Impact of Anti-LGBTQ Policies on Children and Families

With contributions from Paul Irwin-Dudek and Danielle Vazquez. Let’s start with an overview of what’s happening in schools. Kids and youth spend so much of their time at school and their peer groups are often formed there, not to mention that’s where many kids find role models and adults that help shape their future. What’s…

With contributions from Fran Hutchins. There have been a slew of anti-LGBTQ policies passed in states and municipalities recently. Can you give us a general overview? What’s happening and where? In recent years, the legislative landscape for LGBTQ+ rights, particularly those of transgender individuals, has been met with challenges unparalleled in modern history. The 2023…

In a very short time, we’ve seen a distressing backlash against LGBTQ rights – from challenging parents’ right to form families to restricting which pronouns can be used in schools to prohibiting gender-affirming healthcare for young people. Challenging LGBTQ rights is challenging democracy. It’s challenging quality healthcare and quality education. A welcoming and supportive community…

LGBTQ youth have access to varying levels of support and protections under state laws. GLSEN’s maps provide communities with information on the policy landscape, experiences of students, and resources on how to advocate for positive school transformation that benefits all youth, including LGBTQ students, in K-12 learning communities.

GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey provides an overarching examination of the school experiences of LGBTQ youth, including the challenges they face and the resources that support LGBTQ students’ well-being. The survey consistently indicates that specific school-based supports are related to a safer and more inclusive school climate, including supportive educators, LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, inclusive policies, and…

This series from the Movement Advancement Project includes six reports on the campaign to undermine equality for LGBTQ people in America. Topics covered include erasing LGBTQ people from schools and public life, erecting systemic and structural barriers to make change harder, enshrining inequality for LGBTQ people, banning medical care and legal recognition for transgender people,…

The US Transgender Survey is the largest survey devoted to the lives and experiences of transgender people across the United States. It was created by trans people, for trans people and covers topic areas including health, family, jobs, housing, education, safety, and public life. It is an excellent resource for data. For example, nearly half…

This report from the Williams Institute School of Law at UCLA examines the relationship between LGBTI acceptance and principles of liberal democracy worldwide. They find a strong association between a country’s level of democracy and LGBTI acceptance, with attacks on LGBTI people and their rights seen as frequent precursors to democratic backsliding. If you are…

Using this up-to-the minute interactive tool, you can track legislation affecting LGBTQ people by state or by issue.

The legal landscape for transgender youth shifted significantly in 2023. Nearly 500 pieces of legislation restricting the rights of LGBTQ people were introduced in state legislatures this year. This study from the UCLA School of Law estimates the number of transgender teenagers affected by five types of laws and policies from the 2023 legislative session—gender-affirming…

The Trevor Project’s 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People amplifies the experiences of more than 28,000 LGBTQ young people ages 13 to 24 across the United States. This survey gives a voice to LGBTQ young people — at a time when their existence is unfairly at the center of…

According to a recent poll by The Trevor Project, 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth say debates around anti-trans bills negatively impact their mental health. 75% of LGBTQ youth say that hate crimes and threats of violence against LGBTQ-spaces often given them stress or anxiety. The poll also explores the emotions brought on by specific…

Child Trends researched the impact of proposed legislation on LGBTQ youth mental health by exploring use of a crisis text line and found that proposed legislation led to increased mental health crisis among LGBTQ youth. This is primarily because of discrimination, stigma, and anticipated rejection. Anti-LGBTQ policies increases negative rhetoric and speech, thereby increasing these…