'A sense of complacency regarding support for LGBTQI+ people has crept in'

Self-harm is worryingly prevalent among LGBTQ+ people aged 14 to 18 with 72% stating that they have hurt themselves.

A new study has revealed that mental health and wellbeing among the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland is declining with younger people reporting significant challenges.

The report by Trinity College Dublin (TCD), for the LGBTQ+ youth organisation Belong To, found that mental health challenges were highest among the transgender and gender non-conforming community.

Among this group, over 80% reported having suicidal thoughts while four in 10 had made a suicide attempt.

"Anti-LGBTQI+ and particularly anti-trans attacks are on the rise, and we are seeing increasing levels of hate directed at our community," said CEO of Belong To, Moninne Griffith.

Self-harm is worryingly prevalent among LGBTQ+ people aged 14 to 18 with 72% stating that they have hurt themselves, this number rises to 75% among transgender and non-conforming young people.

LGBTQ+ youths reported a range of issues with half experiencing severe or extremely severe symptoms of depression. Two-thirds reported similar levels of anxiety and 40% had experienced severe stress.

The rate of eating disorders among this cohort was also found to be quite high at 59%.

Compared to a similar report by UCD and Jigsaw in 2019, there were five times the level of suicide attempts and twice the level of suicidal thoughts reported by those involved in Thursday's report.

The first study in this series was conducted in 2016 — around the time of the marriage equality referendum — when support for LGBTQ+ people appeared to be high.

"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," said Ms Griffith.

The positive shift in public attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community since 2016 was still less favourable towards transgender and intersex people, according to Agnes Higgins, Professor In Mental Health at TCD.

Since the 2016 LGBTIreland study, there has been a 17% increase in reports of severe depression and a 30% increase in severe anxiety among the total LGBT+ population.

Bullying in schools

She said that today's report has shown that this is not the case with respondents reporting increasing levels of bullying in schools.

School continues to be a challenging place for LGBTQ+ adolescents and this has caused some to choose to leave school early as a result.

Prof Higgins said the school environment was particularly challenging for teens in terms of expressing their gender identity.

On the whole, Prof Higgins said many LGBTQ+ people in Ireland feel unsafe to express their sexual orientation or gender identity in public.

The issues affecting the community are as prevalent online as they are in day-to-day life with 23% saying they have experienced anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech either online or in public media within the last year.

In the face of mental health difficulties, 60% of those surveyed had sought professional help in the past five years. Any person who is struggling with their mental health is urged to seek help.

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The study also showed the importance of having a support network with 84% saying that having a connection with the community through LGBTQ+ groups has a positive impact on their mental health.

Belong To said that the upsetting findings of the report should serve as a rallying cry to the government to work with them to end anti-LGBTQ+ stigma and discrimination.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.