Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Results of the forthcoming 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report by the Human Rights Campaign’s HRC Foundation and the University of Connecticut “reveal persistent, serious challenges for LGBTQ+ youth.”
The report is based on findings from the nationwide 2022 Youth Survey of nearly 13,000 LGBTQ young people aged 13-18 that is conducted by the advocacy group and the university every five years.
HRC plans to publish the results this week but shared an advance copy of the 19-page report, which contains 22 tables of data, with the Washington Blade.
It reveals that nearly a third of youth respondents have not disclosed their sexual orientation to their parents, while 41 percent of transgender and gender-expansive youth have never had their chosen name used at home.
Additionally, more than half of the surveyed LGBTQ youth screened positive for depression, and an even greater number — 63.5 percent — for anxiety, with 41.7 percent reporting that they were unable to access therapy they wanted.
The topics covered in the survey are extensive, ranging from whether respondents’ schools have GSA clubs to whether (and how frequently) their preferred names and pronouns are used by teachers and classmates to whether they are concerned about being out when they join the workforce.
Each is broken down into sub-categories — for example, youth were asked to share the extent to which they feel safe not just in school, but in various school settings like classrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms, hallways, libraries and cafeterias.
Youth were also asked to share whether they were victimized over other aspects of their identity such as race, religion, disability and body weight.
The data on mental health is consistent with recent findings by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in a report published this year entitled “Moving Beyond Change Efforts: Evidence and Action to Support and Affirm LGBTQI+ Youth.”
In June, the White House announced a series of actions to help address the mental health crisis for LGBTQ youth, which included instructions for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to initiate a behavioral health care advisory for trans and gender diverse youth.
HRC notes, however, that the survey found “room for hope,” including from the high number of respondents who are “advocating for inclusivity and equality in their homes, schools and communities.”
