General Debate on Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Women’s Health Inequalities
On Tuesday 10 March 2020, there will be a Commons debate on Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Women’s Health Inequalities, to mark LBT Women’s Health Week. The subject for debate was determined by the Backbench Business Committee.
This page brings together relevant reports and press releases on the topic.
The aim of LBT Women’s Health Week is to “raise awareness about lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer women’s health inequalities, to make it easier for service providers to empower service users and for communities to support LGBTQ women.”
The National LGB&T partnership report that LBT women experience high rates of poor physical and mental health compared to heterosexual women. LBT women also experience disproportionately high rates of discrimination, harassment and domestic abuse, and face barriers to accessing support services (National LGBT&T Partnership, LBT Women’s Health Week 2020, March 2020).
The Women and Equalities Committee’s 2019 Inquiry into Health and Social Care and LGBT Communities noted some of the issues faced by LBT women, including that bisexual women are more than twice as likely to have cervical cancer. The Committee reported that part of the reason these disparities are not widely discussed is because research on health and social care outcomes for LGBT people has been slow in developing outside of ‘traditional’ areas such as sexual health (paragraph 17). On health inequalities, the Committee recommended that Public Health England should prepare a five-year plan of LGBT-specific campaigns, to include measurable performance indicators on disparities such as smoking and alcohol abuse and that “the priority should be for mainstream service to become inclusive to the needs of the LGBT communities”.
The Government Equalities Office LGBT Action Plan (July 2018) included commitments to “ensure that LGBT people’s needs are at the heart of the National Health Service” (p.8). These included the enhancement of fertility services for LGBT people, improving mental healthcare for LGBT people, and improving the way gender identity services work for adults (p.9).
A National Adviser for LGBT Health, Dr Michael Brady, was appointed in March 2019. This role involves advising the Government how to tackle inequality in the healthcare system, including improving awareness of LGBT issues amongst healthcare professionals, implementing sexual orientation monitoring across the NHS, and working with statutory and professional organisations to address LGBT issues in physical and mental health.
In May 2018 Public Health England published Health and Wellbeing of Lesbian and Bisexual Women and other women who have sex with women. This report considered evidence of inequalities in the health and wellbeing of lesbian and bisexual women and opportunities for improvement.
UK Parliamentary Proceedings
HL Deb, Health: Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Women, vol 802, cc716-717, 5 March 2020
PQ 217144 Gender Recognition: Health Services, 5 February 2019
Asked by: Mr Paul Sweeney | Answering Member: Victoria Atkins
PQ 191934 Mental Health Services: LGBT People, 15 November 2018
Asked by: Sarah Champion | Answering Member: Stephen Hammond
PQ 191935 Health Services: LGBT People, 15 November 2018
Asked by: Sarah Champion | Answering Member: Jackie Doyle-Price
PQ 125601 Mental Health Services: Gender Recognition, 30 January 2018
Asked by: Alex Sobel | Answering Member: Jackie Doyle Price
Reports and Press Releases
All-Parliamentary Group on Global LGBT+ Rights
Queer Voices Heard, Health in Equality: Smoking in the LGBTQ+ Community, 10 March 2020
National LGBT&T Partnership, LBT Women’s Health Week 2020, March 2020
UK Government, Minister for Equalities Baroness Williams Speaking at the Government Equalities Office’s LGBT Leadership Summit, 5 February 2020
UK Government Equalities Office, Supporting LGBT+ Health, 16 January 2020
Stonewall, Statement on LGBT Health Inequalities, 22 October 2019
Women and Equalities Committee, Health and Social Care and LGBT Communities, 16 October 2019
National LGB&T Partnership, Parliamentary Briefing on LGBTQ Women’s Mental Health, 1 October 2019
Gallop, Recognise & Respond: Strengthening Advocacy for LGBT+ Survivors of Domestic Abuse, 1 October 2019
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, LGBT+ and Health Equalities, 24 September 2019
Dr Michael Brady, Delivering an LGBT-inclusive Approach in the NHS, 17 September 2019
Caring for LGBT Patients in the NHS, British Medical Journal, 10 September 2019
LLamau, Out on the Streets- LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness in Wales, August 2019
Department for Health and Social Care & Cabinet Office, Advancing our Health: Prevention in the 2020s- Consultation Document, 22 July 2019
Government Equalities Office, LGBT Action Plan: Annual Progress Report 2018 to 2019, 4 July 2019
International Longevity Centre UK, Raising the Equality Flag: Health Inequalities Among Older LGBT People in the UK, 8 May 2019
UK Government, Government Appoints First National Adviser for LGBT Health, 17 March 2019
Government Equalities Office, National LGBT Survey 2017: Healthcare Amongst Lesbian and Bisexual Women, 15 March 2019
LGBT Foundation and Central London CCG, Pride in Practice, 5 March 2019
Government Equalities Office, National LGBT Survey: Summary Report, 7 February 2019
National LGB&T Partnership, LBT Women’s Health Inequalities- LBT Women’s Health Week 2019, February 2019
Stonewall Scotland, LGBT in Scotland- Health Report, 9 January 2019
Government Equalities Office, New Funding to Improve LGBT Health and Social Care, 8 November 2018
Safe Lives, Free to be Safe: LGBT+ People Experiencing Domestic Abuse, September 2018
Government Equalities Office, LGBT Action Plan: Improving the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People, July 2018
Public Health England, Health and Wellbeing of Lesbian and Bisexual Women and other women who have sex with women, 17 May 2018
Stonewall, LGBT in Britain: Trans Report, 2018
Stonewall, LGBT in Britain: Health Report, 2018
Government Equalities Office, LGBT Survey 2017: Survey Viewer
Government Equalities Office, Inequalities among LGB&T Groups in the UK: A Review of Evidence, 21 July 2016
Women and Equalities Committee, Transgender Equality, HC 390, 8 December 2015