WHY ASK ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY?
There is a growing body of evidence showing that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) youth suffer from potentially traumatic events (PTEs) at significantly higher rates than their straight and cisgender peers. Among the most prevalent PTEs affecting LGBTQ+ youth are parental rejection, bullying, physical and sexual harassment, and hate crimes. Consequently, LGBTQ+ youth experience a wide array of health disparities, such as increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation and attempts, drug and alcohol misuse, sexually transmitted diseases/infections, homelessness, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The alarming rate at which LGBTQ+ youth are victimized in the United States urges us to identify LGBTQ+ youth in order to assess for safety and risk of self-harm or suicidality, prevent exposure to trauma via psychoeducation, and refer to evidence-based trauma-focused treatment when they have been exposed to trauma. Nevertheless, discussing and acknowledging sexual orientation and gender identity—with or without the aforementioned PTEs—has not been common practice in child-serving systems and organizations.
Often LGBTQ+ youth’s increased risk for trauma is partly due to societal stigma and prejudice. As a trauma treatment provider, you have an obligation to provide safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth to express themselves honestly—without fear of judgment, ridicule, or having their identities outed. Additionally, you must ask about essential and basic information such as gender identity, sexual orientation, and PTEs. Without asking these important questions, you cannot provide trauma-informed services that truly meet the unique needs of LGBTQ+ youth and their families. It is essential that as a provider, you actively acknowledge and validate youth who hold marginalized identities and seek to understand the ways in which these identities and PTEs may intersect.
Share This Post!
Trauma in Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Across the nation, everyone is being exposed to and reacting to the confusing, stressful, and sometimes frightening situation of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in different ways. But are we, and our [...]
How to Keep Children’s Stress From Turning Into Trauma
By Stacey Steinberg Children may be processing the disruptions in their lives right now in ways the adults around them do not expect: acting out, regressing, retreating or even seeming surprisingly content. [...]
Addressing Race and Trauma in the Classroom: A Resource for Educators
By the National Child Traumatic Stress Network This resource is intended to help educators understand how they might address the interplay of race and trauma and its effects on students in the [...]
The startling toll on children who witness domestic violence is just now being understood
By Jayne O'Donnel and Mabinty Quarshie USA TODAY SAVANNAH, Ga. – Latrelle Huff says her twins were conceived by rape. Now she blames domestic violence for her children's health problems. The Georgia [...]
The lasting impact of neglect
By Kirsten Weir The first time Nathan Fox, PhD, stepped into a Romanian orphanage, he was struck by the silence. "The most remarkable thing about the infant room was how quiet it was, [...]
Children may act out due to grief or trauma of COVID-19 pandemic, and other lessons from HIV/AIDS
By Julie B. Kaplow and Mark W. Kline No infectious disease since HIV/AIDS in the 1980s has captured the world’s attention in the way COVID-19 has. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is still with [...]