LGBT adolescent & teen suicides a cause for concern

During the brou ha ha involving the new president of the previously constituted Guidance Counsellors Association of Jamaica or now known as JAGCE Jamaica Association of Guidance Counselling in Education it was revealed that a female student from a prominent Kingston all girls school had committed suicide the same week as the controversial statements made by the goodly president came through. Nadine Dixon had revealed that such an incident occurred when she granted an interview to anti gay President Helen Coley Nicholson of Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship fame and tried to reshape her original revelation of counsellors who are not engaging LGBT students. She never however said if it was because of such non engagement specific to that case was the reason as well for the student taking her own life.

also see: 

Ian Boyne: Gay-Friendly Counsellors For Students?

Truth or Not: Guidance counsellors not discriminatory

A reliable source upon seeing my previous post on the subject has revealed that the young lady was being seen by the school’s counsellor but was since referred to another professional eventually which did not seem to resolve the matter. The deceased had expressed her frustration to various outlets but to no avail and now she is dead. Two other matters have since surfaced one involving an adolescent female who has been struggling with family members for the past year or so. A near displacement outcome also sent her into depression for some time but thankfully her summer job affording her some income made possible her payment for private consultations with a psychologist. She had attempted suicide by pill overdose but her cousin who made a surprise visit found the bottles scattered on the ground and ran to her aid eventually taking her to the hospital. She survived.

She was continuously told she needed to change her ways (typical) by her father who was adamant he wanted no lesbian or nasty person (words to such effect) in his family as God burns them out. He also went as far as to threaten withdrawal of any financial support given she is also pursuing tertiary education via a popular university college. She is on her way back to some semblance of normalcy in her life and is being closely monitored and the requisite professional on the case as well. She has also since moved in with the supportive cousin who has played an important role in this case.

Male suicide attempt

A gay male adolescent aged nineteen took things into his own hands earlier this year; he took a social media announcement route prior to taking action via attempted poison and according to him pill overdose as well. Both apparently did not work but days before he had been expressing via a series of status messages of his displeasure with life and just wanting to end it all.

The typical response from friends list is he was talking nonsense and such and some tried to dissuade him from such thoughts or status messages. He has since deleted or at least made his profile inactive and has been assisted by persons who got in touch with two NGOs where the requisite referrals and professional interventions are now active I am reliably informed. Thankfully this one ended on the up and up. Pity the aforementioned young lady did not make it. There are other unconfirmed reports of such attempts successful and unsuccessful.

Gay male teen tried hanging

A fifteen year old male described as a ‘troubled teen’ who has had run-ins with the law and who also is struggling with sexual orientation/identity issues tried to hang himself in June 2015 at a place of safety/rehabilitation centre for boys in south central Jamaica. You will appreciate I cannot go into too much details or name such matters given we are talking about a minor and laws govern such reporting of such matters. The teen however tried to end his life according to my impeccable source by using his sheet on his bed to hang himself but failed in the attempt as the light fixture he tried to tie the end to broke free from the ceiling due to his weight.

Despite his more masculine demeanour which may have deflected some homophobic profiling he has been touted by other boys for being a battyman and a previous incident allegedly at another facility with another boy involved in some sexual activity has not helped any as the issue is spread as a rumour by other boys who were close to matter. Then there are other matters attending with family members who say they simply cannot manage him as his rebellious behaviour is too much for them.

I am concerned as there seems not to be any serious outlet or sustained intervention residing anywhere to address teen and adolescent suicides and attendant issues of identity, self esteem and so on. Despite the high social media visibility in recent years that certainly my generation and previous never had and faces now added to the LGBT struggle with private LGBTians also slowly coming out persons still seem not able to find solace or comfort in the knowledge that as we edge forward to a very slow and painstaking acceptance. Added to the pressures that said social media places on a desire to conform or ideals and goals that are unrealistic young persons find themselves placed in a spin to find themselves. The aspirational themed social media interventions and some workshop activities by some do not seem to be reaching the right people and this is not only a lower socio economic class matter as is the case in the more earthy and often violent homophobia; those efforts seem to be only reaching the already converted or persons lulled in a false sense of security until their own truths catches up with them then disaster.

In a previous post I had highlighted a young lesbian’s attempt to end her life and her subsequent recovery or the road to it; she is now doing very well and has since moved on while ever so slowly mending the family ties that were shattered and led to the attempt in the first place.

Peace & tolerance

H