.png)
6 days ago
10
The risk of suicide and self-harm for people who identify as gay or lesbian, bisexual or another sexual orientation (LGB+) is more than twice as high as for their heterosexual peers, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS found that the risk of suicide among people aged 16 and over identifying as LGB+ in England and Wales was about 2.2 times higher than among heterosexuals, while the risk of intentional self-harm was 2.5 times higher.
The suicide risk is “particularly high”, the ONS said, for people in the LGB+ community who are female or Black, while for self-harm there is an elevated risk for 16- to 24-year-olds.
The charity Samaritans said publication of the data was an important step forward for suicide prevention and it painted “a bleak picture that demands action”.
The findings come from analysis by the ONS that for the first time examined how estimated rates of self-harm and suicide differ by sexual orientation.
The risk of suicide among Black LGB+ people is 4.7 times higher than for their heterosexual peers, a significantly greater increase than for LGB+ people of mixed (2.3), Asian (2.2) and white (2.0) ethnic backgrounds.
By sexual orientation, bisexual people have the highest risk of self-harm within the LGB+ population – 2.8 times higher than among their heterosexual peers, the research found. For those who are gay or lesbian the risk of self-harm was 2.4 times higher than for straight people.
Within the LGB+ community by sex, women have a 2.8 times higher risk of self-harm, compared with 1.9 times higher for men.
The rate of suicide was about double among the LGB+ population compared with heterosexuals. Within the LGB+ community, women were also at a greater risk of suicide (3.1 times higher) than men (1.8 times higher).
The ONS analysis linked data on sexuality recorded in the 2021 census with NHS hospital records and death registrations for adults in England and Wales from March 2021 to December 2023.
Figures for self-harm were based on hospital admissions and A&E attendances, while death registrations were used for instances of suicide.
The age-standardised rate of intentional self-harm for adults identifying as LGB+ was 1,508.9 per 100,000 people, compared with 598.4 per 100,000 for those saying they were straight or heterosexual.
The rate of suicide among LGB+ adults stood at 50.3 per 100,000 people, compared with 23.1 per 100,000 for those describing themselves as straight or heterosexual.
Jacqui Morrissey, an assistant director of influencing at Samaritans, said: “These figures must now force the government to address this inequality issue before more lives are lost. While this data being published for the first time is a hugely important step forward for suicide prevention, we know the full picture is incomplete.
“Urgent action is needed across healthcare to tackle the barriers that LGBTQ+ people face to getting the support they really need. Government can no longer drag its feet; lives depend on getting this right.”
Emma Sharland, of the ONS health research group, said: “Our analysis highlights groups within the LGB+ community where the relative risk of intentional self-harm or suicide is particularly high compared with their straight or heterosexual counterparts.
“For self-harm this includes females, younger adults and those from a black ethnic group. For suicides we also see this elevated risk in females, older adults and those from a black ethnic group.
The ONS study noted it “cannot say” why rates of intentional self-harm and suicide for people who identify as LGB+ differed from those for people who identify as heterosexual. “It is not possible to say whether sexual orientation is a causal risk factor for intentional self-harm or suicide,” it said.
