Elizabeth Saewyc, Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre’s executive director, discovered in her studies that heterosexual youths also benefit from antihomophobia policies and gay-straight alliances. She came across this finding during her 20 years of research on LGBT issues among youth in the U.S. and Canada, primarily focusing on health disparities between various demographic groups.
“What really comes through again and again, no matter where we’re doing this research, [is that] when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teens feel safe at school, feel cared about by their teachers, feel like they belong at school and are a part of their school, it has huge differences in health and well-being,” she said. “It’s not just a matter of reducing the homophobia. It’s also making sure we’re increasing the actual support and caring for our LGBTQ youth. It matters for everyone.”