The Campaign for Southern Equality recently published the results of their 2019 health survey of 5,617 LGBTQ+ individuals across 13 southern U.S. states. Overall, more than half of people who participated in the survey said living in the South makes it harder for LGBTQ+ people to access quality health care.
While the majority of respondents rated their physical health as generally positive, rates of poor mental health were significantly high, with pronounced disparities for individuals who are bisexual+, transgender, 18-24 years old, or those with lower incomes. Approximately 75%–80% of bisexual, pansexual, and queer participants reported being diagnosed with/experiencing depression, far more likely than lesbian, gay, and heterosexual respondents.
The Executive Director of Campaign for Southern Equality, Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, told Buzzfeed that there is a newly increased focus on LGBTQ+ health issues across the country. "There’s been a real lack of research focused on the health experiences of LGBTQ+ Southerners. [...] It's a very specific experience to be an LGBTQ+ person in the South," she said.
"We’re a community that’s racially diverse. [We have] higher rates of having lower incomes [...] We see across the board that there tends to be compounding factors in the South that make it that much more challenging to access the care that folks need."
—Read the Full Survey Results HERE >