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Preventing suicide

Each one of us can play a vital role in ensuring that all young people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, are provided with safe, accepting and supportive environments at home, at school and in their communities.

Learn the signs, the facts, and how you can help prevent suicide.

Each one of us can play a vital role in ensuring that all young people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, are provided with safe, accepting and supportive environments at home, at school and in their communities. As a parent or educator, you can be a lifeguard for your children or students by understanding the warning signs and risk factors of suicide and letting the youth in your life know that support is always available if they need it.

  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24.1
  • LGBTIQ+ youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth.2
  • LGBTIQ+ youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth.2
  • Of all the suicide attempts made by youth, LGBTIQ+ youth suicide attempts were almost five times as likely to require medical treatment than those of heterosexual youth.2
  • Suicide attempts by LGBTIQ+ youth and questioning youth are 4 to 6 times more likely to result in injury, poisoning, or overdose that requires treatment from a doctor or nurse, compared to their straight peers.2
  • In a national study, 40% of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt. 92% of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.3
  • LGBTIQ+ youth who come from highly rejecting families are 8.4 times as likely to have attempted suicide as LGBTIQ+ peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.4
  • 1 out of 6 students nationwide (grades 9–12) seriously considered suicide in the past year. [5]
  • Each episode of LGBTIQ+ victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse, increases the likelihood of self-harming behaviour by 2.5 times on average.6

SOURCES:

[1] CDC, NCIPC. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2010) {2013 Aug. 1}.  Available from:www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.

[2] CDC. (2016). Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviours Among Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[3] James, S. E., Herman, J. L., Rankin, S., Keisling, M., Mottet, L., & Anafi, M. (2016). The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality.

[4] Family Acceptance Project™. (2009). Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in white and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics. 123(1), 346-52.

[5] CDC. (2016). Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviours Among Students in Grades 9-12: Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[6] IMPACT. (2010). Mental health disorders, psychological distress, and suicidality in a diverse sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youths. American Journal of Public Health. 100(12), 2426-32.

By The Trevor Project