LGB youth experience more violence.

CDC has released the first nationally representative data on the health risks of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) high school students. The report found that LGB youth experience substantially higher levels of physical and sexual violence, and bullying, and are at increased risk for suicide, and other serious negative outcomes. These data highlight the need for accelerated action to protect the health and wellbeing of our vulnerable youth.

Findings from the report Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9-12 – United States and Selected Sites, 2015 show that LGB students experience physical and sexual violence and bullying at levels multiple times higher than that of their heterosexual peers, with very serious consequences. For example, LGB students are significantly more likely to report:

• Being forced to have sex (18% LGB vs. 5% heterosexual)
• Sexual dating violence (23% LGB vs. 9% heterosexual)
• Physical dating violence (18% LGB vs. 8% heterosexual)
• Being bullied at school or online (at school: 34% LGB vs. 19% heterosexual; online: 28% LGB vs. 14% heterosexual)

These experiences can place LGB students at substantial risk for serious outcomes:

• More than 40% of LGB students seriously considered suicide and 29% reported attempting suicide in the past year.
• Sixty percent of LGB students reported having been so sad or hopeless that they stopped doing some usual activities.
• LGB students were up to 5 times more likely than other students to report using several illegal drugs.
• More than 1 in 10 LGB students have missed school during the past 30 days because of safety concerns.

These newly available data are published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The national 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is the principal source of data for tracking health risk behaviors among the nation’s high school students.

Parents, schools and communities can take action to help LGB youth survive, and thrive.