Study Reveals Alarming Rate Of Homophobia In Australian Teenage Boys

Mental health organisation beyondblue has revealed the startling results of a recent study, indicating that 40 per cent of teenage boys in Australia feel “anxious or uncomfortable” around gay people.

It was also uncovered that 38 per cent of teenage boys would be unhappy to have a gay person in their social group and 23 per cent felt it was acceptable to use “gay” as a derogatory term.

The study of more than 300 14-17 year-olds was conducted by global marketing company TNS.

These statistics should be of huge concern to the Australian public, as beyondblue chief executive Georgie Harman explains to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"[Young] LGBTI people are already three to six times more likely to be distressed than their straight peers. If we want to reduce their distress, we must reduce the discrimination they face. We know that high levels of distress have a strong link to depression, anxiety and suicide," he said.

Referring again to the survey, six in ten respondents said they had witnessed, first-hand, teens being bullied for their sexuality.

Beyondblue will battle homophobia among Australian youth with their new social media campaign #StopThinkRespect, which likens bullying someone over their sexual preference and identity with bullying someone for being left-handed.