Kate Ward and Rhys Davies @Katewardleeds @RainbowLYPFT
The LGBT+ community has worked incredibly hard to challenge discrimination, secure legal rights in every sphere of our lives and improve access to jobs, education, housing and health services in the UK.
We’ve come a remarkably long way in the past 50-odd years since the partial decriminalisation of ‘homosexual acts’ in 1967. Our journey has been marked by a number of successes and setbacks, many of which we have overcome despite experiencing discrimination from a number of powerful bodies including the media, various governments and political organisations and, unfortunately, the NHS.
And yet there is still so much work to do, including challenging and reducing health inequalities that still exist today for people who identify as LGBT+. There are countless studies providing evidence that just being who we are can lead to exile, isolation, social suffering and increased risk of violence and hate crime. It can also be a barrier to accessing good quality services from primary and secondary care, and also mental health services.
It is no wonder that some people choose to not come out. Not coming out can be a means of survival. It is not all rainbows for some.