Gay-Lesbian Youth
Oklahoma Gay Teen Finds Support at Home
A recent series in the Washington Post (and reported here) interviewed Michael Shackleford, his family and friends about the struggles of being a young gay man in the Bible Belt. Recently fliers announced that followers of Westboro Baptist in Topeka were on their way from Kansas to stage antigay protests in Shackleford’s home town in Oklahoma. To his and his mother’s surprise, his home town rallied round and supported him. To Sand Springs homosexuality might be a sin, but Michael was their sinner.
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NCLR (National Center for Lesbian Rights) Publications
The publications available from NCLR include a packet of information and sample forms regarding essential estate planning documents everyone should have in place - handy for all of us, I should think - plus publications on parenting, on LGBT Youth – including California’s Foster Care Non-Discrimination Act, Harassment, a Model Safe Schools Bill, Question and Answer publications, and more.
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Special report on a 17 year-old boy in rural Oklahoma who is gay and facing issues of religion, social issues, conflicted parents, and dropping out of school that were probably more common 10 or more years ago. A Washington Post reporter followed Michael Shackelford for the past year as he came to terms with being gay.
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The
Gay-Straight Alliance
is a network of clubs
in schools across the nation. The goal of the
 |
Gay-Straight
|
|
Gay
Lesbian Straight Education Network: wwwglsen.org |
|
The
Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org |
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Subtitled
“Consequences of Harassment Based on Actual or perceived Sexual Orientation
and Gender Non-Conformity and Steps for Making Schools Safer,” this report of
the California Safe School Coalition and the 4-H Center for Youth Development at
UC Davis is the largest study of anti-gay
harassment in schools. It shows that the
problem is widespread, dangerous and preventable.
7.5%
of
| Harassment based on actual and perceived sexual orientation is
pervasive. |
| Harassment based on actual and perceived sexual orientation has
dangerous consequences for students |
| School climates are unsafe for LGBT students,
students perceived to be LGBT, and gender non-conforming students |
| Schools can take steps to improve safety and health for
all students. |
This
39 page report includes charts and graphs and factsheet. Downloadable pdf file.
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LGBTQ
Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Foster Care Systems
The web
site of the National Center for Lesbian
Rights (NCLR) includes a special section on lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and questioning youth. The site includes white papers on LGBTQ
youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems that are downloadable. These
two reports bring together what is known about this group of young people and
their experiences in these two systems. If you work with this group of kids,
bookmark this web site.
| LGBTQ Youth in the Foster Care System |
| LGBTQ Youth in the Juvenile Justice System |
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Transgender
Teen Commits Suicide
A
Transgender
people are estimated to be about 1% of the nation’s population. At least half
of transgender teens have attempted suicide.
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Sexual
Identity is Wired into the Genes
A study at UCLA has identified 54 genes in mice that may explain why male and female brains look and function differently. Hormonal differences cannot explain everything about the sexual differences between male and female brains. The study results found that male and female brains differed in many measurable ways, including anatomy and function.
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For many lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and questioning adolescents the high school experience is
filled with anxiety, fear, and violence. HMHS is an inclusive
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CSAT (Center for Substance
Abuse Treatment) has published this document to “inform administrators and clinicians about appropriate diagnosis
and treatment approaches that will help ensure the development or
enhancement of effective lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sensitive
programs. The guide contains statistical
and demographic information, case examples, suggested interventions, treatment
guidelines, and organizational policies and procedures. While this document
is available as a pdf file and is
downloadable, it is also about 200 pages long. You
may want to simply order it from CSAT (to my knowledge, there is no charge for
it). Call 301-443-5052 or fax 301-443-7801.
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This report from Human Rights Watch documents the harassment, abuse and violence lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in the United States suffer daily at school at the hands of their peers. The report is based on in-depth interviews with 140 youth and 130 teachers, administrators, counselors, parents and youth service providers in seven states. In an arena that is notable for its lack of good information, this appears to be a very thorough, comprehensive report that will be valuable to anyone working with this population of youth.
Some information from the report:
| Estimates of the number of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth in the US ranges from just over one percent to just under nine percent, with best estimates at five to six percent of the total population. |
| A 1996 study of youth found that, on average, girls are aware of an attraction to other girls at age ten and have their first same-sex experience at age 15; boys become aware at age nine and have their first same-sex experience at age 13. |
| Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth often disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to their peers, teachers, and families in middle school or early high school. |
These youth are:
| nearly three times as likely as their heterosexual peers to have been assaulted or involved in at least one physical fight in school; |
| three times as likely to have been threatened or injured with a weapon at school; |
| nearly four times as likely to skip school because they feel unsafe, according to the 1999 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey. |
An estimated two to eight million parents in the US are lesbian or gay. Their children are no more likely than any other youth to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, but they are often targeted for harassment and violence because of their parents’ sexual orientation or because their peers believe they share that sexual orientation.
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Justice for All? A Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Youth in the New York Juvenile Justice System.
Commissioned by the Urban Justice Center, this groundbreaking report combines existing social science research with interviews with youth who are currently or were formerly involved with the juvenile justice system and juvenile justice officials - administrators, detention facility officials, attorneys, social workers, and others. The report focuses on juvenile delinquents in New York City. The report includes findings on safety, lack of policy, lack of awareness, and the need for services for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth who enter the juvenile justice system. It also includes recommendations for representation, adjudication and placement for this population of youth. The authors recommend, for instance, that juvenile justice system officials begin documenting youth sexual orientation and experiences at the time they enter the system.
This report is not available on the Internet. For copies of the report, contact the Urban Justice Center at 646-602-5600. For information email Terry Maroney
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GLASSLA - (Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services). A private, non-profit social service agency focused on providing essential intervention services to address the special needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Services for youth who are wards of the court as well as homeless and runaway youth. Provides long-term residential treatment, cases management, family reunification, and emancipation services.