38% Of LGBT+ Students More Likely To Report Depression, New Research Suggests
Out & Proud: A Deeper Look Into The Life And Experiences Of LGBT+ People, research conducted by Clifford Chance is the largest survey of its kind. More than 4,100 young people took part 44% of whom are LGBT+. Students came from 122 UK universities and 91% of the respondents are aged between 18-29 years, including 140 trans students. The research is a combination of qualitative and quantitative analytics, to provide a clear, comprehensive and objective understanding of the life & experiences of young LGBT+ people.
First and foremost, findings of the study prove that inclusion and diversity in the workplace have become a protagonist in most (if not all) organizations, whether that be gender, ethnicity, disability or LGBT+.
The study finds that most organizations prioritize diversity highly according to gender and ethnicity while LGBT+ inclusion and diversity fall in fifth place with most organizations marking it as a ‘medium’ priority showing there is still a large space for growth. As for individuals, 1 in 2 respondents feel an inclusive & diverse environment is important, with 22% of LGBT+ people finding it “very important” and are 1.8 times more likely to report improved wellbeing when part of inclusive and diverse environments.
An alarming statistic shown in the findings of the study is that LGBT+ people are 38% more likely to report depression compared to non-LGBT+ people and 24% are more likely to use mental health services. At the same time, LGBT+ people are 1.4 times more likely to use drugs to cope with day to day life. Although these statistics are very high, the research also shows that only 59% of LGBT+ students are satisfied with mental health services, as opposed to 76% of non-LGBT+ students.
As for their lives as professionals, LGBT+ students fear specific fields have more opportunities for them than others which has led to 57% of LGBT+ students favoring subject-specific career fairs. Specifically, 62% of LGBT+ prefer creative oriented fields compared to 38% of non-LGBT+ people whereas in fields like law the percentage is almost exactly the opposite, with only 36% of LGBT+ people choosing a career in law as opposed to 64% of non-LGBT+ students.
“I fear employers may be homophobic or unconsciously biased and therefore would not consider me a worthy applicant. I do not think I could apply for high-status jobs, e.g. government, because of my background” said one female student in London.
One of the most important issues regarding the wellbeing of LGBT+ people is, of course, discrimination. The findings of this study indicate that there is still a very long way to go, especially for trans people. When asking people taking part in this research whether they have experienced hate crimes 3% of non-LGBT+ people said they had as opposed to 32% of LGBT+ people and 45% of trans people, making trans people having faced hate crimes 15 times more than non-LGBT+ people. At the same time, the results show that 1 in 2 LGBT+ people have experienced sexual harassment.
What’s more, 54% of LGBT+ deal with hate crimes ‘on their own’ although the study also states that “talking to friends and doing something rather than nothing has a positive impact”.
One female student in London said about hate crimes: “Me and my partner have had to have conversations because of the rise in hate crimes. It’s scary and I don’t want to minimize any of my experiences but I think as a woman, I am more scared than I probably would be because there are a lot of sexual attacks on women.”
It looks like there is still stigma and discrimination about coming out since LGBT+ people who are open about their sexuality are 2 times more likely to experience hate crimes. Sure there has been an increase in people feeling comfortable coming out but this study shows that still, more than half LGBT+ are not out at university or the workplace with only 38% being out in university and 42% in the workplace. But when asked about their wellbeing since graduating 38% who shared their gender and/or sexuality with everyone said their wellbeing got better but an extreme 27% said their wellbeing got worse and 45% of LGBT+ who shared their gender and/or sexuality with certain people said their wellbeing got better as opposed to 28% saying it got worse.
This eye-opening study has provided a new tool for individuals and professionals to work in order to minimize these statistics and create spaces in universities, the workplace and society in general with more acceptance and inclusion of the LGBT+ society.
Some of the recommendations for universities shared after the findings of this research are to “work with the SU, NSP and societies to understand your students”, to “facilitate meaningful interactions with employers” and to “provide training to transform support & empower conversations”.
Some of the recommendations for employers are to “create safe spaces”, to “run inclusion campaigns & networks to increase LGBT+ visibility” and to “show commitment to changing the culture-follow through”.
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