On August 28, Wear it Purple Day celebrated its 10th Anniversary, and I helped a colleague write a speech for one of its events.
Wear it Purple was created in response to the suicide of New Jersey teen, Tyler Clementi, who took his own life after being publicly “outed” as gay by his roommate.
It was co-founded in 2010 by Burwood High school student Katherine Hudson and university student Scott Williams as an annual LGBTIQA+ awareness day especially for young people, based in Australia. It has since grown to be an international day of solidarity in which supporters wear purple to celebrate diversity and young people from the LGBTIQA+ community.
Businesses, councils, schools, community groups and clubs can participate by wearing purple and hosting events.
My research for the speech revealed some chilling statistics – and behind them myriad struggles.
Namely: LGBTI young people between the ages of 16 and 27 are five times more likely than their peers to attempt suicide, transgender people over 18 are nearly 11 times more likely, and people with an intersex variation over 16 are nearly six times more likely.
Clearly, as the 2020 Snapshot of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Statistics for LGBTI People states, this higher risk of suicidal behaviours and poorer mental health outcomes is directly related to experiences of stigma, prejudice, discrimination and abuse on the basis of being LGBTI.
Meaning: there are real dangers for our young people in expressing the realities of their sexuality and gender identities – and there is a lot more work for us all to do to before they feel safe.
Another thing I discovered is there is not a huge amount of research about LGBTIQ+ people’s experiences of family – or how these experiences vary for people who also identify as culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD).
This dearth is concerning given that 28.6 per cent of LGBTI young people aged 16 to 27 identify with a racial or ethnic background other than Anglo-Celtic and that 18 per cent of them report having experienced a conflict between their cultural background and their sexuality or gender identity.
One relatively recent research paper I unearthed by ACON, Western Sydney University and the NSW LGBTIQ Domestic & Family Violence Interagency, shows that while CALD LGBTIQ+ people experience high levels of family violence at the time of coming out and during events like the Marriage Equality vote, families are also an incredible source of support when CALD LGBTIQ+ are accepted by their families and wider communities.
One gay Tongan man cited, recalled the same-sex marriage debate exposing homophobic attitudes in his family.
“It was really heartbreaking to see your family say they love you unconditionally, but they will never accept your sexuality.”
Another gay man with a Spanish and Italian background said, “We cannot rely on family in ways that straight people take for granted.
“We can never feel fully at home in either our heritage culture nor in Australian society or even in the queer community.”
COVID-19 increase
Dynamic modelling of the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on unemployment, social dislocation, and mental health shows there may be a 25 per cent increase in suicides, and it is likely that about 30 per cent of those will be among young people.
In a joint statement distributed in May, AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, and leading mental health experts, Professor Ian Hickie AC and Professor Patrick McGorry AC, said this tragically higher rate is likely to persist for up to five years if the economic downturn lasts more than 12 months.
“Such a death rate is likely at this stage to overshadow the number of deaths in Australia directly attributable from to COVID-19 infection,” they said.
The trio identified seven actions needed to address the crisis, including the expansion of youth mental health services, with particular focus on urgent assessment and support for engagement and participation in education and employment.
The Wear It Purple Day theme “We are the Change” also asks us to act now:
Advocating for and empowering rainbow young people.
- Celebrating and promoting the value of diversity and inclusion in communities and families.
- Raising awareness about sexuality, sex and gender identity and challenging harmful social cultures.
- Fighting bullying and discrimination to incorporate safety, inclusion and empowerment in our schools, workplaces and community services.
- Championing rainbow role-models to help young people build the confidence to be who they are.
My colleague’s speech ended with a more succinct call to action – and she delivered it beautifully.
“Let’s do it, together,” she said.
“In purple.
“We are the Change.”
