6.Q. Workshop: Anti-Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Stigma: How Prejudice Affects the Health of SGM Globally
Authors:   Organised by: EUPHA-SGMH, EUPHA-GH,   Chair persons: Kristefer Stojanovski (USA), Elena Petelos (EUPHA-HTA, EUPHA-GH)
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) suffer from stigma globally, which has severe health-harming effects, including an inability to live authentically, reduced access & quality of services, & poor physical & mental health. Societal othering creates structural barriers for SGM to meet their needs. This workshop is essential because of the rising global stigmatization of SGM persons & the adverse health impacts. Understanding SGM's lived experiences & perceptions of healthcare professionals & identifying needs is critical to developing public health programs & policies that support SGM health. This workshop will give examples of studies on SGM discrimination & health, drawing from research in Brazil, Chile, France, Italy, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, & the United States. The workshop will first outline the situation & public health problems experienced by SGM living in various countries, such as stigma, mental health, & underdiagnosis of gender incongruence. Then the workshop will discuss public health-oriented solutions & policy directions, including improving medical providers’ attitudes & knowledge & other implications for public health practice & policy. The workshop will open with a study by Kristefer Stojanovski from Tulane University, USA examining societal stigma's role in “othering” SGM in Rwanda with implications for studying SGM issues. Then Alain Giami from Inserm, France will discuss trans persons’ self-identification of identity & the implications for diagnoses of gender incongruence from a cross-country study in Brazil, Chile, Italy, & France. Afterward, Jaime Eduardo Barrientos from Complutense University of Madrid, Spain will discuss the implications of transgender prejudice & the health ramifications among trans-identifying persons in Chile. Next, Nadeeka Chandraratne from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka will interrogate medical providers’ attitudes & knowledge about SGM issues in Sri Lanka & the implications for clinical care. Lastly, Sasha Zhou from Wayne State University, USA will describe the mental health situation of Asian American & Pacific Islander university students across the United States, examining stigma & discrimination roles in perpetrating poor mental health. After the individual presentations, which will each last 7-8 minutes, the audience will be invited to a moderated 20-25-minute open discussion on the papers & how the findings can help inform public health practice & policy to address SGM social exclusion & health globally. The situation for SGM persons’ lives & health across the globe is worrisome from a public health standpoint, particularly as discrimination & prejudices increase, which have severe health-harming effects across numerous physical and mental health states & domains. Our workshop aims to facilitate a conversation on understanding the structural situations that shape SGM health & exploring ways to reduce the disproportionate health burden & risk factors SGM persons face.

Key messages
• SGM across the globe have an elevated risk of structurally induced stigma, which negatively influences physical and mental health, and access to care.
• Disproportionate societal burdens experienced by SGM require urgent attention from public health professionals, given the health-harming effects of discrimination and exclusion.