Current outcomes for LGBTIQA+ Victorians

LGBTIQA+ Victorians face higher levels of discrimination, stigma and exclusion. This leads to poorer health, economic, social and mental health outcomes than other Victorians.

LGBTIQA+ people face social exclusion, verbal and physical abuse and sexual assault. Discrimination is found in many places – at school, at home, at work, in the community, when accessing services, through media representation, government institutions and the law. It is also important to understand the complexity of rural and regional areas, where LGBTIQA+ people face higher levels of discrimination and there are fewer inclusive supports in place.

In recent years the trauma of change and suppression (conversion) practices has come into focus. While Victoria has banned these harmful practices, work is ongoing to educate the community, including faith communities, on their impacts and to support victim survivors.

Experiences can change from place to place. They are also different for each person when discrimination based on gender, sexuality or sex characteristics intersects with other parts of their identity. This might include their age, cultural background, education, economic status or disability.

For example, a person may be disadvantaged based on their sexuality or gender identity when trying to use disability, aged care or multicultural services. The same person may face ableism, ageism or racism when using LGBTIQA+ spaces. For many LGBTIQA+ people, ongoing discrimination adds to a lifetime of exclusion and the constant weight of being treated differently.

‘…there are levels of disadvantage within our communities – adversities will vary within the cohorts.’
Workshop participant, queer carer consultation

Key discrimination, harassment and violence statistics

In the past 12 months:

• 58 per cent of LGBTQ+ Victorians have faced unfair treatment based on sexual orientation
• 77.7 per cent of trans and gender diverse Victorians have faced unfair treatment based on their gender identity
• 33 per cent of LGBTQ+ people from multicultural backgrounds feel they have faced unfair treatment based on their ethnicity, cultural identity or heritage

Discrimination and harassment targeted at LGBTQ+ Victorians takes on several forms. In the last 12 months:

• 36.4 per cent faced social exclusion
• This is higher for Victorians located in outer suburban, regional and rural areas
• 32.7 per cent faced verbal abuse
• This increases to 37.3 - 44.5 per cent for LGBTQ+ people with disabilities
• 22.6 per cent faced harassment such as being spat at or offensive gestures
• This increases to 26.6 per cent for LGBTQ+ people from multicultural backgrounds
• 10.3 per cent experienced sexual assault
• This increases to 13.6 per cent for LGBTQ+ people from multicultural backgrounds and 13.0 - 19.0 per cent for LGBTQ+ people with disabilities
• 3.4 per cent suffered a physical attack or assault with a weapon

LGBTQ+ Victorians experience high rates of intimate and partner violence:

• 42.9 per cent report being in an intimate relationship where they face abuse
• 38.1 per cent report abuse from a family member
• Trans men and non-binary people are more likely to experience verbal abuse from a family member¹

Sources: Hill et al. 2020², 2021a³, 2021b⁴

Research into the health, mental health, economic and social outcomes of LGBTIQA+ people shows they still face more challenges than the general population. The mental health and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ people is particularly worrying. Rates of depression, anxiety and suicide are high. Almost one in two LGBTIQA+ adults have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression compared with just over one in four non-LGBTIQA+ adults⁵.

‘Safety is not just physical but emotional, psychological, economic and social.’
Community consultation feedback

LGBTIQA+ outcomes do not stand alone. They often increase for certain communities. For example, young LGBTIQA+ people are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of discrimination. There are worse mental health and wellbeing outcomes for trans and gender diverse and bisexual communities. And although the data on people with an intersex variation is less available, the research highlights poor mental health outcomes².

Data and research offer valuable glimpses into the lives of LGBTIQA+ people. But there is still more work to do to improve the data we have. For example, accurate LGBTIQA+ suicide rates are not available because of inconsistent data collection. This is something we aim to fix through this strategy.

Key outcomes statistics

Across a range of measures, LGBTQA+ Victorians experience poorer outcomes:

• 38.1 per cent report having a disability or long-term health condition, including mental health, compared with 17.7 per cent of the general Australian population
• More LGBTIQ+ people in rural and regional areas rate their health as ‘poor’ or ‘fair’ compared with outer and inner suburban communities
• 21.3 per cent have been homeless
• 24 per cent of young LGBTQ+ people have been homeless
• 54.3 per cent report high or very high levels of psychological distress in the past four weeks compared with 13 per cent of the general Australian population
• Victorians in outer suburban, regional and rural areas report higher rates of psychological distress compared to those living in inner city areas
• 73.2 per cent have considered suicide compared with 13.2 per cent of the general Australian population
• 9.4 per cent of young LGBTQ+ Victorians have attempted suicide in the past 12 months
• Victorians in outer suburban, regional and rural areas are more likely to have recently attempted suicide compared to those living in inner city areas
• 17.9 per cent have struggled to manage their alcohol use in the past 12 months

Compared with the general population, significantly more LGBTQ+ adult Victorians:

• could not raise $2,000 within two days in an emergency
• experienced food insecurity in the previous year

Compared with the general population, significantly fewer LGBTIQA+ adult Victorians:

• could get help from family or neighbours when needed
• could get a relative or friend to care for them or their children in an emergency

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2019⁶; Department of Health and Human Services 2018⁷; Hill et al. 2020², 2021a³, 2021b⁴, 2021c⁸; VAHI 2020⁹

References

[1] When compared with other genders.

[2] Hill AO, et al. 2020, Private lives 3: the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ people in Australia, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne.

[3] Hill AO, et al. 2021a, Private Lives 3: Intersectionality and LGBTQ+ communities in Victoria: Experiences of harassment and mental health, personal communication 6 August 2021, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne.

[4] Hill AO, et al. 2021b, Private lives 3: the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ people in Victoria: Victoria summary report, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne.

[5] 44.8 per cent of LGBTIQ+ Victorian adults and 26.7 per cent of non-LGBTIQ+ adults.

[6] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2019, Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: summary of findings.

[7] Department of Health and Human Services 2018, Health and wellbeing of people with intersex variations: information and resource paper, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne.

[8] Hill AO, et al. 2021c, Writing themselves in 4: the health and wellbeing of LGBTQA+ young people in Australia. Victoria summary report, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Melbourne.

[9] Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI) 2020, The health and wellbeing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer population in Victoria: findings from the Victorian Population Health Survey 2017, State of Victoria, Melbourne.