QUEER, TRANS AND INTERSEX PEOPLE OF COLOUR ARE CREATING SPACES TO IMPROVE THE MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF THEIR PEERS

MENTAL HEALTH

WORDS DANIELLE MUSTARDE, PHOTOS AILSA FINERON, COLIN MOODY

In 2012, research from LGBT charity Stonewall (stonewall.org.uk) found that three quarters (74%) of lesbians had felt anxious or nervous in the previous year. This increased to 78% for bisexual women, and 81% for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) lesbians and bisexual women. With nearly every statement in the report, the percentages increase for queer, trans and intersex people of colour (QTIPOC).

“When Wish work with QTIPOC, it’s even more important to adopt a holistic approach to mental health care”, explains Jennifer Richards, communications officer at Women At Wish (womenatwish.org.uk), a national, user-led charity working with women with mental health needs. “Lazy stereotypes can stop QTIPOC from accessing the services they need, as instead they’re boxed into a service that doesn’t offer the support that’s required.”

Psychotherapist and Stonewall POC role model Zayna Ratty (zrtherapy.co.uk) agrees that an understanding of the importance of intersectionality is key in supporting QTIPOC communities with day-today mental health. “Intersectionality works as a theoretical framework for understanding how race can intersect with overlapping vulnerabilities to create specific challenges”, she says.

“There are few spaces or services that are exclusively for QTIPOC, but when communities come together to create safe, confidential social spaces, alongside rising numbers of therapists who do identify as QTIPOC, the support available can only become more inclusive.”