Introduction
While there has been a lot of progress toward diversity acceptance on a global scale, other factors have persisted in exacerbating gaps in people’s ability to achieve equality and respect for their freedom of choice. Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people persists in the United States. State legislatures continue to introduce bills that target transgender people, limit local protections, and allow religion to be used to justify discrimination, even though more states every year work to pass laws protecting LGBTQ people (Nadal, 2019, pages 1309-1313). Numerous studies have demonstrated the adverse effects of anti-LGBTQ bias on the health of marginalized populations, prompting calls for legislation to protect minority rights and lessen the prevalence of discrimination. But this shift has met with many obstacles from society and religious organizations, leading to the creation of various anti-LGBTQ laws that aim to undermine the advocacy campaign that keeps calling for the recognition and respect of the minority groups. For example, the Anti-Trans Bills reveal that it is legal to discriminate against transgender and nonbinary people by, for example, barring or severely restricting transgender children’s access to healthcare, limiting access to facilities like restrooms, limiting trans students’ participation in school and sports, allowing religious discrimination, or making it more difficult for transgender and nonbinary people to obtain identification documents bearing their name. This essay reveals the devastating effects of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, focusing on how members of the LGBTQ community have endured mental torture at the hands of society as a whole due to persistent bias and prejudice. Therefore, it is incredibly prudent for any group to consider the victims before advocating for anti-LGBTQ discrimination, as the victims may be subject to long-term physical and mental harm März, 2021, pages 8-9).
Impact of Anti-LBTQ Discrimination
According to the findings of a recent in-depth study conducted by the Center for American Progress, many LGBTQ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, workplaces, and public spaces, as well as in their access to necessary medical care. Due to their exposure to discrimination, they now suffer from various adverse effects on their psychological well-being, physical health, and economic stability (Hailey, 2020, pages 176-191). Many members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community have stated that they have changed their lives to lessen the impact of prejudice and inequality. Transgender people, people of color, and people with disabilities are disproportionately affected by discrimination, and younger generations report higher levels of discrimination and the problems accompanying it than older generations (McKenzie, 2022, pages 610-619).
The coronavirus is a source of additional concern for this population, particularly for those who are most vulnerable due to their health or line of work and thus have the most to be concerned about. Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should have access to economic security and opportunity. Unfortunately, LGBTQ people face significant barriers to full economic inclusion in society and the workforce. In a nationally representative survey conducted by the 2020 Center for American Progress, nearly one-third of LGBTQ adults reported that discrimination negatively impacted their financial well-being, whether minor or significant (Nadal, 2019, pages 1309-1305). There is evidence that LGBTQ people face more barriers to employment, housing, medical care, and other necessities of life. In the aftermath of the SARS and COVID-19 pandemics, the Census Bureau asked about respondents’ sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time in its Household Pulse Survey. According to Pulse, LGBTQ adults are more likely than heterosexual adults to report job loss, food insecurity, and financial difficulties. Previous research has found that the LGBTQ community is disproportionately affected by poverty and economic insecurity (Halkitis, 2020, pages 293-304).
Poverty has increased among people of color, and anti-LGBTQ prejudice contributes to this. These inflated figures are the result of workplace discrimination and biased legislation. In a 2020 Center for American Progress survey, nearly 40% of Black LGBTQ adults reported that discrimination had a “moderate” or “significant” impact on their ability to make ends meet. Similarly, the Williams Institute examined Gallup survey data from 2012 to 2017 and discovered that nearly half of LGBTQ people of color reported living in low-income households. Another economic barrier exists for the approximately 1.3 million LGBTQ immigrant families, the vast majority of whom are people of color. This barrier takes the form of several difficulties that must be overcome before one can participate in public assistance programs (Au, 2022, pages 1-25).
Everyone should have access to medical care, but many LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people, face discrimination in healthcare settings or avoid going for fear of being mistreated. Because LGBTQ people are more likely than the general population to report being in fair or poor health and having a chronic illness, they must have equal access to health care without fear of discrimination (Nadal, 2019, pages 1309-1316). Healthcare providers who receive federal funding are prohibited from engaging in sex-based discrimination under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. In May 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared that the Office of Civil Rights would interpret and enforce Section 1557 to protect sexual orientation and gender identity. The Biden Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is expected to reinstate the explicit anti-discrimination protections in federal regulations established by the Obama Administration in 2016 but repealed by the Trump Administration in 2020.
LGBTQ people experience widespread prejudice and exclusion in all circumstances, including bias based on their gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, poverty, migration, disability, or health status. This category includes situations in which people are excluded because of their sexual orientation (März, 2021, pages 8-10). Children face bullying, harassment, and even expulsion from school due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, or the sexual orientation or gender identity of their parents. Suicidality, homelessness, and starvation were much greater among LGBTQ youth who their families rejected. Despite the frequent denial of care, hostile attitudes, and pathologizing in both medical and non-medical settings, LGBTQ people continue to be marginalized owing to prejudice and violence, rendering them more vulnerable to illnesses such as HIV infection. People who identify as transgender are frequently refused legal recognition of their preferred gender or are forced to comply with stringent restrictions, such as sterilization, treatment, or divorce, to do so. Transgender people fear social marginalization and prejudice if such acknowledgment is not granted. Persons who identify as LGBTI are more likely to face social and economic marginalization if they are not involved in the design, implementation, and review of laws and policies that affect them.
Murder, assault, kidnapping, rape, and other forms of sexual violence, as well as torture and other ill-treatment in institutional and other settings, are just a few examples of the widespread physical and psychological violence against LGBTQ people worldwide. The United Nations and other organizations have provided evidence of this. Lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women and young people face an increased risk of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse in the context of their families and communities (Halkitis, 2020, pages 293-298). Members of the LGBTQ community frequently face violence and discrimination when fleeing persecution or responding to a humanitarian crisis. They may also be subjected to unnecessary medical procedures and treatments, such as coerced sterilization, forced genital and anal examinations, and unnecessary “therapies” designed to change a person’s sexual orientation, without their consent. Due to inadequate responses to these violations, underreporting of them, and often improper investigations and prosecutions, there is a widespread lack of justice, redress, and support for victims. Furthermore, there are few reports of such violations from the international community. Human rights defenders and those working to end violations of these principles are frequently targeted by hostile legislation and other forms of repression.
To adequately help to prevent the dire impacts of the anti-LGBTQ discrimination, everyone should be entitled to an equal right to live without fear of violence, discrimination, or political or religious persecution. The international human rights convention requires states to provide these safeguards to all citizens. These obligations are governed by strict international law. While it is encouraging to see more countries pass legislation to protect the LGBTQ community’s rights, we must express our deep concern that millions of LGBTI people, people perceived to be LGBTQ, and their families continue to face widespread human rights violations around the world. In light of this, our concern and desire to act should grow.
When LGBTQ people’s human rights are not protected from violations such as violence and discrimination, this is a severe violation of international human rights law. These violations have devastating societal consequences. As a result of these failures, there is an increase in family and community stress, illness (including HIV infection), and social and economic exclusion. As a result, the economy, employment prospects, and efforts to promote equality are all hampered. Under international law, nation-states bear primary responsibility for protecting their citizens from all forms of discrimination and violence. National human rights institutions such as governments, legislatures, and courts must respond quickly to these violations. Public, private, religious, and political leaders, as well as leaders in the media, the private sector, the healthcare industry, civil society organizations, and labor unions, all have a role to play. Because human rights are universal, no group, including the LGBTQ community, can be denied their rights based on their cultural, religious, or moral practices, beliefs, or social attitudes (März, 2021, pages 8-15).
While respecting everyone’s right to choose is critical, individuals must also ensure that their interests do not violate societal norms. The idea that human rights organizations have consistently pushed for the respect and honor of the right to embrace any behavior without facing any form of discrimination or prejudice; it should also be known that there are regions in the world, such as Islamic States, that do not allow some of the behaviors and practices that the LGBTQ community embraces. As these states commit to respecting their decisions, no one should dare to pressure politicians or people in such regions to embrace what they have long considered unethical action (Halkitis, 2020, pages 293-308). As a result, while human rights organizations would implore the world not to discriminate against others based on their gender or sexuality, it is equally critical to warn members of the LGBTQ population against violating some of the laws governing such countries with rigid attitudes.
.Conclusion
To put it briefly, people can choose how they want to interact with the rest of society. Minorities should be protected from prejudice and discrimination by both individuals and policymakers. However, when entering or being raised in a country governed by specific laws and conventions, it is always critical to avoid wilfully defying such established principles because doing so may result in horrific punishments such as mental agony or even death.
Work Cited
Au, Anson. “Network discrimination against LGBTQ minorities in Taiwan after same-sex marriage legalization: a Goffmanian micro-sociological approach.” Critical Asian Studies (2022): 1-25.
Hailey, Jamal, Whitney Burton, and Joyell Arscott. “We are family: Chosen and created families as a protective factor against racialized trauma and anti-LGBTQ oppression among African American sexual and gender minority youth.” Journal of GLBT Family Studies 16.2 (2020): 176-191.
Halkitis, Perry N., Anthony J. Maiolatesi, and Kristen D. Krause. “The health challenges of emerging adult gay men: Effecting change in health care.” Pediatric Clinics 67.2 (2020): 293-308.
März, Julian W. “Hungary’s new anti-LGBTQ law: The medical profession must speak out about the harm it does to LGBTQ adolescents’ health.” The Lancet Regional Health–Europe 8 (2021).
McKenzie, Cameron, Nick J. Mulé, and Maryam Khan. “Where Is LGBTQ+ in Ontario’s Health Care Policies and Programs?.” Sexuality Research and Social Policy 19.2 (2022): 610-621.
Nadal, Kevin L. “A decade of microaggression research and LGBTQ communities: An introduction to the special issue.” Journal of Homosexuality 66.10 (2019): 1309-1316.
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