Post: Something has to happen. We can not afford anything else

Exclusion and difference results in reduced health. Funds must be earmarked to come out on top and make a difference.

1 min Published: 07.10.21 – 11.11 Updated: 2 hours ago

What has our future Prime Minister thought? to do with it?

The results from Statistics Norway’s quality of life survey from 2020 were dramatic. The survey showed that lesbians, gays and bisexuals scored significantly worse on all 12 indicators of subjective quality of life, compared with the population as a whole. Transgender people were not included in the survey.

In the Bufdir report Sexual orientation, gender diversity and living conditions from June this year, we also see that LGBT people are doing worse out than the heterosexual population. As many as 36 percent of lesbians, gays and bisexuals reported symptoms of mental illness, compared with 18 percent of the general population.

The living conditions survey also shows that many bisexuals avoid openness at work and in the family. One third of bisexual women and one in five bisexual men reported suicide attempts. One in three transgender people has tried to take their own life. Mental health problems also prevent half of the trans people surveyed from participating in working life.

Poorer quality of life and living conditions do not only affect the individual. It also has an enormous socio-economic consequence. When society makes people sick instead of equipping them for participation, the result is dramatic for the person concerned – and costly for the community.

We are many who trying to turn this ship around. Large and small queer organizations with both wide and narrow catchments. As with varying degrees of resources, it offers social services, activities, helplines, meeting places, community, belonging, understanding, support and recognition.

We are queer free zones in an everyday life where exclusion and difference result in reduced health. Many of us therefore also work to put people who meet people in a better position to meet whole people.

Our competence-enhancing measures are often highlighted in public documents such as good examples of measures that can help even out differences and increase inclusion. But good words only last so long. When the measures live from application to application and continuity and predictability are foreign words, we do not get the clear commitment required by the dramatic quality of life and living conditions findings.

Funds must be earmarked to come out on top and make a difference. The Solberg government’s NOK 170 million for an escalation plan for children and young people’s mental health without a single measure for LGBT children and young people was both toothless and embarrassing.

Now we get a new government. Something has to happen. We can not afford anything else. (Terms) Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content may only take place with written permission or as permitted by law. For further terms see here