Greater supports needed for young LGBTQI+ people in Mayo

Greater supports are needed for young LGBTQI+ people in Mayo, according to a new report by Belong To.

The report, conducted by a team of researchers in Trinity College Dublin and published last week in association with Belong To - LGBTQ+ Youth Ireland, found that the young LGBTQI+ population across the country are experiencing significant mental health challenges.

According to Belong To, the ‘Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland’ report has demonstrated the importance of supports and safe spaces for young people in Mayo.

The report found the mental health of Ireland’s young LGBTQI+ population has deteriorated since 2016, when their last study was published. 

According to the latest report, 72 percent of LGBTQI+ young people aged 14 to 18 have self harmed, as have 75 percent of the transgender and gender non-conforming communities.

Participants of the survey called for more safe spaces and affirmative services, particularly in rural areas. 

This was echoed in the report’s recommendation that funding is needed for regional LGBTQI+ resource centres, community groups, organisations and social spaces to provide access to youth work services, supports for parents and family members, alongside the provision of alcohol-free spaces and facilities for LGBTQI+ people.

Out of over 600 LGBTQI+ community members aged 14-18 participated in the study, half of them saying they have experienced severe symptoms of depression, with 33 percent admitting they had made a suicide attempt, five times the level found in a national study of youth mental health conducted in 2019 by mental health charity Jigsaw and UCD.

In comparison to cisgender participants, mental health challenges were highest amongst the transgender and gender non-conforming community, with 75 percent saying they had self-harmed in the past.

Speaking about the study findings last week, Moninne Griffith (she/her), CEO of Belong To, called the findings ‘disheartening and upsetting’, but ‘not surprising’. 

“Anti-LGBTQI+ and particularly anti-trans attacks are on the rise, and we are seeing increasing levels of hate directed at our community.

“The first study in this series was conducted close to the time of the Marriage Equality referendum, when hopes were high as to what the future held for LGBTQI+ people in Ireland. However, a sense of complacency regarding support for LGBTQI+ people has crept into Irish society since then, with a perception that – because Marriage Equality was achieved and Pride has become a central calendar highlight for the country as a whole – the struggles of LGBTQI+ people have disappeared,” she added.

Although the study found a positive change in public attitudes towards LGB people since 2016, the public surveyed had less favourable attitudes towards the transgender and intersex communities. 

People who reported more knowledge and more frequent interaction with transgender and intersex people were significantly more likely to have positive attitudes.

Despite these figures, the report demonstrated the important and critical role LGBTQI+ community groups and support networks (family, friends, peers, work colleagues) play in supporting positive mental health amongst the community.

84 percent of participants felt that having a connection with the LGBTQI+ community through support groups had a positive impact on their mental health, with 93 percent of participants saying making LGBTQI+ friends also had a positive impact.

Ms Griffith said the study demonstrates the ‘harsh reality’ that depression, anxiety and stress have increased amongst the community.

The CEO of Belong To explained that respondents reported increases in ‘witnessing bullying in schools’, which is leading to more young people are considering leaving school early.

Professor Agnes Higgins, Professor In Mental Health at Trinity College Dublin, who led the research team, said while progress has been made, commented on this and said: “Bullying not only negatively impacted on young people’s desire to leave school early, but those who experienced LGBTQI+ related bullying in school, had poorer wellbeing and mental health outcomes in comparison to those who had not experienced LGBTQI+ related bullying.

He said it is ‘clear’ that harassment and anti-LGBTQI+ hate speech is ‘still a reality for many LGBTQI+ people in Ireland today’.

“The expansion of online forums appears to be exacerbating the problem, with 23 percent reporting experiencing anti-LGBTQI+ hate speech either online or in public media within the last year,” he added.

Despite the findings, Ms Griffith acknowledged the positives, saying there are some to be taken from the report, ‘in particular the important role’ that organisations like Belong To, play in ‘providing safe spaces for young people’. 

“These spaces allow our young LGBTQI+ people to grow into their identity, develop positive relationships, and witness the joy and pride that comes with belonging to the LGBTQI+ community.”  

Professor Higgins said: “The research has many positive messages, with many expressing pride in their LGBTQI+ identity, as well as celebrating the connection, solidarity and sense of belonging that being engaged in LGBTQI+ culture and politics engenders. Importantly, a positive shift in public attitudes since 2016 was also evident, although less favourable attitudes towards transgender and intersex communities was apparent”.

Ms Griffith concluded by saying these findings should serve as a ‘rallying cry’ to the Government, policymakers and allies to help end LGBTQI+ stigma and discrimination, and ‘create a society where the LGBTQI+ community can feel safe and supported’.  

The ‘Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland’ study can be seen on the Belong To website.