the lgbtq+ youth homelessness report (2021) is a piece of research that centres the voices and experiences of lgbtq+ young people who have faced any form of homelessness in the last five years.
akt spoke to young people about familial abuse and rejection, discrimination in services, the impact of homelessness and their recommendations for making services more inclusive.
key findings include:
- Just 13 per cent of LGBTQ+ young people surveyed felt supported by parents or stepparents while homeless.
- One in six (16 per cent) of LGBTQ+ young people who were happy to answer, were forced to do sexual acts against their will by family members before they became homeless. The same number had experienced this with a romantic partner.
- Almost two thirds (61 per cent) of LGBTQ+ young people who were happy to answer felt frightened or threatened by their family members before they became homeless. One in five experienced this from romantic partners.
- Half of LGBTQ+ young people (50 per cent) who were happy to answer said they feared that expressing their LGBTQ+ identity to family members would lead to them being evicted. Almost one in ten (7 per cent) said the same about romantic partners.
- Two thirds (64 per cent) of LGBTQ+ young people said homelessness made it hard for them to establish or maintain new relationships, including friendships.
- Almost one fifth (17 per cent) of LGBTQ+ young people felt like they had to have casual sex to find somewhere to stay while they were homeless.
- Less than half (44 per cent) of LGBTQ+ young people were aware of housing support services the last time they experienced homelessness. Almost one quarter (24 per cent) weren’t aware of any support services available to them.
- Only 35 per cent of LGBTQ+ young people who have accessed a service whilst homeless recall being asked by service providers to provide information about their gender identity and sexual orientation. Just one third (33 per cent) felt safe to disclose this information.
- Over half (59 per cent) of LGBTQ+ young people have faced some form of discrimination or harassment while accessing services.