WHY WE ARE HERE
The LGBTQ+ community faces many unique challenges compared to the rest of the population. Legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals still vary state-by-state. Additionally, since LGBTQ+ people are from all segments of the population, many experience discrimination for reasons outside of their sexual or gender identity and this intersectionality compounds their difficulties.
According to Human Right’s Campaign Statistics:
- 4 in 10 LGBT youth (42%) say the community in which they live is not accepting of LGBT people.
- 92% of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT. The top sources are school, the Internet, and their peers.
- 68% of LGBT youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBT from elected leaders.
- 30% of youth surveyed say their family is not accepting or is homo/bi/trans-phobic.
- 31% of youth surveyed say they do not come out at school because they will be treated differently or judged.
According to GLSEN’s 2015 National School Climate Survey:
- 57.6% of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and 43.3%
because of their gender expression. - 31.8% of LGBTQ students missed at least one entire day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable, and a tenth (10.0%) missed four or more days in the past month.
- Over a third avoided gender-segregated spaces in school because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable
(bathrooms: 39.4%; locker rooms: 37.9%). - Most reported avoiding school functions and extracurricular activities (71.5% and 65.7%, respectively) because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable.
- 8 in 10 LGBTQ students (81.6%) reported that their school engaged in LGBT-related discriminatory policies or practices, with two-thirds (66.2%) saying that they personally experienced this anti-LGBT discrimination.
