Why The LGBTQAI+ Community Are Still Facing Hurdles, by IA

5 Aug

Over the recent years, a number of independent studies have concluded that there is an existing mental health crisis among LGBTQIA+ people that requires urgent attention. In the studies, LGBTQIA+ people have been more likely to report that they experience depression, anxiety, even suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and other mental health issues, and many have also reported having an unhealthy relationship with alcohol or drugs.

The reasons why there are higher rates of mental health issues among LGBTQIA+ people are linked with the effects of multiple issues, including prejudice they may face in everyday life, possibly being rejected by their family members or communities, difficulties they may experience in childhood, and other inequalities such as discrimination in the jobs market and access to housing etc. It has been acknowledged that the exact reasons why LGBTQIA+ people are faring less well than the general public are complicated and still being explored.

A poll by YouGov has shown that there is already a degree of awareness among the public of the mental struggles of LGBTQIA+ people. Almost half of the general population and three-quarters of LGBTQIA+ Britons agree that the LGBTQIA+ community is more likely to suffer from mental health problems than the rest of the population.

Drugs and Alcohol

Substance abuse among LGBTQIA+ people is recognised as often being a symptom of underlying poor mental health, and various studies have concluded that LGBTQIA+ people tend to drink and take more drugs than the general population.

A study has shown drug use among LGB people being seven times higher than the rest of the population
Binge drinking was found to be twice as common, with roughly 30% of LGB people reporting a drinks binge in the previous week, while the figure was only around 16% among heterosexual women and men respectively.
LGBTQ+ people were also found to be more likely to continue binge drinking later into life.

Suicide and Self-harm

The exact figures on self-harm and suicide are hard to establish, especially among LGBTQIA+ people, as sexual orientation isn’t recorded by hospitals in the same way as gender or age. It is also not exactly known how many people in the UK self-harm; estimates vary between 0.4% - 6% of the general population. But what is well established is that among LGBTQIA+ population the rates are much higher, with especially high risk for suicidal thoughts recorded among trans-identified young people.

A study conducted by Stonewall 2012 showed 3% of gay men attempted to take their life in that year, with half of gay and bisexual men saying that, at some point, life had not felt worth living. 5% of lesbians and bisexual women attempted to take their life. Of all the sexual identity groups, bisexual people most frequently have mental health problems, have self-harmed and have felt suicidal.
Gay and bisexual men are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide across their lifetime than the rest of the population.
Stonewall’s ‘Prescription for Change’ report found lesbian and bisexual women had higher rates of suicidal thoughts and self-harm compared to women in general.

For trans people the rates of self-harm and suicidal thoughts are even more common than among the groups based on sexual orientation, with young trans people being most at risk. Data collected in the Stonewall School Report and CliniQ have both shown the rate of self-harm and suicidal thoughts to be as high as 50% among trans people overall.

45% of trans young people (aged 11-19), more than twice the rate (22%) of cis LGB young people, have tried to take their own life. In comparison, among the general population the estimated figures stand at 13% for girls and 5% for boys aged 16-24.

Of self-harm, the 2012 Stonewall report discovered that overall, 7% of gay and bisexual men and 20% of lesbian and bisexual women had deliberately harmed themselves in that year, but when bisexual people were isolated into their own group, the figures rose to 29% for women and 11% for men. The Stonewall report also stated that 53% of trans people had self-harmed, while another study warned that young trans people fared even worse, with an alarming 80% reporting self-harm.

Depression and Anxiety

Many independent studies have come to the same conclusion that lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people are more likely to struggle with mental health issues than the general population. While according to Mind, around 11% of people in the England experience depression or anxiety, for LGBTQIA+ people, the figures are much higher, with LGBTQIA+ people 1½ times more likely to develop depression and anxiety disorders, compared to the rest of the population.

Split into specific groups, the 2012 Stonewall report and separate data from CliniQ and Gires have stated that:

· 22% of gay and bisexual men experience moderate to severe depression

79% of lesbian and bisexual women felt sad, miserable, or depressed in that year
Of all the sexual identity groups, bisexual people most frequently reported struggling with mental health problems such as depression or anxiety disorders.

For trans people rates are even higher, with over 80% of them reporting experiences of depression.

Experiences of Accessing Mental Health Services

As higher rates of mental health issues amongst LGBTQIA+ people are evident compared to the general population in the UK, many have reported difficulties in accessing our mental health services. While a NIESR report found that 24% of respondents to the survey had accessed mental health services in the 12 months preceding the survey, 8% of all respondents said they had tried to access mental health services but had been unsuccessful. The most frequent reason (given by 51% of respondents) was long waiting lists, while sixteen percent said that their GP was not supportive. While respondents were generally positive or neutral about the support they received, almost a fifth, 22%, still said they had had a negative experience.

One in eight LGBTQIA+ people (13%) said they have experienced some form of unequal treatment from healthcare staff because they’re LGBT.
Almost one in four LGBTQIA+ people (23%) have witnessed discriminatory or negative remarks against LGBTQIA+ people by healthcare staff.
One in seven LGBT people (14%) have avoided treatment for fear of discrimination because they’re LGBT.
Seven in ten trans people (70%) report being impacted by transphobia when accessing general health services, and nearly half of trans people (45%) and over half of non-binary people (55%) said that their GP still lacked understanding of their needs.
Delays to transition-related healthcare were still reported to be extremely high, with 90% of trans people reporting them.
Trans people of colour were most likely to report experiences of transphobia from trans-specific healthcare providers, with more than double the rate of white respondents (13% compared to 6%)

To Conclude:

As we can see, LGTBQIA+ people are facing many barriers to live fulfilling lives without fear of discrimination. By raising awareness of these issue we can initiate action to ensure LGTBQIA+ people will feel confident their problems have been recognised, and they would be treated equally when accessing help. Awareness of the extent of the action still needed will enable keeping both the public and health care professionals better informed about the hurdles many LGTBQIA+ people still have in their everyday lives. By keeping the wider community well informed we will ensure everyone can do their part in guaranteeing equal treatment for everybody.

Data used in this article collected from:

· National LGBT Survey: Summary report - GOV.UK

· LGBT in Britain: Health (2018) and TransActual Trans Lives Survey (2021).

· LGBTQ+ mental health - the stats | LGBT HERO - the national health and wellbeing charity

· Hidden Figures: LGBT Health Inequalities in the UK – LGBT Foundation

· LGBTQIA+ people's mental health - Mental Health UK

· LGBT+ Britons more likely to report suffering with mental health conditions – report by YouGov

· Additional reports by Stonewall, CliniQ and GIDES