LGBTQ+ Australians: suicidal thoughts and behaviours and self-harm

The following summary is based on data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) from the National Suicide and Self-Harm Monitoring System (the System). The System was established as part of the national effort to address suicide and self-harm in Australia by improving the quality, accessibility and timeliness of data on deaths by suicide and on self-harming and suicidal behaviours.

For guidance on reporting on suicide and self-harm data, please refer to the Mindframe quick reference guide.

Released by AIHW on Wednesday, 22 May 2024

The National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring System presents data on suicide and self-harm among LGBTQ+ people from the Private Lives 3 (PL3) and Writing Themselves In 4 (WTI4) surveys.

• PL3 sampled 6,835 LGBTQA+ adults aged between 18 and 88 years.
• WTI4 sampled 6,418 LGBTQA+ young people aged between 14 and 21 years.

The data presented below come from surveys that specifically targeted LGBTIQ+ communities. The surveys use non-probability sampling, meaning the data may not be representative of all LGBTIQ+ Australians. Despite this limitation, surveys still provide valuable information that can inform Australian suicide prevention efforts.

Whilst PL3 and WTI4 attempted to recruit people with an intersex variation(s), the sample size was too small to make statistically meaningful comparisons. However, PL3 national report presents data from the 47 participants in a dedicated chapter (p. 93).

• LGBTQ+ Adults (Private Lives 3)
• LGBTQ+ young people (Writing Themselves In 4)

LGBTQ+ Adults (PL3)

The PL3 survey included questions on recent (last 12 months) and lifetime suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts. Experiences of suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts can be broken down by state, age, gender and sexual orientation.

Key findings

• Around three-quarters (75%) of participants had experienced suicidal thoughts in their lifetime.
• Around one third (30%) of participants reported having attempted suicide in their lifetime.
• The prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts were similar across states and territories.
• Younger age groups were more likely to report lifetime or recent experiences of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts compared to older age groups.
• The prevalence of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts varied by sexual orientation. Pansexual and queer respondents reported the highest prevalence of recent and lifetime suicidal thoughts and lifetime suicide attempts.
• Trans and non-binary participants were more likely to have experienced recent and lifetime suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts compared to cisgender men and women.
• PL3 participants with a disability were more likely to report lifetime or recent experiences of suicidal thoughts and attempts than those without a disability

The interactive graph below by AIHW can be used to explore the percentage of LGBTQ+ adults that had experienced suicide thoughts or had attempted suicide. Filter options can also be used to view results by sexual orientation, gender, age, or states and territories.

Results by sexual orientation

The prevalence of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts varied based on sexual orientation:

• Pansexual (88%) and queer (87%) participants reported the highest prevalence of lifetime suicidal thoughts, followed by bisexual (80%) and asexual (79%) participants, participants categorised as ‘something else’ (75%), lesbian participants (73%) and gay participants (63%).

Results by gender

Trans and non-binary participants were more likely to have experienced recent and lifetime suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, compared to cisgender participants.

• Trans men (91%), non-binary participants (90%) and trans women (86%) had the highest lifetime prevalence of suicidal thoughts, followed by cisgender women (76%) and cisgender men (64%).
• More than half of trans men reported having attempted suicide in their lifetime (53%), compared with around one fifth of cisgender men (22%).

Results by disability or long-term health condition status

The PL3 survey asked participants whether they have a disability or long-term health condition.

• Participants who reported having a disability (85%) or were unsure whether they have a disability (85%) were most likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts in their lifetimes, compared to participants without a disability (64%).
• Participants who reported having a disability (54%) or being unsure about having a disability (53%) more likely to have experienced recent suicidal thoughts, compared to participants without a disability (29%).
• Lifetime suicide attempts were twice as common in participants who reported having a disability (40%), compared to participants without a disability (20%).

LGBTQ+ young people (WTI4)

The Writing Themselves In 4 (WTI4) survey included questions on recent (last 12 months) and lifetime suicidal thoughts, self-harm, suicide plans and suicide attempts.

Use the below interactive graph by AIHW to filter specific data related to LGBTQ+ young people who experienced suicide thoughts, plans, attempts or self-harm over the last 12 months or ever.

Sourced from https://viz.aihw.gov.au/t/6MTLH/views/SSHMWTI4Latrobe/WTI4

Results by sexual orientation

The prevalence of suicidal thoughts, behaviours and self-harm were similar across sexual orientations. Pansexual, queer, and lesbian participants often had the highest percentage of suicidal and self-harming behaviour, whilst gay participants consistently had the lowest.

• Suicidal thoughts: Pansexual (85%), queer (83%), lesbian (82%), bisexual (79%) and participants classified as ‘something else’ (79%) reported the highest lifetime prevalence for suicidal thoughts, followed by asexual (75%) and gay (69%) participants. A similar pattern was seen for recent suicidal thoughts.
• Suicide plans: Pansexual participants had the highest rates of lifetime (57%) and recent (31%) suicide plans, while gay participants had the lowest (38% and 18%, respectively).
• Suicide attempts: 35% of pansexual participants, 30% of lesbian participants, 30% of queer participants, 26% of participants classified as ‘something else’, 24% of bisexual participants, 21% of asexual participants, and 19% of gay participants had attempted suicide in their lifetime. For recent suicide attempts, lesbian participants (14%) had the highest percentage, followed by pansexual (13%) and queer participants (12%).
• Self-harm: Both lifetime and recent self-harm followed a similar pattern to suicidal thoughts and plans.

Results by gender

Trans men, trans women and non-binary participants were more likely to have experienced lifetime or recent self-harm, suicide attempt, thoughts of suicide or have made a suicide plan, compared to cisgender men and women.

• Trans men had higher lifetime prevalence of suicidal thoughts (92%) and suicide attempts (47%) compared to trans women (91% and 40%, respectively).
• Trans women had higher prevalence of recent suicidal thoughts (77%) and suicide attempts (20%), compared to trans men (73% and 17%, respectively).

Results by age and sexual orientation

Lifetime prevalence of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and self-harm were similar between the 14-17 year and the 18–21 year age group across sexual orientation categories.

• Recent (in the last 12 months) suicide attempts and self-harm were more common in participants in the 14-17 year age group compared to the 18-21 year age group across all sexual orientations, except asexuality.
• Recent (in the last 12 months) suicidal thoughts were more common amongst 14–17 year olds compared to 18–21 year olds across all sexual orientations, except bisexuality. Though, these differences were small.

Results by age and gender

Among gender classifications there was little difference between participants aged 14 to 17 years and 18 to 21 years in reported lifetime suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, and self-harm except for trans women.

• Trans women aged 14 to 17 years (27%) were about half as likely as those aged 18 to 21 years (50%) to experience lifetime suicide attempt and lifetime self-harm (49% and 83%, respectively).
• Almost all genders reported a higher likelihood of recent suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt and self-harm in the 14 to 17 years age group, compared to the 18 to 21 years age group. However, trans women aged 14 to 17 years (15%) were less likely than those aged 18 to 21 years (24%) to experience recent suicide attempt, and about half as likely to experience recent self-harm (33% and 60%, respectively).

Note: Results for trans women should be interpreted with caution due to low numbers in the survey.

Participants with a disability

In their lifetime, participants with disability compared to those without were more likely to:

• Experience suicidal thoughts (89%, compared to 69%
• Make a suicide plan (65%, compared to 34%)
• Attempt suicide (39%, compared to 16%)
• Self-harm (78%, compared to 49%).

A similar trend was seen for recent thoughts and behaviours. In the past 12 months, participants with a disability compared to those without were more likely to:

• Experience suicidal thoughts (71%, compared with 48%)
• Make a suicide plan (35%, compared with 17%)
• Attempt suicide (16%, compared with 6%)
• Self-harm (54%, compared with 28%).

Overall, people with different types of disabilities were equally likely to experience thoughts of suicide, make a suicide plan, attempt suicide, or self-harm.

Support service use

• Sexual orientation: Pansexual (62%), queer (59%) and participants classified as ‘something else’ (54%) were most likely to access professional support services in relation to suicide or self-harm, followed by lesbian (53%), bisexual (50%), asexual (47%) and gay participants (41%).
• Gender: Trans men (71%), trans women (64%), non-binary (57%), and cisgender women (51%) were more likely to report having accessed professional support services, followed by cisgender men (39%).
• Disability: Participants with a disability (69%) were more likely to access professional support service in relation to suicide or self-harm, than participants without a disability (39%).
• State or territory: Participants in the Australian Capital Territory (65%) were more likely to access professional support services in relation to suicide or self-harm, with participants from the Northern Territory (42%) the least likely. However, access to professional telephone support services was highest in the Northern Territory (17%), with participants from Queensland being least likely (9%).

What does this mean for policy and practice?

Understanding the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviour within LGBTQ+ communities can help to develop targeted interventions and support services that are tailored to their needs.

LGBTQ+ people are not at greater risk of suicide because of their sexuality or gender. Instead, the increased risk is due to psychological distress resulting from experiences of discrimination, prejudice, abuse and exclusion in relation to their identity or experiences.

Policymakers, health professionals or other roles working with LGBTQ+ people can help to address the underlying factors contributing to disproportionate experiences of suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

Protective factors, such as community connectedness and positive relationships, create a sense of belonging and affirm LGBTQ+ identities.