Word choice matters. Some people don’t view their self-inflicted violence (SDV) as causing “harm.” Not all self-directed violence causes an injury. Not all self-directed violence is mutilation. If I ask a client if they’ve injured themselves, they might say no, despite having engaged in some sort of self-directed violent behavior. Also, not all self-directed violence is suicidal in nature.

The most frequent question I receive about queer youth suicide is about the role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the problem. I would like to take this opportunity to provide data and context to the problem of youth suicide in Utah.