Youth workers, health providers and peer support students in Blenheim yesterday met with the Out There project to learn about the marginalisation of gay and lesbian youth in Marlborough, which causes them to be over-represented in depression, bullying, alcohol and drug abuse statistics. Out There facilitator Amy Donovan noted that everyone was caught up in the "dynamic" of homophobia, including heterosexuals. Public Health Unit sexual health worker Helen McLean said that in a conservative town like Blenheim many gay youth remained closeted and felt compelled to move to bigger cities before disclosing their orientation, a statement supported by a 1996 AIDS Foundation survey which showed that less than 50 per cent of gay and bisexual men in Marlborough were out to anyone at all.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 10th October 2003 - 12:00pm