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"No one should be bullied for their sexuality" - Britain's Prince William appears on gay magazine cover

Britain's Prince William has made history by becoming the first member of the British royal famil...
Newstalk
Newstalk

14.33 15 Jun 2016


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"No one should be bull...

"No one should be bullied for their sexuality" - Britain's Prince William appears on gay magazine cover

Newstalk
Newstalk

14.33 15 Jun 2016


Share this article


Britain's Prince William has made history by becoming the first member of the British royal family to appear on the cover of a gay magazine.

He invited Attitude magazine to bring members of the LGBT+ community to Kensington Palace, to hear their experiences of homophobic, bi-phobic and transphobic bullying.

He also discussed the mental health implications it has.

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After meeting with the nine delegates, Prince William then posed for the cover of the magazine - which was photographed by Leigh Keily.

Prince William met with individuals who explained how bullying had led to low self-esteem, suicide attempts, eating disorders, depression and drug addiction including, in one case, the death of a young man after an unintentional overdose.

In 2015, British mental health charity PACE produced a report into the mental health issues faced by the LGBT+ community.

It found that 33.9% of young LGB people had made at least one attempt to take their own lives, compared with 17.9% of young straight people.

Britain's Prince William talks bullying | Image: Attitude magazine

While 48.1% of trans young people had attempted to take their own life.

The study also found that 57.1 % of LGB people had self-harmed at least once - compared with 38.3% of heterosexual young people.

And 85.2% of trans young people had self-harmed, as opposed to 47.4% of cisgender young people.

After the discussion, Prince William said: "No one should be bullied for their sexuality or any other reason and no one should have to put up with the kind of hate that these young people have endured in their lives."

"The young gay, lesbian and transgender individuals I met through Attitude are truly brave to speak out and to give hope to people who are going through terrible bullying right now."

"Their sense of strength and optimism should give us all encouragement to stand up to bullying wherever we see it."

"What I would say to any young person reading this who's being bullied for their sexuality: don't put up with it - speak to a trusted adult, a friend, a teacher, Childline...or some other service and get the help you need."

"You should be proud of the person you are and you have nothing to be ashamed of", he added.

The June issue of Attitude magazine went to press on Wednesday June 8th, just days before the terror attack in Orlando.

Anyone affected by issues raised in this article can call the LGBT Helpline on 1890-929-539 or BelongTo on 01-670-6223 


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