According to a report by The Trevor Project and Morning Consult, eight in 10 transgender and non-binary respondents said that recent debates about proposed legislation in states restricting their rights impacted their emotional, psychological and social well-being.
Meanwhile, 75 percent of young people said they often feel stress or anxiety from threats of violence against Lgbtiq+ spaces, including community centers, pride events, drag shows, and hospitals or clinics that provide gender-affirming healthcare.
Federal and state lawmakers reviewed more than 200 bills in 2022 that sought to limit the rights of Lgbtiq+ Americans, particularly transgender youth.
Issues affecting the mental health of these groups include debate over initiatives to restrict gender-affirming healthcare, banning trans athletes from sport and restricting how Lgbtiq+ identities can be discussed in schools, the newspaper noted.
Kasey Suffredini, vice president of advocacy and government affairs at The Trevor Project, emphasized the importance of considering the negative implications of these public analyses.
“Young people are watching and assimilating the anti-Lgbtiq+ messages they see in the media and from their elected officials, and also from those who seek to harm our collective,” he said.
In November last year, a man murdered five people and injured 25 during a shootout at the Lgbtiq+ Club Q nightclub in the city of Colorado Springs.
The tragedy was reminiscent of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in the city of Orlando, Florida, when a man opened fire, killing 49 people and injuring 53 in what is believed to be the deadliest attack on that community in United States history would.
In December, the House of Representatives launched an inquiry into the link between anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer rhetoric and violence in the real world following reports of an increase in online and online attacks on the group.
Dozens of bills were introduced this year to ban healthcare professionals from providing care to trans minors, and at least three states are aiming to ban adults in their early 20s or younger from receiving gender-affirming care by 2023, The Hill said.
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