A Work in Progress

So here we go.  My first blog.  It makes me a little nervous to put myself, my thoughts and my opinions out there for the world to see.  But like the title says, it's a work in progress.

Why am I doing this?  Partly because I've always had strong opinions (as many members of my friends and family have told me in the past, and my partner tells me on a daily basis), and partly because I think that if you believe something you should speak out.  So here I am.  Speaking out.

Something happened recently which upset and infuriated me and led to this blog being set up. 

Jamie Rodemeyer, a 14 year old high school student from Buffalo, New York committed suicide after months, if not years, of bullying because other students thought he was gay.  The fact that he was is irrelevant.  One of the most tragic aspects of this story is that barely five months ago he made a video as part of the Trevor Project's It Get Better Campaign.  If you haven't seen the amazing work they're doing check it out.

Jamie's tragic death comes less than a year after an epidemic of gay suicides in America saw more than six young men take their own lives in a matter of weeks.  And they were all being bullied for being gay.  The youngest was 13 and the oldest only 18.  Really think about that for a minute.  13 and 18.

Suicide is an issue the world round and is one of those issues that transcends all barriers.  There's no denying this.  But LGBT young people seem particularly vulnerable.  In a study published in May, the online journal Pediatrics found that LGBT young people are up to 5 times as likely to attempt suicide, and LGBT young people in an unsupportive environment were 20% more likely again.  That is truly frightening.

This is never going to be an issue that can be solved in a day.  It can't possibly be.  What is needed is a huge cultural shift in all areas of life.  There is some wonderful work happening out there, most recently by new organisation Diversity Role Models who are working in schools to prevent homophobic bullying.  We need to do more.  I don't have all the answers.  Hell, I don't really have any of the answers, but I would love to be part of the solution.

For the young people who have already gone all we can do is mourn for the life they would have had and learn from their examples.  To the young people who are thinking that this is their only option, the only thing I would say right now is:

It Gets Better.

And it really does.