LGBTQ+ Mental Health Rights are Human Rights
The concept of “human rights” is pretty simple in theory. If you are a human, you should be guaranteed certain rights. The only qualification is that you are a human being. Unfortunately, the world seems to disagree on the two things - that again, should be simple for everyone to agree on:
Number 1 — The qualifiers that make someone a “full” human being.
Yes, I know. That makes no sense. Just like Math is Math - Humans are Humans. Period. End of sentence.
But some people think being of a certain race, sexuality, gender, age, income status, or so on, increases or decreases your level of humanity. This is not true. I could dive deeper into this, but that would cost us a whole novel and you did not click this article to read that. So, moving on...
Number 2 — The rights that are guaranteed.
This one is easier to understand. Human rights are defined by the United Nations as, “the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.”
However, there is no universally accepted definition of human rights. The concept of freedom of opinion and expression is nonexistent in oppressive countries around the world. Women’s educational and career opportunities are not equal worldwide because of certain cultures’ beliefs, values, and historical pretenses.
Basically, the world cannot agree on what human rights are and who deserves them. But today, we are not here to debate what human rights are. CALM stands with the United Nations’ definition of human rights. As such, we believe that LGBTQIA+ people are deserving of human rights, including the right to non-discriminatory mental health care.
We are especially aligned with Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond [their] control.” - Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(“Their” replaced a non-inclusive word included in the original writing)
While it is our firm stance that LGBTQIA+ individuals around the world should have the rights above, the reality is that many members of our community are without these guarantees. Discrimination, social stigma, the spread of misinformation, target political attacks, and outright denial of healthcare has created global mental health inequality for the whole LGBTQIA+ community, but especially transgender individuals.
A 2014 summary of multiple studies explained that roughly 27% of trans and gender nonconforming (GNC) people were denied essential health care. The summary also showed that 20% of transgender and GNC individuals encountered disrespectful or abusive language directed at them by a medical professional and were blamed for their medical issues.
Insurance is another major issue within the LGBTQ+ community. Thankfully, the Affordable Care Act has prevented insurance providers from denying coverage to LGBTQ people. However, members of the community are more likely to experience social inequality leading to poverty, homelessness, joblessness, or job insecurity. As a result, the community by and large still struggles to get and stay insured.
And even if an LGBTQ+ person has insurance and can afford mental health care, other obstacles present themselves: ignorance and discrimination from within the care system.
Education for mental health providers on how to properly address the unique circumstances of LGBTQ mental health is lacking. In Episode 6 of The CALM Cast, our guest and Licensed Mental Health Counselor Kerri Timothy referenced her educational background and its minimal inclusion of LGBTQ+ mental health. You can listen to the full episode here.
This lack of education leads to ill-informed providers who fail to understand how social, cultural, political, and historical factors influence LGBTQ mental health. The same can be said for any minority, of course. That is why providers should always be culturally competent.
Education is also important to prevent the use of outdated or harmful language in a medical setting. The last thing a struggling person needs is for their doctor to say a slur - knowing or in ignorance - regarding their sexuality or gender. Outside of education, our current healthcare procedures are another cause of inequality.
Transgender individuals are deadnamed by mental health professionals, sent to the wrong gender-designated psychiatric center, and more. From the forms we fill out in the waiting room to the bed we are assigned in a treatment facility, respect for the LGBTQ+ community is almost always absent. All of these issues come together to create mental health inequality - a violation of our rights as human beings.
We have to advocate, mobilize, and demand that the LGBTQ+ community receive the same respect, opportunities, and quality of care that heterosexual and cisgender individuals have. You can support these efforts by joining CALM as a volunteer!
Volunteers can write blogs, be a guest on our podcasts, edit videos or podcasts, create social media posts, conduct research, and so much more.
Click here to learn more and sign up.
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