Lesbians: Social and Economic Situation

In spite of the system: A qualitatively-driven mixed methods analysis of the mental health services experiences of LGBTQ people living in poverty in Ontario, Canada

“…Individualist models fail to acknowledge that discrimination interferes with LGBTQ (and other oppressed) peoples’ capacity to thrive in a free market (e.g., employment discrimination, disruptions to education/employment associated with mental distress). At the structural level, class-based discrimination and inadequate social policy to address poverty disproportionately affect LGBTQ people, as a result of their increased likelihood of living in poverty [ 5 ]. Our data thus provide one further illustration that individualist framings of poverty, while problematic for societies at large, are particularly inapplicable to LGBTQ people and others who experience social oppression.…”

“…There are also important economic disparities associated with sexual orientation and gender identity. For example, Badgett and colleagues [ 5 ] examined data from three different US population-based surveys, and found a consistent pattern of elevated poverty rates among sexual and gender minority people. These findings align with data from other countries, including Canada [ 6 ] and the United Kingdom [ 7 ], which have also identified disparities associated with LGBTQ identity on a variety of economic indicators.…”