Let’s get this straight: Homophobia and transphobia kill.

Homo- and transphobia can be deadly. A video is better than a thousand words, and this was the message delivered by 80 young Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) activists from 5 continents and 46 countries who recently gathered together:

LGBTQ young people have unique, complex, life-affirming and life-changing stories to tell… if only they were listened to! The movement for LGBTQ rights is growing stronger worldwide by the day. But as with all movements, fighting for LGBTQ rights is a love affair between different smaller communities. And in a conversation for a better world, the ones least heard are the ones most worth listening to!

I volunteer with the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO), which works in Europe and beyond to raise awareness about the issues faced by queer young people. We’re run entirely by and for young people, as are all our member organisations. We need this network because our voices are seldom heard—let me explain.

We’re not recognised

Our identities and sexualities are not recognised by society at large: school, religious communities, the media, families, state structures are heteronormative and cisnormative, and anything outside of heterosexuality or cisgenderism is tagged ‘abnormal’, ‘deviant’, ‘curable’ or ‘undesirable’.

On top of that, because of our status in society as the young ones, the dependent ones, the unemployed, the uneducated and the ‘irresponsible’, we are rarely empowered to speak up about the issues that affect us, or do anything about them. As a result, LGBTQ young people suffer the ‘double minority’ syndrom.

Voices of young LGBT people

Research jointly carried out with ILGA-Europe showed that in Europe, LGBTQ young people suffer from invisibility, social exclusion, discrimination, moral and physical violence.

This happens in school, for instance through the curriculum (all quotes are from the report Social exclusion of young LGBT people in Europe):

“Homosexuality is mentioned in the context of ‘other’ diseases such as paedophilia, necrophilia, etc.”
20-year old man from Hungary

It doesn’t stop with the curriculum. Teachers and other adults can fuel the oppression by doing nothing, either because they don’t know it happens, or they are afraid of speaking up. They can be actively homo- and transphobic, but sometimes they are merely afraid to face parents who could think they are trying to ‘convert’ children to homosexuality. When was the last time you converted someone to heterosexuality? Because I can’t remember.

This heterosexist atmosphere encourages moral and physical violence:

“I was beaten up by some girls in the locker room after gym class when they found a paper with the website of a LGBT forum.”
18-year old woman from Portugal

As a result, LGBTQ young people don’t go to school. They skip lessons, days at school, or indeed entire years of their schooling altogether!

You ask me? I don’t blame them. I think they’re perfectly right to take their safety in their own hands, and escape an oppressive institution. Schools, teachers and governments, on the other hand, are failing to uphold every young person’s fundamental right to education.

Homo- and transphobia know no borders, and don’t stop with schools. Families can be safe havens as much as they can perpetuate societal pressures:

“My mother read my diary, and kicked me out. For half a year I had to stay with a woman that I got to know in the only gay café in the city.”
18-year old woman from Sweden

What about the right to found a family?

“I can’t get married. I am not allowed to be artificially inseminated. I cannot adopt children.”
33-year old woman from Slovenia

Beyond the limits of school, families, circles of friends or communities, LGBTQ young people in the closet carry the heavy burden of their invisibility everywhere and at all times:

I’m not open, except for a few persons. It kills me. I’m not honest with myself because of that. Lies are everywhere. It doesn’t let me breath and work normally… If I start talking I may loose my job or family or social status… I probably have to change my place of living quite often, until I find some tolerant neighbours.
29-year old woman from Russia

Affirm oneself towards one’s only family? And alienate oneself from it? Move house? With what salary? Change schools? Won’t it be the same elsewhere?

Queer young people are part of a sexual and gender minority, and they can seldom do anything to protect themselves from the discrimination, abuse and social exclusion that comes with it!

A global movement?

To get an idea of LGBTQ rights around the world, no better resource than ILGA’s Map of LGBTI Rights in the World. Homo- and transphobia affect young people around the world in different ways, and although the LGBTQ youth movement has been around in Europe for over 25 years, similar movements are slowly gaining pace in regions other than the West.

Listen to other voices around the world! Listen to Kemone Brown, who speaks out about what it’s like in Jamaica for young lesbian women. Take a look at recent history in India, where several young activists played an important role in the repeal of Section 377 in the Delhi High Court, decriminalising homosexuality.

Check out the Gay-Straight Alliance Network in the USA, Meem and Helem in Lebanon, or E-Jovem in Brazil. Networks also start emerging in sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America, and we should hold our breaths for the issues they will bring to light. At the global level, the Youth Coalition raises issues of sexual and reproductive rights with international agencies, such as the United Nations and its related institutions.

We’re stronger together

Different obstacles stop us, young activists, from organising ourselves. We lack the capacity to apply for funding. We are not considered serious partners for social change. We are dependent on our families to support us, and may not be able to raise our voices if we know it will upset our parents or carers. We are seen as not-yet-citizens, to protect and educate rather than listen to and work with.

As a result, we often organise ourselves in smaller groups within larger LGBTQ organisations, and our specific issues may not always come through.

Of course, it’s better than nothing! Of course, we’re stronger together! But many organisations claim to be the voice of young people; and often, not a shadow of youth is to be seen in their ranks, or the young people who are there cannot influence the policies of organisations that claim to represent them.

Yet the issues we face are real, unique and complex. The slogan ‘Nothing about us without us‘, first heralded by the global disability movement, applies to young queer activists too.

Listen up!

Don’t take my word, or our words, for granted: ask around you!

Ask young queer people in your neighbourhoods and your towns: ‘Hey, what’s your life like?’, ‘How’s it going with your family?’…

Ask young queer people in your organisations: ‘Why are you afraid to come out?’, ‘How could we be more inclusive?’, ‘What matters to you?’…

Ask young queer people in your schools: ‘Do you feel safe here?’, ‘How do teachers and students treat you?’…

And then, listen to our voices. It’s not up to anyone else but us to address our issues, raise our voices and demand our human rights are respected—no-one else can speak on our behalf, and obtain the recognition we deserve.

But in the first place, it’s up to everyone to make our organisations, schools, youth groups, religious communities and neighbourhoods safer spaces for LGBTQ young people.

Then, closet doors will slam open.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily reflect IGLYO positions.

The opinions expressed in this text are those of the author.