Southern Utah and the LGBT suicide

Finding clear numbers related to LGBT suicides within Utah or even the U.S. can be hard to pinpoint.

According to data from the Utah Department of Health, the state has one of the highest suicide rates in the U.S.

However, being able to compare LGBT suicides to the state average may take several more years of research before knowing how serious the issue has become.

“We are aware there is a gap in our data collection at the state level because we have faced a lot of obstacles putting this kind of data into our existing surveys that measure mental health suicide attempts,” said Andrea Hood, UDOH suicide prevention coordinator. “We face political opposition essentially into putting it into the survey so we’re still working with partners.”

Suicides within Washington and Iron counties have been similar to the state rate for the majority of the last 10 years, with slightly higher numbers between 2010 and 2013, according to data from the UDOH.

The statistics show both counties have similar rates with firearms being the leading means of injury in suicide deaths during 2012 – 2014. Males ages 45 – 54 had the highest suicides rates among all age groups.

When it came to self-inflicted injuries, Washington County’s hospitalization rate was “significantly higher” than both Iron County and the state of Utah.

Hood said the Utah Department of Health uses the National Violent Death Reporting System to record data in cases such as suicides. Currently, there is a spot to record sexual orientation and transgender status in this system.

However, Hood said that question is generally not being asked by police and not being recorded into the system.

UDOH is now trying to reach out to police chiefs at a state level and also to medical examiners and investigators to disseminate a new version of a pocket card with reporting recommendations to encourage police officers to gather more information on LGBT violent deaths, Hood said.

“When we’re trying to make a determination about whether a person might have been LGBT if they’ve taken their own life…it’s hard to count,” said Rachel Peterson, Utah Pride Center director of programs. “I think there are more LGBT people who take their lives when they’re closeted and dont' feel like they can connect with people or express that part of themselves.”

In 2013, Peterson helped conduct a survey with the nonprofit OUTreach Resource Centers in which they polled LGBT youth at four drop-off centers in northern Utah about suicide. The results showed that 62 percent of the youth polled had attempted suicide at least once.

Of those that had made a suicide attempt, more than half had made multiple suicide attempts.

“That’s scary because we know that the biggest risk factor or predictor for suicide completion is previous suicide attempts,” Peterson said.

Troy Williams, Equality Utah executive director, said a leading factor in suicides and suicide attempts among the LGBT community is when a person is ostracized.

He noted that this leads to feelings isolation, fear and feelings of despair, adding that LGBT individuals who are exiled from their family or faith often struggle with feeling abandoned and hopeless, which could ultimately lead to suicidal thoughts and actions.

Williams wrote in an email that the recent policy changes by the LDS Church regarding children of same-sex couples could also have serious consequences for for these groups.

"We can't begin to imagine the isolation and stigma this will pose to the children who will be told that their parents are 'apostates,'" Williams wrote. "It's a dangerous precedent that we hope the Church corrects soon."

Another contributing factor to suicide seems to point toward bullying.

Peterson said there is a high rate of LGBT youth with past surveys showing most LGBT students in Utah have experienced some kind of bullying or harassment at school. She said for some of these students are also rejected at home and cannot find a safe space where they can feel comfortable.

“Condemning someone for being LGBT can be really harmful because the youth knows they can’t change this about themselves; that this is who they are,” Peterson said. “That puts them at a high risk for suicide but it also puts them at high risk for homelessness, for exploitation, for addiction, for sex trafficking and all these other things that we see.”

Follow Nichole Osinski on Twitter, @nrosinski, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/osinskireporter. Call her at 435-674-6231.

Popular Stories

Utah startup competition names local winner

Tour of Utah back in Cedar City

Search continues for escaped inmate