Anti-LGBTQ+ policies enacted in a record surge over the past year have become so disruptive that young people and their families are considering leaving their homes, a new study warns.
Nearly four in 10 LGBTQ+ teens and young adults reported that they or their families have considered moving to another state because of anti-LGBTQ+ policies and laws, such as those that restrict teaching about gender identity. The percentage is even higher among transgender and non-binary young people.
Almost all respondents (90%) said these laws and policies harmed their well-being somewhat or “a lot.” But those are just a few findings among a larger set of troubling conclusions reached by the 2024 edition of Trevor Project’s annual U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People.
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“There is no doubt that this has been a challenging year for LGBTQ+ young people,” says the survey of 18,000 members of the LGBTQ+ community ages 13 to 24 across the U.S. “Yet despite these challenges, including the historic wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that has targeted them, these young people remain powerful, optimistic and resilient.”
Similar to past surveys, the 2024 poll found that LGBTQ+ young people continue to experience disproportionate rates of depression, anxiety, risk of suicide and bullying. Just about one-third of high school and college students reported being verbally harassed due to perceptions about their gender identity or sexual orientation. Nearly 50% of the high schoolers said they had been bullied in the past year.
Similar to 2023, about 40% of LGBTQ+ young people reported “seriously considering” suicide in the past year and about half who sought mental health care could not find it.
How to help LGBTQ+ students
The report also offers guidance on how schools, campuses and communities can better support LGBTQ+ young people. Around half of the respondents said their school was gender-affirming and the poll found lower rates of suicide attempts among this group.
School leaders can provide LGBTQ+-affirming spaces, such as gender-neutral bathrooms, and allow young people to use preferred names and pronouns. A large majority of LGBTQ+ students said they have at least one adult at school who supports their LGBTQ+ identity.
