A campaign group has claimed homophobic statements by politicians and churchmen are responsible for a greater mental health problems among the gay and lesbian people.
Rainbow project director John O'Doherty, pictured, said its own research showed levels of self-harm and suicide attempts among the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender) community are higher than average.
He was speaking after DUP assembly member Jim Wells confronted a Queen's University academic on Thursday over claims that anti-gay rhetoric by his party may have led to young gay and lesbian people killing themselves.
Dr graham Ellison had sent a strongly-worded email to a woman who had previously given evidence to Stormont's justice committee in support of a human trafficking and prostitution bill sponsored by DUP MLA Lord morrow. In the correspondence Dr Ellison described the DUp's attitude to the gay and lesbian community as "repressive and socially backward", and suggested it had led some young people to kill themselves. A DUP spokesman described the academic's claim as "baseless".
"We refute Dr Ellison's comments entirely," a spokesman said.
"It would be up to Dr Ellison to come forward with evidence to support this assertion." According to research carried out by the Rainbow project, the homophobic attitudes of people in authority have impacted on the mental health of the LGBT community in the north. mr O'Doherty said it was impossible to cite a specific DUP policy or remarks by party representatives which had directly led someone to take their own life.
"However, we believe that homophobic language and attitudes among northern ireland's politicians and churchmen directly relates to poorer mental health outcomes among LGBT people," he said.
He said more than a third of LGBT people had experienced self-harm and a higher than average number had contemplated suicide.
* CONFRONTED: Jim Wells
* COMMENTS: Dr Graham Ellison