Poverty is a national issue that spans all demographics, but the LGBTQ+ community is affected by poverty in unique and challenging ways. Discriminatory laws, general homophobia and the public’s unwillingness to be accepting of others makes life difficult for the LGBTQ+ community. But within that community an even more personal population faces poverty in unique ways: LGBTQ+ youth.
While the LGBTQ+ community is gaining ground and acceptance in the media, youth within this community are not always treated with the respect and kindness they deserve. Many LGBTQ+ youth face harassment and discrimination in schools which affects their grades and mental wellness. In fact, “25% of LGBT students have been physically hurt by another student because of their sexual orientation, 55% of transgender students report physical attacks based on their gender identity or gender expression, and 28% of LGBT youth drop out of school because of harassment.” These hostile school climates can lead to missing school, failure of classes and ultimately dropping out altogether, yielding LGBTQ+ youth much less likely to finish school, go to college or get well-paying jobs.
If LGBTQ+ youth do make it to college, they may face further discrimination in these higher institutions. In a survey conducted by The Association of American Universities which asked students about sexual misconduct and violence on campus, there was a despairing difference between students who identified as heterosexual and those who identified as LGBT. “According to the survey, LGBT and non-heterosexual students last school year experienced significantly higher rates of sexual assault and harassment, as well as violence from an intimate partner, than their heterosexual peers.” This type of harassment could lead to higher rates of college dropouts among LGBTQ+ youth, again leading to unfortunate job prospects in their futures.
Besides school environments, the likelihood of poverty to affect someone within the LGBTQ+ youth community also stems from the home. It can be extremely difficult and scary to come out as LGBTQ+ as a young adult, especially if you feel that your parents would not be understanding about your sexual identity. The shame and fear that comes from having parents or families who do not condone or are not willing to understand your identity can sometimes lead to young LGBTQ+ people to run away from home. Furthermore, even when an individual is comfortable and/or brave enough to come out to their family, they are sometimes shunned and actually kicked out. This has led to a massive amount of young LGBTQ+ people to become homeless. It is even recognized by the National LGBTQ Task Force as an epidemic. As noted in The Huffington Post, “up to 40 percent of youth experiencing homelessness identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), whereas only approximately 7 percent of the general youth population identifies as LGBT. We’ve also heard that the most frequently cited reason for their homelessness is identity-based family rejection.” The overwhelming number of homeless youth who identify as LGBTQ+ shows that there is a definite correlation between LGBTQ+ identities and poverty rates with young adults.
By being willing to understand and accept a young person’s self-proclaimed sexual identity, hopefully the poverty rates within the LGBTQ+ youth communities can be greatly diminished. Homelessness, bullying and unsafe educational environments have led to a significant number of young people to be marginalized and discriminated against, allowing them less opportunities to succeed and prosper. By allowing discrimination, intolerance and harassment to stem from ignorance and hate, we are hurting the youth of our nation, and in turn the future of our country.
