Survey Says Most LGBTQ Youth Feel Alienated At Their Schools
A school survey depicts grave statistics among LGBTQ students, including that they feel unwelcomed and alone in their schools.
The evidence is out, and no matter how it is presented, there is no denying that LGBTQ students have displayed a wide array of mental health struggles over the last decade, oftentimes at alarming rates of increase. Some conservative studies say that many of these issues for transgender students are because of the use of puberty blockers. Others believe it is because of a lack of support and new bills looking to block gender ideology in schools. Because of all this, it is no wonder that one survey among LGBTQ youth in Colorado schools recently found that the majority of these students feel like they don’t belong.
Chalkbeat reports that a health survey of transgender, nonbinary, gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth in the state of Colorado depicted grave findings for how these LGBTQ students felt in a social manner of acceptance at their schools. Less than half of those polled said that they feel welcome at their school. Even more disturbing, more than a quarter of them reported that they attempted suicide within the last year.
The extensive survey is conducted every two years by Healthy Kids Colorado. The major purpose of this survey is to provide school officials with a snapshot of what children, including LGBTQ students, are experiencing at school. Despite the raging debate over gender identity and politics surrounding this growing contention in school, advocacy groups point out how important it is to acknowledge the grave picture this survey presents of LGBTQ youth, whether or not parents, educators, families, and politicians agree with how schools are discussing these topics.
Just as more and more states present pieces of legislation aiming to restrict transgender rights through school sports and school bathroom access, along with laws to ban gender and sexuality discussions, the rate at which youth are identifying as transgender is increasing at high rates. LGBTQ students identifying this way has more than doubled over the last few years. If schools continue to restrict discussions about how these students are identifying, their well-being and feelings of alienation will likely only grow worse.
As contentious battles against this community continue to be the center of attention in politics and social media, so does the increased rate at which LGBTQ students are reporting that they have been bullied at school. In the survey, 28% of transgender youth reported that they were harassed sometime this past year on school property. Additionally, 20% of bisexual students and 18% of gay or lesbian kids reported this as well.
Adding to this feeling of being unwelcomed at school, the majority of LGBTQ+ students reported that they had no adult figure to turn to for help with a serious problem. All of this is concurrent with the uptick in states and politicians pushing for further restrictions. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has called on health and school officials to report parents and educators to CPS who approve of students wishing to go through sex changes as abusive. Furthermore, states are now pushing to ban transgender students from accessing bathroom and locker room facilities with which they identify, with many of the claims being a fear that this will lead to rapes and sexual assaults.
Despite varying rhetoric regarding LGBTQ students, it is wrong in every such manner to ignore the fact that an alarming rate of the youth in America are reporting mental health struggles. The issue is growing so drastically, that many foundations and doctoral institutes have declared the matter a youth mental health crisis. While the reasons why more and more students are identifying this way is subjective, what is clear is that they need added support now more than ever.
