LGBT People with Disabilities

29 Oct 2021 CategoryGender identity and sexual orientation at work Author Umain Recommends

In this article:

 

Unique Challenges for LGBT People with Disabilities:

-          Limited access to LGBT-inclusive and fully accessible services:

 Accessing affordable, accessible, and inclusive health care, community services, and more is challenging for LGBT people with disabilities. This is particularly true for people in rural communities. Not only are people living in rural areas more likely to have disabilities,5 but the distances needed to travel to find LGBT-competent and fully accessible service providers, community programming, and more placed LGBT people with disabilities in rural communities at a greater risk for isolation and increased discrimination.

-          Bullying and exclusion for LGBTQ youth with disabilities:

 LGBTQ youth with disabilities report high rates of harassment and are more likely to be bullied or harassed than students without disabilities.6 LGBTQ students with disabilities are more likely to be disciplined in school and to drop out of school, compared to LGBTQ students without disabilities.7

-          Added barriers to employment:

 People with disabilities report incredibly high rates of employment discrimination and unemployment. In 2017, only 36% of adults with a disability were employed compared to 77% of those without a disability.8 This discrimination compounded by the discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as racial and ethnic discrimination, means that LGBT people with disabilities may struggle to find and keep jobs, and to access support services like unemployment benefits, leaving them and their families economically insecure.9

Recommendations for advancing equality & opportunity for LGBT People with Disabilties:

-          Fulfilling the promise of the law:

This means improving access to good jobs, to accessible housing, to inclusive and competent medical care, and to public spaces through enforcement of and education about existing laws such as the ADA and state nondiscrimination laws. Raising the wages paid to people with disabilities is also critical to improving the economic opportunity for people with disabilities.

-          Advancing legal equality for LGBT people with disabilities:

 Explicit protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are needed in all areas of life including employment, housing, education, public accommodations, and credit. Legislation such as the Equality Act would update our federal laws to prohibit such discrimination, just as the ADA did for discrimination based on disability and HIV status.

-          Improving accessibility of LGBT spaces and inclusion of LGBT people with disabilities in LGBT communities:

-           LGBT community centers, health centers, websites, and other spaces must be accessible to people with disabilities. And explicit efforts to include and center LGBT people with disabilities in community meetings, in LGBT organizations, and in decision making about community needs are needed.

You can read the full infographic at this page.