Global Health Visions is committed to co-creating fundamental systems-level change in order to realize a more just and equitable world - a world in which all people are able to realize their fundamental human rights to well-being, abundance, and a healthy environment. GHV recognizes that the achievement of universal rights for LGBTQIA+ persons is an essential step in actualizing that world.
In the United States (and beyond), we have witnessed a gradual shift in LGBTQIA+ acceptance in recent decades. Public opinions on marriage equality, anti-discrimination legislation, and parenting rights have continued to trend positively; buoyed largely by an increase in LGBTQIA+ media visibility. While support for cisgender gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals has more than doubled since the early-2000s, many inequities persist, particularly for those that identify as transgender and/or gender non-conforming (TGNC).
It is estimated that 30% of TGNC Americans have experienced workplace discrimination, 30% are currently living in poverty, and 50% have been victims of verbal, physical, or sexual violence based on their identity. Most staggering, it is estimated that nearly 40% of TGNC individuals have attempted suicide in their lifetimes, nearly nine-times the national average.1 These realities are further compounded within communities of color, as TGNC POC face intersectional stigma and discrimination at alarming rates.
At GHV, we believe and vocalize that our success is contingent upon a diverse workforce, which has informed our approach to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We acknowledge and uplift the numerous contributions made by LGBTQIA+ community members to our work and continue to seek opportunities to leverage inclusive dialogue with our partners. We also aim to dismantle barriers for disenfranchised communities, support grassroot efforts to alleviate systemic oppression and give deference to lived experiences. These components are imperative in the fight to achieve long-term equitable outcomes.
Pride Month is an opportunity to recommit to allyship and co-conspiratorship. Achieving long- term LGBTQIA+ equity goes beyond a single month; at GHV, we look forward to continuing this work throughout the remainder of the year, and into the future. In active pursuit of these beliefs– and in honor of Pride Month – GHV is proud to donate to Trans Lifeline, the first peer support and crisis hotline in the United States and Canada that is led by TGNC people, for TGNC people. Trans Lifeline’s cross-cutting work not only seeks to leverage equity for TGNC individuals, but to dismantle white supremacy, support differently-abled bodies, and propagate economic justice – all of which are inextricably linked. We urge our partners to express similar support for LGBTQIA+ organizations during this time.
1 https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Executive-Summary-Dec17.pdf
