quote:Twenty-five percent of all young gay men in Northern Ireland have attempted suicide and nearly two thirds have considered suicide according to a report on LGBT mental health released Wednesday.
The study, undertaken by the Rainbow Project, a Belfast-based LGBT organization, shows that 30 percent of those young gays studied had harmed themselves physically.
The study, called "Out on Your Own" was three years in the making and involved research on 190 gay males under the age of 25.
The researchers found that one third of those in the group were diagnosed as having a mental illness at some time in their lives and almost as many having had a potential psychiatric disorder - the result, the study says, of homophobia the young people encountered.
The study found that that the young people had difficulty accepting their sexuality, in part because of religious pressure, that they suffered loneliness and isolation and often experienced homophobia at home. Yet, they seldom had anyone to turn to for help.
The conference is expected to call on the British Government to fund training and resources for counselors and other professionals including teachers.
Wonder what the numbers are for the south...
From: goodbye... :-( | Registered: Dec 2003
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Screaming Lord Byron
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4717
posted 29 March 2006 08:58 AM
IIRC, homosexuality was not decriminalized in Northern Ireland until around about 1980 - more than a decade after the UK and Canada. IIRC further, Ian Paisley led a 'spirited' campaign against the legislation.
You can imagine the effect that might have on a young gay man's psyche, eh?
posted 29 March 2006 12:08 PM
I am not normally a bloodthirsty person, but Ian Paisley should be horsewhipped until he is raw, and then staked out over an anthill. He's the kind of slimy demagogue who gives maggots like Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and Phreddy Felps a bad name.
[ 29 March 2006: Message edited by: Hephaestion ]
From: goodbye... :-( | Registered: Dec 2003
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Email this thread to someone!
posted 29 March 2006 07:23 AM
