Amid concern over escalating suicide rates, mental health issues and violence against LGBTQ+ youth, Delaware Valley University and Doylestown Pride Festival hosted a panel of experts and community members in an interactive discussion on the troubling trend.
“LGBTQ+ are under attack,” Audrey Ervin, director of the university’s psychology program, told the audience of about 100 recently in the school’s life sciences building.
Panelist Rae Davis, a community health educator, shared statistics demonstrating the multiple challenges and risks facing youth in the LGBTQ+ community.
While suicide is alarmingly the second leading cause of death among American youth (age 10 to 24), LGBTQ+ young people are at “significantly increased risk,” according to the nonprofit Trevor Project. The organization cites studies showing LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers and more than 1.8 million LGBTQ+ youth (age 13 to 24) “seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S., with at least one attempting suicide every 45 seconds.”
Panelist Sarah Janicki, director of education at A Woman’s Place, Bucks County’s only domestic violence response organization, said LGBTQ+ face additional burdens when it comes to domestic abuse.
“They are already under attack from the community,” said Janicki. “Extensive numbers are in abusive relationships but are afraid to step away. They may already feel unsafe in their home and are further isolated by not feeling safe to seek help. It starts to feel like there’s nowhere to go to feel loved and lovable.”
With a focus on the marginalization and violence directed at the LGBTQ+ community, panelist Marlene Pray, founder and director of Planned Parenthood Keystone’s Rainbow Room, said “it’s alarming and profoundly disturbing to see the increase in attacks.”
Rather than seeing the rights of LGBTQ+ improving, “they are getting worse,” said Pray. “Things are getting harder for a lot of people. There are threats against athletes, bans on Pride flags and books.”
LGBTQ+ students in the Central Bucks School District are being chased, exposed to slurs and having food thrown at them, said Davis. “These are efforts to eradicate an LGBTQ identity.”
Said Pray, “Kids are getting the message and it’s hurtful. It’s hurtful to all kids to see human rights being taken away.”
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-10, joined the panel and called on people to understand and care.
“If you’re an LGBTQ adult having to deal with challenges and feeling isolated, not valued, think of how much worse that is for kids and then imagine what’s it’s like in this environment.”
After Jan. 6, 2021, Santarsiero said, “it should be clear to each and every one of us tonight, we can’t take anything for granted.”
To see change, said the senator, “we must stand up and use our voices — speak out. We all have a responsibility to play a role in this.”
Betsy Watson, a communications and social justice student at Penn State University, encouraged people to, “Listen. Be curious, not judgmental.”
Be aware and welcoming to people’s choice of pronouns. “Feeling that you can’t share your pronouns can make it hard and lead to a further sense of isolation.
“Give youth hope, not hopelessness,” she added.
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