disapproves of
homosexuality needs to understand that intolerance of homosexuality
directly impacts on people who are not heterosexual. This position
statement shows there is strong evidence that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are up to 14 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexuals. [See also coverage in the Sydney Star Observer]
This
is an extremely serious and urgent problem and the community needs to
treat it with appropriate gravity. Continuing to stand behind outdated
biblical prohibitions is quite simply unacceptable.
Michael.