Bullied gay teenagers more likely to take sexual health risks

Gay teenagers who are bullied or otherwise harassed at school are more likely to take risks with their sexual health and use drugs, according to US research published in the May 2002 edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Researchers analysed data from the 1995 Youth Risk Behaviour Survey taken amongst 14 to 17 year olds in the states of Vermont and Massachusetts.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual students were much more likely to report being singled out for harassment or bullied both verbally or physically. Twenty-eight percent of teenage high-school students who reported being attracted to the same sex reported victimisation, compared to just 7% of their heterosexual peers.

The worst bullied gay male teenagers were most likely to take risks with their sexual health, or to use drugs, particularly cannabis or cocaine or attempt suicide or self harm. However, the researchers found that not all gay, lesbian and bisexual teenage students were harassed to the same extent, with those experiencing low level victimisation no more likely to indulge in potentially risky behaviour than their heterosexual peers suffering similar levels of victimisation.

The study authors conclude that victimisation is linked to health risk behaviour. The findings of the study do not sit well with the HIV prevention messages currently being sent out by the US government. Since the Bush administration came to office, federal funds have been given to sex education campaigns which stress abstinence and monogamous heterosexual marriage as the only way of preventing pregnancy and the spread of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). US Secretary of State Colin Powell recently faced criticism from religious conservatives in the Republican Party after he said that condom use should be promoted as a way of preventing the spread of HIV.

HIV prevention agencies have expressed concern that current federal policy on sexual health could leave sexually active teenagers, particularly gay teenagers, ill equipped with the information and skills to protect themselves from HIV and other STIs. By the age of 15, 80% of American girls and 70% of boys are sexually active. Figures from the US Center for Disease Control show that in the 25 US states for which data are available, 13% of all HIV cases are amongst 13-24 year olds. Research on the prevalence of HIV amongst teenage and young gay men in seven large American cities found that 7% of gay men aged 15-22 were HIV-positive.

In the UK, evidence about the bullying of lesbian, gay and bisexual teenagers was used by advocates of the repeal of Section 28, which prohibits the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools. HIV charities working with young gay men were prominent in the (unsuccessful) attempt to repeal the law.