(NewsNation) — Nearly eight in 10 LGBTQ+ people feel less safe due to gender-affirming care bans, according to the 17th Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey.
The analysis, released by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, also noted that nearly half of those who reported feeling unsafe said that gender-affirming care bans impact the physical and mental health of themselves or their loved ones.
The survey was released following an “unprecedented spike” in anti-LGBTQ+ state legislation — more than 550 bills introduced in 43 states, with more than 80 signed into law.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, these numbers more than doubled from last year, marking 2023 as the worst year on record for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
In some states, bans deny transgender and non-binary young people access to safe, age-appropriate, best practices medical care. Some laws also eliminated health coverage for adults on Medicaid or government employees.
The wave of legislation and “a concurrent spike in anti-transgender rhetoric and violence” prompted HRC to declare a state of emergency in June.
“This survey reveals that the current climate of hostility and fear is only growing worse, and that gender-affirming care bans are taking a detrimental toll on the physical and mental health of LGBTQ+ Americans,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “Extremist, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians and their allies are waging a dangerous and cruel misinformation campaign that seeks to stigmatize not only gender-affirming care but transgender and non-binary people as well.”
According to the survey, 79.1% of LGBTQ+ adults report that gender-affirming care bans make them feel less safe as an LGBTQ+ person. For transgender and non-binary adults, it jumped to more than nine in 10, or 94%.
The survey also noted 43% of LGBTQ+ adults report that gender-affirming care bans impact the physical and mental health of themselves or their loved ones. 80.1% of transgender and non-binary adults say the same.
