The National LGBTI Health Alliance has said, “LGBTI people have 3.5 to 14 times higher rates of suicide than the general population.” It’s often claimed that the increased suicide rate among LGBTQ people is due to homophobia and stigmatization.
In the following video, Big Deal examines that claim, pointing out that while in the past 30 years stigmatization has dropped substantially, this has had little to no impact on suicide rates.
If stigmatization was the cause, shouldn’t the suicide rate drop as stigmatization decreases? What if, in an attempt to stamp out “homophobia,” we’re missing something else? What if people were dying because the cause was being misdiagnosed?
When there are lives at risk, it’s worth considering.
