This new survey is the first of its kind for Australia’s LGBTQ+ community. (Stock image/Getty)
LGBTQ+ people in Australia are three times more likely to experience mental health problems than straight or cisgender people, new research has found.
This study is the first set of LGBTQ+ mental health statistics in Australia that compares the well-being of LGBTQ+ Australians with the well-being of heterosexual and cisgender people. Statistics show that people in the community are significantly more likely to experience mental disorders, suicidal thoughts and self-harm.
People of diverse sexualities in this country are three times more likely to have experienced mental illness in the past year and four times more likely to have self-harmed than the rest of the population, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It has been shown to be twice as high.
Meanwhile, 70 percent of transgender youth also experience mental illness.
Three-quarters of lesbian, gay and bisexual participants were found to have experienced a mental health disorder such as depression or anxiety over their lifetime, compared to 42% of straight Australians. Ta.
Almost 60% of LGBTQ+ participants have experienced a mental health problem in the past 12 months, three times more likely than straight people.
Meanwhile, 85% of non-binary people reported experiencing a mental illness in their lifetime, compared to 45% of men and 43% of women. In the past 12 months, 80 per cent of non-binary people experienced mental illness, compared to 18 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women.
The research comes as Australia’s LGBTQ+ community grapples with the tragic alleged murders of TV personality Jesse Baird and her partner Luke Davis at the hands of NSW police officer Beau Lamarre. .
Police also called for “doing better” for victims of hate crimes following the damning report, as police are asked not to march in this year’s Mardi Gras parade in Sydney following charges against officers. “I will,” he vowed.
LGBTIQ+ Health Australia chief executive Nikki Barth said such publicized events were often a trigger for increased anxiety and distress. “There is [a] “There is a direct correlation between public discourse and its impact on LGBTQ+ people,” Barth said.
“The poor mental health of LGBTQ people is an unacceptable burden compared to cisgender and heterosexual people. [recognise] The decline in mental health that we are seeing is directly related to the prejudice, prejudice, discrimination, and abuse that LGBTQ+ people have experienced and continue to experience. It’s not because of who we are inherently. ”
Barth said the next step is to “address the ongoing prejudice and abuse that LGBTQ+ people experience” at a societal level and “enable them to promote good mental health.”
