The organisation recently launched a campaign called “Stop. Think. Respect: Left Hand” after global marketing company TNS completed a survey of more than 300 14-17-year-old males. 

The study looked at the attitudes of teenage boys and found 40 per cent felt "anxious or uncomfortable" around same-sex attracted people, more than one in three wouldn't be happy to have a gay person in their social group and one in four thought that the use of term ‘gay’ to describe something they did not like was "not really that bad". 

The research also found that almost 60 per cent had witnessed people being bullied for their perceived sexuality, and one in five surveyed said they find it hard to treat same-sex attracted people the same as they do others.

“If we can change the views of these boys, it will benefit the whole community as they grow older with more informed and accepting attitudes,” beyondblue CEO Georgie Harman said.

“Research shows young males hold more homophobic attitudes than the general public and this latest study shows that, no matter what other gains have been made for LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people, homophobia remains common among teenage boys.”

Ms Harman is particularly concerned by the findings, as young LGBTI people are already three to six times more likely to be distressed than their straight peers. 

“If we want to reduce their distress, we must reduce the discrimination they face,” she said.

“We know that high levels of distress have a strong link to depression, anxiety and suicide.”

Advertisements as part of the campaign will run for seven weeks in cinemas, on websites and on social media as it targets young males alongside the wider community.