Is it Child Abuse if a Parent Rejects their LGBT Child?

by Michael Jones · 2009-01-08 08:48:00 UTC
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HomophobiaUh-oh. Science is stepping in with a whole bunch of facts and evidence that will likely rile up the "love the sinner, hate the sin" crowd. Per research covered in the January issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, family rejection is a leading indicator of detrimental health effects for LGBT children. What does this mean?

LGBT young adults who experience high levels of family rejection were found to be...:

  • 8.4 times more likely to report having attempted suicide;

  • 5.9 times more likely to report high levels of depression;

  • 3.4 times more likely to use illegal drugs;

  • 3.4 times more likely to report having engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse compared with peers from families that reported no or low levels of family rejection.

Rejection, according to the study, goes beyond the extreme cases where parents might throw an LGBT child out of the house (although that is certainly a real problem - LGBT teens make up an alarming percentage of homeless youth). The rejection in this study encompasses additional situations like (1) a parent thinking that an LGBT child brought bullying or ridicule upon themselves because of their sexual orientation, (2) a parent expressing disappointment that their child is not 'straight', and (3) parents not providing outlets or permission for LGBT children to learn about issues pertinent to one's sexual orientation.

Denialism Blog suggests that all of this wrapped together means that if a parent or parents reject their LGBT child, that constitutes child abuse. That might seem like a stark statement. But is it true? If science is showing hard and sound evidence that family rejection and a parental "love the sinner, hate the sin" attitude leads to terrible mental and physical health effects for LGBT children, does that equate with abuse? Seems like it does.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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