More than a quarter of a million young LGBTQ+ and family members in the United States have moved to other states due to policies or laws related to LGBTQ+, according to the estimates presented in a new report exploring the response of the population to hostile political environments.
According to the memory compiled by The Trevor Project and Movement Advancement Project, 9 young LGBTQ+ out of 10 declare that politics has had an impact on their well-being, while 4 out of 10 declares that they have thought of moving to another state due to conditions Hostiles. LGBTQ+ policy+ Or the laws at home.
The proportion was even higher for young transgender and non-binary, 94 % of whom said that the policy had affected their well-being and almost half (45 %) said they had planned to move.
“For many young LGBTQ+ in the United States, the constant flow of anti-LGBTQ+ information may seem overwhelming at the moment,” said Steven Hobaica, scientific researcher for the Trevor Project, a national young LGBTQ+ youth group suicide prevention. “It is heartbreaking to see that almost half of young transgender and non-binary people planned to move due to anti-LGBTQ+policies. »»
While only 4 % of young LGBTQs+ aged 13 to 24 said they were uprooted due to anti-LGBTQ+ policies, this translates into around 266,000 young people and family members, according to estimates of the LGBTQ youth population+ , said the groups.
The Trump administration presents new threats
The report occurs while President Donald Trump returns to the White House after doing Gender identity problems A central point of his campaign. On Monday, after having taken an oath, Trump published a series of decrees aimed in particular to remove legal protections for transgender people in federal spaces, to lay the foundations for a possible ban on transgender people of military service and to declare that US government would only recognize two people. Sexes, male and female.
“Whatever the political convictions of a person, we know, according to our research and what the young LGBTQ+ tells us, that policies like these have harmful consequences on the mental health of young LGBTQ+” Declared Janson Wu, director of senior state of the Trevor Project. Advocacy and government affairs.
The organization said its crisis services had seen an increase of 33% The day of the inauguration compared to the usual volume. But that is still nothing, he notes, compared to the seven multiplication of the crisis services recorded in the aftermath of the 2024 elections.
“Whatever your political convictions or what you think of the current administration, one thing must be clear for all of us who live in the United States: the life of real young people is in danger,” said Jaymes Black, CEO Trevor Project.
In recent years, we have already seen an increasing number of state laws and law proposals targeting the LGBTQ+community, in particular measures aimed at restricting the rights of young transgender people.
“It is essential not only to draw attention to the negative impact of these dividing political attacks, but also to emphasize that this research supports the idea that more inclusive political environments lead to better results for young people LGBTQ through a series of measures, “said Logan Casey. , Director of Political Research for Movement Advancement Project.
Hostile climates increase risks for mental and emotional health
Organizations have declared that they have written the report because of the lack of research on the way in which young LGBTQ+ react to hostile political environments, despite studies showing that these young people face greater mental health problems and a risk of higher suicide in such environments.
“By acquiring more knowledge of how young LGBTQ+ react to their political environment, defenders and political decision -makers can create or modify policies to better support young LGBTQ+ and their families,” said the report.
Their joint report is based on data gleaned from the 2024 national survey of Trevor Project on the mental health of young LGBTQ+, which collected the responses of more than 18,600 LGBTQ+ aged 13 to 24. It also incorporates the Movement Advancement Project data. , a group based in Boulder, Colorado, which follows the laws and policies linked to LGBTQ+ in the United States and their territories and attributes to each a negative or positive political index.
More than a quarter (27 %) of those questioned lived in states with negative political clues, the report said. These people were more likely than their counterparts to consider moving to other states and also more likely to go to other states to receive health care.
The report notes that all the young LGBTQ+ and their families wishing to move have the necessary resources to do so.
“In particular, the same factors that could prevent young LGBTQ+ and their families from moving, such as poverty, discrimination in housing and access to employment, are the same people who disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ color and increase their risk of mental health problems. and suicide, ”says the report.