LGBTQ Youth Are Under Attack, And We Are Letting It Happen

 Everyone remembers high school. The constant pressure to be accepted, the battle of being on trend and your self esteem being based on your social status. These are issues are relevant for every high school student across the country, However some students are fighting a larger battle. Students belonging to the LQBTQ community are twice as likely to be called names, verbally harassed, or physically assaulted compared to their non-LGBTQ peers MHA

Bullying remains a major issue in American high schools, and there is a severe impact on people belonging to the LGBTQ community. Despite the growing acceptance socially, and the legal protections that have been recently obtained, students belonging to the LGBTQ community are disproportionately targeted for physical, verbal, and cyberbullying. The mistreatment that these students face does not only affect the sense of safely that they are entitled to, it is a catalyst for long term psychological and academic issues. Therefore, bullying targeting LGBTQ youth is an issue that requires immediate and targeted intervention. 

 Bullying isn’t just name-calling or schoolyard drama. For LGBTQ kids, it’s a daily assault on their identity. And the numbers don’t lie. According to the CDC, queer and trans teens are far more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts than their straight peers. That’s not a coincidence it’s the result of relentless abuse, often endorsed or ignored by school officials, parents, and lawmakers who should know better.

LGBTQ students miss school at higher rates simply because they don’t feel safe. Imagine trying to focus on a math test while fearing the next slur, shove, or cyberbullying attack. Unsurprisingly, their grades drop, their dreams dim, and the pipeline from classroom to marginalization continues. This isn’t about “kids being kids” it’s about a system that fails them every single day.

Meanwhile, conservatives keep pushing laws that erase LGBTQ history, ban books with queer characters, and criminalize gender-affirming care. These aren’t just bad policies, they’re green lights for bullies. When politicians call LGBTQ people “groomers” or say trans kids are a “threat,” they’re handing bullies a license to attack. And then they have the audacity to act shocked when the suicide hotline rings off the hook.

Here’s the truth: bullying of LGBTQ youth isn’t happening . It’s fueled by culture wars, cowardly school boards, and politicians more interested in scoring points than saving lives. And telling LGBTQ kids to just “toughen up” is just a ridiculous cop out. This isn’t about resilience, it’s about survival.

Some may argue that bullying isn't a unique experience for LBGTQ teens, and everybody experiences it and learns resilience. But unlike the bullying that is experienced by straight teens, the bullying experienced by the LBGTQ youth is targeted and completely based on their identity. It is also perpetuated by systemic homophobia is society and not at all just simple peer conflict. These kids are victims of learned behavior and societal permission to target the youth of the LGBTQ community.

What we need is action. That means inclusive education, zero-tolerance anti-bullying policies, mental health support, and adults who don’t flinch when it’s time to defend queer kids. Because if your version of “family values” involves letting LGBTQ children suffer in silence, your values are broken.

We have a choice to make: protect LGBTQ youth, or keep pretending performative allyship will fix real harm. The stakes couldn’t be higher and the silence is already deadly.