Gay Pride month is one huge, commercial party nowadays. With slogans like “Love is love” and other vagaries I think we sometimes fail to talk about some of the very important things that LGBTQ+ people face in their day-to-day realities. So here are four things to think about this Pride month.
Hate crimes against LGBTQ+ are on the rise
I have only checked the stats for the Netherlands and the UK, but in both of these countries hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people are on the rise. In the UK they have doubled in the last four years, with hate crimes against trans people more than doubling. Anti LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the Netherlands have risen by 13% between 2020 and 2021.
The fact that, off the top of my head, I can think of at least two instances of apartments being attacked with fireworks or even burnt down in anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in Amsterdam in the last year alone is actually pretty scary. These are only the ones that were headlines in the media! There was also the example of an 11-year old who wouldn’t answer if they were a girl or boy so were brutally beaten up. The list of these events goes on.
The risk of being a target of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes rises substantially if you are trans or disabled, or both! This increase in hate crimes seems to be largely unspoken about and unacknowledged and I feel that there is still an idea that somewhere like the Netherlands is incredibly safe for LGBTQ+ people when, in reality, this is changing.
Trans health care is increasingly inaccessible
I have written before about the challenges people looking for trans care face in the Netherlands and other places. These often include being denied access to the care needed because of arbitrary decisions by doctors who are not trained in trans care, long waiting lists for life-saving care, intrusive and humiliating tests required to prove transness, as well as a very limited number of specialised centres, doctors and surgeons.
Once more disabled people often have extra barriers to receiving trans health care. For instance, many people with autism are denied access to trans care because their trans identity is seen only as a symptom of their autism, and for some reason therefore not valid. Lack of access to trans healthcare is incredibly dangerous for trans people’s lives, health and mental health.
It’s not just gender-affirming care which is denied to trans people. In the UK 1 in 7 trans people has been denied healthcare by their GP, based purely on the fact that they are trans. When a higher proportion of people who are trans also have disabilities, this is extra concerning.
LGBTQ+ refugees are amongst the most vulnerable
In the west, we often like to see ourselves as a safe haven for LGBTQ+ refugees who come from countries where it is illegal to be queer. However, this does not recognise the reality faced by LGBTQ+ refugees.
Often, fleeing requires that people stay in, or go back into the closet. There is lots of evidence that LGBTQ+ refugees face more violence and harassment, both from other migrants and also from staff within immigration detention centres. Trans people are particularly vulnerable to abuse, and face the specific challenge of being forced into gendered immigration centres with the wrong gender. Whilst there is some protection for women and children in the immigration process, there is yet to be any special support for LGBTQ+.
A Stonewall report from 2011 claimed that 98% of LGBTQ+ related asylum requests in the UK were denied. This is a shocking statistic.
So, once people end up being processed, they have to go about the difficult job of collecting evidence that they are LGBTQ+. This can be dangerous for them, their family and friends who remain in their home country. Here you can also see biphobia at play because people who have been in straight-appearing relationships are often denied asylum status because it is suggested that they can still live and love as they are attracted to both genders.
All of this means that asylum claims are often rejected so, either people stay closeted during the whole process, or they are deported back to countries where it is not safe to be LGBTQ+ in the first place.
Discrimination in work, education, the family, etc.
Although it feels as if we are more able to be open about sexuality and gender, LGBTQ+ people do still face discrimination in all aspects of life, leaving many to remain closeted in places such as education, the workplace, and even with family and friends.
For instance, in the UK, 42% of LGBTQ+ pupils reported being bullied, which is double the rate for non-LGBTQ+ pupils. Around 96% of teachers say that they have received complaints when addressing LGBTQ+ matters, and the list of stats goes on.
All this to remind you that, whilst companies all over the place are putting rainbows out right now, that doesn’t mean that people within those companies or LGBTQ+ people everywhere are able to be open about their gender and sexuality.
A reminder
So whilst it is all fun and games, partying through pride, celebrating queerness, and being loud and proud, this is just a short selection from an endless list of extra challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people, on a daily basis.
Add to this, LGBTQ+ people from other groups, such as disabled LGBTQ+, Black or ethnic minorities, low-income, and disabled people, all face extra challenges. It is important to recognise and reflect on how we can help empower LGBTQ+ people of all backgrounds, and advocate not just for their right to party, but also their right to claim asylum, be safe on the streets and so on!
After all, Gay Pride should be for always, not just for a month a year!
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