The association between hate crime laws that enumerate sexual orientation and adolescent suicide attempts

Sexual minority youth are at elevated risk for suicide, and previous research supports an association between hate crimes targeting sexual minority youth and suicide attempts. Hate crime laws (HCLs) may reduce  bias-motivated victimization or reflect community support for marginalized groups, although not all states with such laws explicitly name sexual minorities as a protected class. […]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender hate crimes and suicidality among a population-based sample of sexual-minority adolescents in Boston.

Sexual-minority youths residing in neighborhoods with higher rates of LGBT assault hate crimes were significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation (P = .013) and suicide attempts (P = .006), than were those residing in neighborhoods with lower LGBT assault hate crime rates. Contact us for a copy of this article, or view online at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935714/