Supporting the goals and ideals of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).

Whereas homophobia, biphobia, interphobia, and transphobia are deeply entrenched in societies across the world, including in the United States; Whereas over 11,000,000 American adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ), and over 1,300,000 high school students identify as LGBTQ; Whereas, according to a 2018 study by the Williams Institute— (1) 24 percent of female same-sex couples are raising children; and (2) same-sex couples are 7 times more likely than different-sex couples to be raising an adopted or foster child; Whereas, according to a 2020 study by the Williams Institute, 19 percent of transgender adults are raising children; Whereas the Center for American Progress found 1 in 3 LGBTQ people reported experiencing discrimination in some area of their lives because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; Whereas 45 percent of United States employees report hearing anti-LGBTQ remarks in the workplace and 25 percent say that LGBTQ people are treated worse by law enforcement than non-LGBTQ people; Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia contribute to disparities in physical and mental health indicators such as depression, substance use, cancer, and experiences of abuse and violence; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further report that homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia limit an individual’s ability to access high-quality health care and negatively affect such individual’s income and employment status; Whereas COVID–19 has further exacerbated the health disparities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people; Whereas, according to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia contribute to disproportionately high rates of HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender women; Whereas, according to data from GLSEN, 83.1 percent LGBTQ+ students who attended school in-person at some point during the 2021-2022 academic year experienced in-person harassment or assault based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, religion, actual or perceived race or ethnicity, and actual or perceived disability; Whereas youth who are LGBTQ are 120 percent more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ counterparts and are likely to lack access to health care and develop stress-related disorders; Whereas youth who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are over 4 times more likely to attempt suicide compared to their heterosexual counterparts and transgender youth are over 5 times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender counterparts; Whereas homophobia, transphobia, interphobia, and biphobia are associated with minority stress that may underlie sexual behaviors that can increase the risk of HIV and AIDS transmission, and also create additional barriers for LGBTQI individuals to access prevention and treatment for HIV and AIDS; Whereas nearly one-half of all LGBTQ women report being physically or sexually assaulted since they were 18 years old; Whereas the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, a study of 27,715 transgender adults, found that 77 percent of those who were out or perceived as transgender in K–12 were harassed, physically or sexually assaulted, or faced other forms of mistreatment because of being transgender, and nearly 1 in 5 (17 percent) were forced to leave a school because of the severity of mistreatment that they faced; Whereas a 2021 Williams Institute study of national crime victimization data found that transgender people are over 4 times more likely than cisgender people to experience violence; Whereas the Center for American Progress found that— (1) 15 percent of LGBTQ individuals, including 28 percent of transgender individuals, reported postponing or avoiding needed medical care when they were sick or injured due to disrespect or discrimination by health providers; (2) among LGBTQ people who reported experiencing some form of discrimination in the year prior, 36 percent reported avoiding doctors’ offices to avoid discrimination compared with 20 percent of respondents overall; and (3) 18 percent of transgender people reported that a doctor or health provider refused to see them because of their actual or perceived gender identity; Whereas LGBTQ adults are over twice as likely to be uninsured than their non-LGBTQ counterparts and LGBTQ adults, particularly bisexual men and women, are more likely to experience poverty; Whereas 67 countries have national laws that criminalize same-sex relations and at least 42 United Nations member states have legal barriers for freedom of expression on issues related to sexual and gender diversity, which is equal to roughly 35 percent of United Nations member states; Whereas 11 countries have jurisdictions in which the death penalty can be imposed for private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity; Whereas violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are documented in the Department of State’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; Whereas the report covering 2021 continues to show a clear pattern of human rights violations or abuses in every region of the world based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics; Whereas these violations or abuses include murder, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, and imprisonment, as well as loss of employment, housing, access to health care, and other forms of societal stigma and discrimination. The reports further document LGBTQI+-specific restrictions on basic freedoms of assembly, press, and speech in every region of the world; Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, in some countries transgender women are 80 times more likely to have HIV, and there were 2,982 reported killings of transgender people in 72 countries between 2008 and 2018; Whereas, according to a Williams Institute study of 120 countries, greater social acceptance and legal rights for LGBTQ people are associated with stronger economic growth; and Whereas the European Parliament and other international bodies observe May 17 as International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) supports the goals and ideals of an International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia; (2) encourages the Federal Government, States, localities, nonprofit organizations, schools, and community organizations to observe the day with appropriate programs and activities, with the goal of increasing public knowledge of homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and interphobia and empowering communities to celebrate and respect their diversity; (3) encourages health care providers to offer culturally and clinically competent care to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and agender (LGBTQIA+) community, schools to support the creation of gender and sexuality alliances to achieve safer learning environments, and individuals to learn about national resources for those who identify as LGBTQIA+; and (4) encourages the Federal Government, States, international funding organizations, and United States bilateral and multilateral aid efforts to prioritize the health and human rights of LGBTQIA+ people.

Summary: This resolution supports the goals and ideals of an International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia. The resolution encourages (1) health care providers to offer culturally and clinically competent care to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and agender (LGBTQIA+) community; (2) schools to support the creation of gender and sexuality alliances; (3) individuals to learn about national resources for those who identify as LGBTQIA+; and (4) funding organizations, aid efforts, and governments to prioritize the health and human rights of LGBTQIA+ people.