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Gay Teens Receive Harsher Penalties From Schools, Law Enforcement, Study Reveals
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Tweens, Research Reveals: Teens
A study has found that U.S. gay and lesbian teens -- especially girls -- are more likely to be punished by schools and the criminal justice system. Credit: Getty
The Washington Post reports gay and lesbian teens are almost 40 percent more likely than heterosexual teens to receive punishment. Lesbian teens are particularly at risk for unequal treatment from schools and the criminal justice system, the newspaper says, and researchers have found gay, lesbian and bisexual students face a higher number of expulsions, police stops or arrests.
The study, which finds "non-heterosexuality consistently predicted a higher risk for sanctions," appears in the journal Pediatrics. Focusing on information collected from 15,000 middle and high school students, Yale University researchers found gay and lesbians "were roughly 1.25 to 3 times more likely to be sanctioned than their straight peers," the Post reports.
Meanwhile, the newspaper adds, gay girls faced "50 percent more police stops and reported more than twice as many juvenile arrests and convictions as other teen girls in similar trouble." The study found about a 10th of the students in the study consider themselves to be gay, lesbian or bisexual, the Post reports, and more than 800 stated they were in same-sex relationships.
The data was compiled in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, matching teen behaviors including drinking, shoplifting, lying to parents and other, more serious, infractions, to a half-dozen penalties as it interviewed students from the 1994-'95 school year through the 2001-'02 school year.
The study doesn't explain why the disparity exists in the punishments, but, experts tell the Post, the harsher punishments can have lasting repercussions, ranging from a teen's decision to stay in school to increased contact with the criminal courts system, which can impact everything from qualifications for housing to college funding.
The disparity is not surprising, Andrew Barnett, executive director of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League in Washington, D.C., tells the Post.
"This is a symptom of school administrators, teachers, court officials, police officers -- anyone who works with youth -- not necessarily being equipped to handle the challenges" faced by the teens in their care, he tells the newspaper. "It's much easier to punish the youth than to work with them and figure out why they may keep getting in fights and what is leading to this behavior."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-07-2010 @ 10:26AM
Alicia said...This is unsurprising. Anyone who was friends with a gay, lesbian or queer-identifying person in high school can tell you this is true. Unless these kids have flawless grades and make absolutely no trouble whatsoever in their entire school career, they're regular picked on by schools. They receive harsher punishments than straight kids who cause the same trouble, they are more closely watched by the school after their first infraction than straight-identifying kids and they get less protection from harassment. My school was fairly liberal except for the disciplinarian. When my friend's fling with a boy in the class below us went sour, the boy started spreading lies about my friend, who was sweet, gentle and chronically naive and very much in love with the boy. After this kid had divested him of all but his closest friends and turned the student body against him, my friend went to the dean of discipline to ask that the verbal harassment and slander be stopped. Instead, the dean told him that if he ever talked to the boy again, he'd be expelled. My friend was called down to the office if he was seen in the same room, hallway or side of the cafe as the boy. It was ridiculous and disgusting. All because the boy changed his tune after a few weeks and said he wasn't gay and my friend had seduced him, which is crap because I know for a fact that that boy is today out and proud.
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12-07-2010 @ 12:06PM
Suzee said...A mini-holocaust will take place before more people accept this into a regular part of life. But there is always going to be people who hate and discriminate against others because of differences. Save money and don't get caught up in the spending spirit save with Http://bit.ly/FreebieHomepage they have great free stuff and coupons.
12-08-2010 @ 2:07AM
Lauren said...I have to say I find this pretty bogus. People are sooo eager to not offend that often this group gets away with nearly anything, just because people don't want to be labeled as discriminating. Could it just be that this group just tends to cause more trouble? I mean, its not like the police sit in their cars, waiting for lesbians to stop.
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