Schools, police and courts punish kids who are gay, lesbian or bi-sexual 40% more than those who are not gay, according to new study released in this month’s issue of the journal Pediatrics.
The study reports that teens who identified themselves as gay or lesbian were nearly 50% more likely than straight teens to be stopped by police. As well, girls who said they were lesbian or bi-sexual reported about twice as many arrests and convictions as straight girls who had engaged in similar behavior.
The disparities in punishment could not be explained by any difference in behavior, according to researchers at Yale University who conducted the study.
“The painful, even lethal bullying that LGB youth suffer at the hands of their peers has been highlighted by recent tragic episodes,” said Kathryn Himmelstein, the study’s lead author, in a press statement publicizing the results. “Our numbers indicate that school officials, police and judges, who should be protecting LGB young people, are instead contributing to their victimization.”
The study, which is based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, included approximately 15,000 middle and high school students who were followed for seven years into early adulthood.
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