Feb 9
Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies Harm the Health of Not Only LGBTQ+ People, but All Americans
READ TIME: 7 MIN.
Policies Outside Health Affect LGBTQ+ Well-being
Policies outside of health care – such as nondiscrimination, education and workplace protections – also affect LGBTQ+ well-being.
For example, transgender and nonbinary people living in states with policies that specifically include gender identity in hate crime and discrimination protections reported better mental health than those in states without protections. Similarly, LGBTQ+ students in schools with designated safe spaces reported lower rates of suicidal thoughts.
However, the surge in anti-LGBTQ+ policies in the U.S., initially focusing on youth, has significantly increased polarization between and within states. For example, while 17 states have implemented guidances to make schools safer and more inclusive for transgender youth, 25 states have banned transgender youth from using bathrooms and playing on sports teams that align with their gender. Meanwhile, South Dakota and Missouri have enacted laws to preempt progressive schools and districts from adding LGBTQ+ student protections and supportive resources.
The Trump administration is also actively targeting resources that support LGBTQ+ students by reducing funding to schools that offer these programs.
In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Bostock v. Clayton County that federal sex-based nondiscrimination protections in the workplace included discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Researchers found that LGBTQ+ older adults with co-workers supportive of their gender and sexuality experienced less workplace conflict and cognitive health problems compared with those who did not.
The Trump administration is working to restrict the scope of federal antidiscrimination protections to exclude LGBTQ+ people.
