Gay, Lesbian Bisexual Youths Punished More Severely For Same Offense
by Christian Nordqvist
Medical News Today
Dec. 6, 2010
A gay, lesbian or bisexual adolescent is punished more severely at school and by the criminal-justice system compared to heterosexual people of the same age for the same offenses, researchers from Yale University report in the medical journal Pediatrics. The authors say the disproportionate punishments cannot be explained by worse illegal activities or behaviors. They add that in order to achieve equality among heterosexual and non-heterosexual youth, it is important first to understand what causes these disparities in school expulsions, arrests, imprisonments, and then to address them.
Non-heterosexual young people are already at a higher risk of being bullied, abused within their families and succumbing to addiction, the researchers explain. Kathryn E. W. Himmelstein, BA, and Hannah Brückner, PhD set out to find out whether they were also victims of unfair criminal-justice and school sanctions...
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