Disability

LGBTIQ+ young people who live with a physical or intellectual disability can face additional challenges with discrimination, accessibility and reliance on parents or carers who may be unsupportive.

Note that this section addresses the intersection of LGBTIQ+ with physical and intellectual disability. Psychosocial disability should be considered as part of mental health practice rather than an additional intersection.

The Writing Themselves In 4 report showed that 5.7% of LGBTQ+ young people in NSW live with physical disability, and 5.6% live with intellectual disability.¹ (The report does not include data on people with intersex variations.)

Experiences of LGBTIQ+ young people with a disability include:

• discrimination or barriers related to both their disability and their sexual or gender identity
• lack of representation in both LGBTIQ+ communities and disability advocacy spaces, leading to feelings of invisibility or isolation
• lack of access to tailored support services, as LGBTIQ+ services may not be equipped to address the needs of people with physical disabilities, and vice versa
• lack of physical accessibility and inclusivity in LGBTIQ+ venues, events or resources
• additional misconceptions or negative stereotypes about sexuality or gender identity for people living with disabilities, e.g. treating someone as a child when they are not, and assuming  people with a disability don’t have a sexuality
• higher risk of violence from the family of origin if they are non-LGBTIQ+ affirming, due to a high level of carer and parent involvement in an individual’s personal life
• language and framing of LGBTIQ+ identity in ways that are not tailored to young people with intellectual disability.

References

1. La Trobe University. Writing Themselves In 4: NSW report. Melbourne, Vic: La Trobe University; 2021.