8 April 2024
In late February, the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020-2022 National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing found that 41.7% of heterosexual people reported experiencing mental health concerns at some point in their lives, compared to three in four (74.5%) of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other people with excluded or marginalised sexualities, with 80.1% among bisexual people and 93.1% reported by people who used other terms than lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual to describe themselves. Women and men were less likely than non-binary people to report having experienced mental health concerns.
The ABS acknowledged that the Study was unable ‘to provide reliable data on mental health for people born with variations of sex characteristics,’ among other people whose genders, bodies, kinships and sexualities were excluded. This acknowledgement highlights concerns by intersex-led community organisations such as Intersex Human Rights Australia, which has provided guidance to address the ongoing problems of exclusion and inaccurate inclusion of people with innate variations of sex characteristics in research.
Similar concerns about ABS data have been raised by excluded gender, body, kinship, and sexuality communities. In August 2024, after over a decade of community advocacy, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) issued a Statement of Regret acknowledging complaints raised by Equality Australia and the Australian Human Rights Commission about the exclusion of some people’s gender identity, variations of sex characteristics, and sexuality in the 2021 Census. This Statement led the ABS to make changes to reduce further harm and improve standards through formalised inclusion of lived experience leadership.
Historical stereotypes within mental health professions depict LGBTIQ people and people with other excluded or marginalised gender, body, kinship and sexuality lived experiences as inherently mentally ill. Lived experience community organisations stress the importance of contextualising these findings appropriately. LGBTIQ+ Health Australia’s (LHA) media release notes that ‘these adverse mental health outcomes relate directly to the stigma, prejudice, discrimination and abuse that LGBTQ+ people have experienced and continue to experience.
’LHA CEO Nicky Bath noted that ‘these results highlight the need to foster protective factors that promote mental health and wellbeing—such as creating a sense of belonging, establishing support networks and relationships, and ensuring access to gender affirming health care for trans and gender diverse people.’
When referring to data on non-binary and binary trans people and people with marginalised gender diversity, Bath noted that these data need ‘rigorous analysis to avoid misinterpretation and misrepresentation, especially in the current environment of transphobic rhetoric that has significant negative health and wellbeing impacts.'
Dr Gávi Ansara, Convenor of PACFA’s Diversity in Gender, Body, Kinship, and Sexuality Leadership Group, echoed these concerns.
‘Data about our communities is often taken out of context and weaponised to serve biased agendas that harm people’s mental health and wellbeing. When invoking statistics about historically marginalised or excluded lived experiences and communities, it’s important to consult with lived experience leadership, to understand the wider sociopolitical context, and centre lived experience insights and concerns. We also need to differentiate between lived experiences, recognise intersecting forms of marginalisation, and notice which lived experiences are excluded from data we use. As PACFA members, this approach can help us to use data in ethical, accurate, and non-discriminatory ways.’