This article was originally published by Them.
As anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has continued to proliferate around the United States, LGBTQ+ youth continue to suffer the brunt of the effects of those bills and laws. A new report sheds some light on the impact, finding that almost half of LGBTQ+ youth feel unsafe in at least one place in their school, with more than half of trans and gender-expansive youth reporting the same.
The sobering figures come from the Human Rights Campaign’s recently released 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report, a survey of 13,000 young people from across the United States. The survey examines the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 18, from their lives at school and at home to their hopes and fears for the future.
When it came to school settings, LGBTQ+ youth reported feeling the least safe in locker rooms and bathrooms. A startling 26% of LGBQ+ youth and almost 33% of trans youth said they felt unsafe in school bathrooms. Those figures only increased for school locker rooms, with almost 40% of LGBQ+ youth and 49% of trans youth respectively reporting feeling unsafe in that setting.
Conditions for trans students, unsurprisingly, appear to be worsening. According to the HRC, trans youth are now less likely than they were when surveyed in 2017 to present in accordance with their gender identity. They also reported being less likely to have their identities affirmed at school. Other measures of LGBTQ+ acceptance showed declines as well: In 2022, one quarter of trans youth reported that they were always able to express their gender identity at school — down from 31% in 2017. Similarly, in 2017, 25% of students reported always being referred to with the correct pronouns. That number has dipped to 17% in 2022. Last but not least, 46% of trans youth reported being able to use the correct bathroom at least some of the time in 2022, a drop from 49% in 2017.
Since the last HRC survey was released, there’s been a steep increase in legislation and rhetoric targeting LGBTQ+ youth. HRC reports that 10 states have passed bills that restrict trans students from using bathrooms, locker rooms, and other public facilities that align with their gender identity. Meanwhile, 23 states have passed sports bans that prohibit trans students (largely trans girls) from playing on the teams that align with their gender identity. Six states have passed a “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ+” law that bans or restricts the discussion of LGBTQ+ people in classrooms, and six states have passed bills that would force school faculty to out trans students to their parents, per HRC.
However, the survey also included some good news, including some ways that LGBTQ+ youth are more supported than ever before. Almost 75% of LGBTQ+ youth stated that they attended a school with a GSA or similar club, compared to only 60% of respondents in 2017. The report also found that LGBTQ+ youth reported experiencing parental support more frequently than parental rejection, with 63% of respondents reporting that they had at least one positive experience of parental support.
That support also equated to better mental health outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth, especially trans youth. Even though rates of depression and anxiety remain high for trans youth, those who reported having parental support were less likely to be depressed. Trans youth whose families never used the correct pronouns were more likely to be depressed than those who reported that their families always use the correct pronouns for them.
Overall, the report serves both as a sobering reminder of the long-reaching impact of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric on youth, and a reminder that even small measures of support can make a huge difference.
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