LGBT Youth also Sexually Harassed More than Straight Youth. Quelle Surprise.

From ScienceDaily (Apr. 24, 2008)

James Gruber from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Susan Fineran from the University of Southern Maine interviewed a sample of 522 middle and high school and found out that just over half the students had been bullied and just over a third were sexually harassed. Almost a third had been subject to both behaviors. Straight girls were bullied or harassed as frequently as straight boys, but lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersex, queer and questioning youths were submitted to greater levels of both.

Gruber and Fineran found that sexual harassment causes greater harm than mere bullying in both boys and girls. Straight girls and LGBT(etc) youths appeared to be the most affected by sexual harassment, suffering from lower self-esteem, poorer mental and physical health, and more trauma symptoms (that is, thoughts and feelings arising from stressful experiences) than straight boys.

Springer (2008, April 24). Sexual Harassment At School -- More Harmful Than Bullying. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/04/080423115922.htm

One would think the religious right would be on board with preventing sexual harassment. But once they catch wind that LGBT youth would be protected.....