A leading national survey finds that 22% of LGBTQ+ women respondents have attempted suicide, and 66% reported seeking treatment for trauma.
“The trauma burden in this community is enormous,” said Jaime Grant, one of the researchers who conducted the survey.
These findings are included in a report released Tuesday from the Urvashi Vaid National LGBTQ+ Women’s Community Survey, named after the late lesbian activist. The report comes from analysis of a national survey of 5,000 LGBTQ+ respondents who previously or currently identify as a woman, conducted between June 2021 and June 2022.
The analysis finds that LGBTQ+ women experience substantial health disparities, mental illness and barriers to care.
These findings come more than a decade after Grant’s earlier research found that transgender people had attempted suicide at a rate nine times higher than the national average. Grant, who also led the National Transgender Discrimination Survey in 2011, said those data helped improve medical treatment for transgender people. She hopes this report will do the same for LGBTQ+ women.
The survey also sought to identify barriers to health care for LGBTQ+ women. Research shows that 77% of the U.S. population has a primary care physician, but just over half of LGBTQ+ women in the survey reported being under the care of one. Respondents of color were twice as likely to say they lacked access to quality health care.
Respondents cited cost and discrimination as the leading reasons for why they put off or didn’t seek out medical care when they were sick or in need. Dyar says there’s been limited research done to determine what exactly limits access to care for LGBTQ+ women.
While the Urvashi Vaid National LGBTQ+ Women’s Community Survey has been led by community activists and researchers, it’s moving to a more prominent organization in an effort to boost its reach and impact. The survey will now be housed at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the group announced on Tuesday.
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