Stop. Think. Respect. BeyondBlue launches national campaign on discrimination

'Imagine being made to feel like crap for bring left handed'.

BeyondBlue, in collaboration with Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) communities and the Movember Foundation, has launched a national campaign designed to raise the issue of discriminatory behaviour, and the impact that it has on LGBTI communities.

A video produced as part of this campaign, illustrates this proposition. A high school student who is bullied, discriminated against and told to 'just be normal' serves to analogise the experience of LGBTI people, and show the reality that being a LGBTI person is no different to being born left handed.

This analogy is taken further with stories from Annalise, Gina, Marlee, Rob, Sally and Shane, who share their stories. The often, not overt, yet everyday experiences of discrimination are recounted.

The campaign launch follows a market research paper called 'In my shoes', a study of the 'experiences of discrimination, depression and anxiety among gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex people' (the Study). The Study was aimed at discovering the real life experiences of LGBTI people. It's key findings were that:

• the experience of fear and discrimination contributes to higher rates of depression and anxiety;
• within the LGBTI community, people often identified with minority groups that attract additional discrimination;
• those in regional and rural communities were at a higher risk of discrimination, and preferred to live in other areas;
• younger LGBTI people talked about not being valued in the same way as heterosexual people (for example, key life milestones were not celebrated the same way)'
• many LGBTI people were constantly anxious or stressed about the possibility of being discriminated against;
• young LGBTI people, heteronormative attitudes made it more difficult for them the achieve wellbeing and happiness;
• inconsistent experiences with healthcare professionals could deter people from seeking help;
• trans people reported more negative experiences with healthcare providers; and
• LGBTI people seek support from many places, including family, friends, community groups, websites, social media, literature and healthcare professionals.

Stop, Think, Respect

These resources are part of the #StopThinkRespect campaign being run by BeyondBlue, which 'has been designed to prompt people to stop the discrimination, think about how comments you make could cause real distress and harm, and respect people who are different from you'.

The campaign also builds on The Invisible Discriminator - a different video launches as part of the #StopThinkRespect campaign that addresses the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Schools and National Youth Week

This week is National Youth Week (April 10-19) and BeyondBlue is encouraging young people to use this week to learn how to best take care of their mental health and look out for their mates

Schools can play an important role in helping students to think about mental health and discuss issues relating to them.

BeyondBlue provides other resources for schools that are designed to support the mental health and wellbeing of students.

Issues of mental health and wellbeing should be familiar to schools. There is increasing clinical and professional recognition of mental health issues facing young people. Yet, as we have previously written, our own School Governance polls have found that 95% of teachers receive no mental health training. Suicide is still the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15-44.

Is your school encouraging discussion about mental health? 

Services such as Lifeline can be contacted confidentially on 13 11 14, and the Kids helpline can be contacted on 1800 55 1800. BeyondBlue offers its own services which can be contacted on 1300 22 4636. Further information is available on its website.