At the height of the pandemic, 38% of LGBTQ households had trouble accessing health care, compared with 19% of the broader population, according to a report by Movement Advancement Project or MAP. The findings are particularly concerning when considering the elderly.
What You Need To Know
- While there has been legislative progress in protecting the LGBTQ communities from discrimination and bias, advocates say statistics show the fight for equal treatment is far from over
- New York boasts some of the strongest protections for the LGBTQ community, including where laws against hate crimes are concerned
- At the height of the pandemic, more LGBTQ households had trouble accessing health care, compared with the broader population
“They’re twice as likely to live alone,” said David Vincent, chief program officer of Sage USA which advocates for LGBTQ elders. “They’re four times less likely to have kids, half as likely to be partnered and half as likely to have relatives to call for help, and COVID and this pandemic have really impacted their lives.”
Vincent says the disparities reflect the impact of discrimination.
“In New York State, we’re in a much better place than a lot of other states. Twenty-one states in the country have passed LGBT non-discrimination protections, but half of the LGBT people live in states that don’t have that,” said Vincent.
New York boasts some of the strongest protections for LGBTQ people in the country. In the city and throughout the state, the law prohibits discrimination in areas like employment and housing.
MAP data shows New York is one of 23 states with hate crime laws that cover sexual orientation and gender identity while states like Texas only cover sexual orientation. Hate crime laws in states like Pennsylvania and Alabama offer no protections to LGBTQ people at all. Advocates say in some ways New York has led the way.
“The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act which was passed in 2019 enacted non-discrimination protections for transgender people in state law,” said Trevon Mayers, senior director of advocacy for The Center, counting recent successes. “We also banned the use of conversion therapy for minors.”
Mayers says that although there have been legislative wins, like the recent repeal of the Walking While Trans Ban, there’s still a long way to go.
“We can’t really take it for granted. A lot of this will require continuous effort, continuous showing up to make sure that none of this get eroded,” said Mayers.
Mayers says The Center will keep working to make strides and help New York lead in protecting the community.