Amelia Croney, Brentwood High School, Brentwood, TN, USA
Even in 2023, LGBTQ+ people struggle to find acceptance and equity in their everyday lives. Now more than ever, individuals who face discrimination are in need of a knowledgeable society that understands and empathizes with them. After all, both physical and mental health benefits come from an accepting environment. The field of public health must get more involved with LGBTQ+ people outside of just AIDS/HIV prevention. The LGBTQ+ community is constantly at greater risk of health issues due to discrimination.
“The perspectives and needs of LGBT people should be routinely considered in public health efforts to improve the overall health of every person and eliminate health disparities.”
-Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014
How many people identify as LGBTQ+?
First, in order to fully recognize the impact a more accepting society could have, the number of people who identify as LGBTQ+ must be understood. As of 2021, 9% of the world’s population self-identify as not heterosexual. The true percentage is likely higher since many individuals are unable to come out or lack the information necessary to define their sexuality. Additionally, 1% of all adults and 4% of Generation Z identify as transgender or gender-nonconforming (Ipsos, 2021). It is important to include Gen Z separately since the terms surrounding transgender identities have only recently become well-known. Thus, younger populations should more accurately represent the world’s transgender population. Clearly, quite a large fraction of the world identifies as queer in some way. The field of public health has a duty to respond to populations in need, especially a population so large and that is also growing as more people are able to safely come out.
Acceptance of homosexuality and transgender identities
Acceptance of homosexuality varies widely around the world. Overall only 52% of people believe that homosexuality should be socially accepted at all. This percentage ranges from 7% in Nigeria to 94% in Sweden. Additionally, only 16 out of 34 countries surveyed in 2019 had a majority of the population that thought homosexuality should be accepted (Pew Research, 2019). LGBTQ+ people around the world are struggling to be affirmed in their everyday lives. Globally, a mere 37% of people support LGBT public displays of affection (Flores, 2022). Not only is it often dangerous for queer people to be public about their identities, but LGBTQ+ people often face a plethora of additional health risks due to discrimination including childhood trauma, mental illness, low self-worth, suicide risk, and homelessness. Still, only 30% of people report having ever spoken out against someone who is prejudiced against LGBTQ+ people (Flores, 2022).
Transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals face even greater discrimination. In a 2017 survey, only 2 in 5 people across four English-speaking countries said that they would use transgender people’s pronouns that align with their gender identity. Moreover, in the United States, about a third of the population believes that society has gone too far in allowing transgender people to dress and live as their gender (Ipsos, 2017). Typically, social acceptance slowly increases over time; however, recently many countries have passed discriminatory laws which have harmed the safety of transgender citizens. In 2023, The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States due to “an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses'' (HRC, 2023). Not only are queer people being discriminated against socially, their governments are passing harmful legislation, particularly involving transgender rights, like never before. It has been shown many times over how beneficial gender-affirming care, such as top surgery or hormone replacement, can be for transgender patient’s health. The loss of rights to these kinds of care affects both doctor and patient, in that proper treatment cannot be provided.
What does this mean for public health?
Individuals who are not accepted face bullying, violence, physical and mental health issues, employment discrimination, and more (Flores, 2022). One particularly common problem among LGBTQ+ people is suicide risk. In the US, 41% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year. This rate is higher among youth who are transgender, people of color, under 18, without access to gender neutral bathrooms or gender-affirming clothing, subjected to conversion therapy, or not affirmed in their home, school, community, or online platforms (The Trevor Project, 2023). Social stigma and prejudice has resulted in higher rates of mental health issues and suicide risk among LGBTQ+ people (AFSP, 2023). Public health is meant to prolong the lives of individuals and communities – promoting LGBTQ+ acceptance around the world will do just that.
Doctors, scientists, and health care workers have some of the greatest platforms to spread positive change. They are the most looked to and often most well-informed part of society. By simply providing equal treatment to LGBTQ+ patients and staying informed on current issues, health care workers can gain the knowledge to effectively advocate and support the underrepresented LGBTQ+ community. Through this action, the future of public health can become equitable to all genders and sexualties.
After all, the world is slowly becoming more accepting. Today only 54% of people believe that same-sex marriage should be legal, but 36% of people reported their mind being changed on this issue in the past five years (Flores, 2022). General acceptance of homosexuality, too, has been increasing. In the United States, the accepting population went from 49% to 72% in just over a decade, which is a fairly astounding leap when reporting on social change (Pew Research, 2020). Lastly, 59% of people believe that their country is becoming more tolerant of transgender identities (Ipsos, 2017). Acceptance still has quite a long way to go in order for LGBTQ+ people to be safe and affirmed; however, society is moving in the right direction.
Now is the time for LGBTQ+ people to be routinely considered in public health efforts. Due to stigma and discrimination, LGBTQ+ people have not been able to receive proper attention and treatment for their needs. There are more issues to be resolved than only AIDS/HIV prevention. The LGBTQ+ community is in need of doctors who are willing to care for their complete needs. Now is the time to save LGBTQ+ lives.
References
2023 U.S. National Survey on the mental health of LGBTQ Young People. The Trevor Project. (2023). https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, March 24). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/about.htm
Clark, J., Jackson, C., & Boyon, N. (n.d.). Global attitudes toward transgender people . ipsos. https://www.ipsos.com/en/global-attitudes-toward-transgender-people
Flores, A. R. (2022, October 28). Social acceptance of LGBTI people in 175 countries and locations. Williams Institute. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/global-acceptance-index-lgbt/
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