BMJ 1994;308:550-551 (26 February)

Editorials

Homosexuality and mental health services

By inviting us to "identify the particular needs of lesbians and gay men" the Health of the Nation Key Areas Handbook on Mental Illness touches on complex issues.1 For ours is a deeply homophobic society: gay men and lesbian women face prejudice at home, school, work and even in death.*RF 2-4* They are assaulted by their families2 and by strangers.5 The discrimination is pervasive: some is derived from statute law,6 black youngsters chant death threats at gay men in mimicry of a popular song,7 and in BMA News Review distributed to all general practitioners and BMA members, a doctor recently wrote: "Only a society flirting with self-destruction encourages such perversity and ruination. Under no circumstances ought homosexuality be regarded as anything other than a destructive habit system."8 Similar prejudices were voiced by opponents of this week's parliamentary amendment to lower the age of consent for homosexual men.

Although intuitively one . . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Edwards, J., van Roekel, H. (2009). Gender, Sexuality and Embodiment: Access to and Experience of Healthcare by Same-Sex Attracted Women in Australia. Current Sociology 57: 193-210 [Abstract]  
  • Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical As, , Davis, R. M., Genel, M., Howe, J. P. III, Karlan, M. S., Kennedy, W. R., Numann, P. J., Riggs, J. A., Skelton, W. D., Slanetz, P. J., Spillman, M. A., Williams, M., Young, D. C., Allen, J. R., Rinaldi, R. C., Ayesse, M. C., O'Neill, J. F. (1996). Health Care Needs of Gay Men and Lesbians in the United States. JAMA 275: 1354-1359 [Abstract]  

Rapid Responses:

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Homosexuality as a mental illness?
John Cox
bmj.com, 1 Jun 2005 [Full text]
Re: Homosexuality as a mental illness?
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