Latest news with #LGBTQ-serving
Axios
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
How a Supreme Court conversion therapy case could affect California
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide the legality of a state ban on conversion therapy, and that could have far-reaching implications for the LGBTQ+ community across the U.S and in California. The big picture: The conservative-led court agreed Monday to hear a challenge to Colorado's law banning conversion therapy. The case hinges on whether state bans violate the free speech rights of licensed providers who attempt to change a child's gender identity or sexual orientation through counseling. Context: Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor, is arguing Colorado's restriction against licensed mental health professionals engaging in conversion therapy for minors goes against the First Amendment. LGBTQ+ advocates, major medical and mental health organizations have condemned the practice as harmful, discriminatory and ineffective. Between the lines: California became the first state in 2012 to ban conversion therapy on minors. A ruling overturning Colorado's law could open the door to similar legal challenges, undermining protections against a harmful practice under the guise of religious freedom, said Francisco Buchting, vice president of grants, programs, and communications at the San Francisco-based Horizons Foundation. "We know it's associated with higher rates of depression and suicide attempts. The lifetime harm that folks have been subjected to is most equivalent to torture," Buchting added. The other side: Chiles' attorneys argued that Christian clients seek her "Christian-based counseling" on questions about their sexuality if it conflicts with their faith, noting she works only with "voluntary clients" whom she shares values with. The intrigue: The high court's eventual decision could deal a major setback for the LGBTQ+ community, which the Trump administration has been targeting with actions undermining trans and nonbinary rights. Zoom in: The San Francisco metro area was already home to the highest concentration of LGBTQ+ people in the country, and more people have relocated in recent years after fleeing states with restrictive policies, local LGBTQ-serving groups have told Axios. Yes, but: Despite living in a state with stronger civil rights protections, LGBTQ+ people in California have been reeling from federal efforts to combat what Trump calls " gender ideology extremism." Stunning stat: In California, 35% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year, according to The Trevor Project, a crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth. Zoom out: More than 20 states have bans on subjecting minors to conversion therapy. But some 13% of LGBTQ+ young people who were surveyed by the Trevor Project in 2024 reported being threatened with or subjected to the practice. What's next: The court will hear the case in its new term, which begins in October, meaning a decision likely won't come until summer 2026.
Axios
05-03-2025
- Health
- Axios
Recent politics shake up mental health landscape for California's LGBTQ+ youth
Despite California's perceived status as a safe haven, LGBTQ+ young people in the state continue to face barriers to mental health care and fear police and involuntary hospitalization, a new study shows. The big picture: The San Francisco metro area is home to the highest concentration of LGBTQ+ people in the U.S., per 2021 Williams Institute estimates. More LGBTQ+ people have also moved to San Francisco in recent years after fleeing states with restrictive policies, local LGBTQ-serving groups have told Axios. In San Diego County, about 1 in 6 teenage students identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer, and 2.3% identify as transgender, per the latest estimates. By the numbers: 35% of LGBTQ+ young people in California, including 39% of transgender and nonbinary youth, seriously considered suicide in the past year. Both figures are slightly lower than the nationwide statistics. That's according to new research from The Trevor Project, an organization that runs crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ people under 25. 11% attempted suicide in the past year, including 14% of trans and nonbinary youth, compared with 12% for both groups nationally. The fine print: The Trevor Project surveyed 1,801 Californians ages 13-24. Though The Trevor Project released a similar report in 2022, researchers declined to draw direct comparisons due to methodology changes. Between the lines: Despite living in a state with stronger civil rights protections, LGBTQ+ people in California aren't isolated from what's happening across America. The Bay Area's LGBTQ+ community has increasingly armored up in a bid to fight federal policies attacking their rights as the Trump administration attempts to combat what it calls "gender ideology extremism." Statewide, 88% of LGBTQ+ young people surveyed by The Trevor Project reported that recent politics negatively impacted their well-being. 53% of those ages 13-17 said they were bullied because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. At the same time, 52% of LGBTQ+ youth in California experienced symptoms of depression in the past year — on par with red states such as South Carolina and South Dakota. Friction point: 50% of LGBTQ+ young people in California wanted access to mental health care but did not receive it. The top five reasons were: fear of discussing mental health concerns with someone else, not wanting to get their caregiver's permission, lack of affordability, fear of not being taken seriously and fear that someone would call the police or involuntarily hospitalize them. Zoom in: "Most people usually think of tangible barriers to accessing care, like transportation," Ronita Nath, The Trevor Project's vice president of research, told Axios. "But there's a slew of intangible barriers," primarily concerns over being mistreated. That last one also raises questions about what involuntary hospitalizations are associated with in California and what happens behind closed doors, she noted. Yes, but: California had one of the highest reported rates of affirming home environments, with 81% of LGBTQ+ young people saying their community is accepting of people like them. Affirming spaces, supportive communities and inclusive policies are "universally associated with lower rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts, as well as lower rates of anxiety and depression," Nath said. What they're saying: These mental health outcomes are "not innate to who LGBTQ+ people are," Nath told Axios. "Rather, they are ... because of the stigma and discrimination they experience in society, and research bears that out again and again." As a result, schools will remain on "the front lines," Nath added, noting that her trans son can't just sever his mental health from his consciousness when he's in class. Schools "definitely need to have the adequate tools and strategies in place to support LGBTQ+ young people, and our government and school officials must respond to this public health crisis with comprehensive suicide prevention strategies that are tailored to meet their needs." Zoom in: In San Diego, community centers in Hillcrest and Chula Vista provide safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth with social meet-ups, programs for navigating gender-affirming care, crisis support, emergency housing and other services. Our Safe Place has drop-in centers and mental health clinics around the county for LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
Axios
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
SF community groups sue Trump over anti-trans executive orders
Local LGBTQ-serving community organizations are among nine nonprofits that sued the Trump administration Friday over executive orders targeting transgender and nonbinary people. Why it matters: President Trump ran his campaign on an incendiary anti-trans platform that promoted false claims about the community, which make up 1.3% of U.S. adults. State of play: One of his first actions in office was to direct the federal government to only recognize two sexes, male and female. He has since ordered federal agencies to limit gender-affirming care for youth, restrict information about trans issues and bar trans women and girls in federally-funded schools from participating in sports that align with their gender identity. Driving the news: Filed by Lambda Legal, the lawsuit alleges Trump's actions "pose an existential threat to transgender people and the organizations that ... provide them with life-saving services." The plaintiffs, which include San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), GLBT Historical Society and San Francisco Community Health Center, are asking the district court to declare the orders unconstitutional and block their implementation. The lawsuit also accuses the Trump administration of expressing "a disparaging, demeaning, idiosyncratic, and unscientific viewpoint about transgender people and gender identity." That exponentially increases harm against trans people — who are already four times more likely to be victims of violent crime — and other marginalized populations, plaintiffs argue. What they're saying: "These executive orders attempt to erase an entire community and enshrines blatant discrimination as national policy" while threatening to withdraw funds from organizations "simply because they acknowledge the reality of the people they serve," Lambda Legal's Jose Abrigo, the lead lawyer in the case, said in a press call Friday. "Moreover, if these executive orders stand, they set a dangerous precedent where the government can dictate what private organizations, researchers and service providers can say and do, even when it contradicts established medical, legal and historical fact." Zoom in: The legal challenge comes after federal agencies sent notices terminating federal funding to organizations that serve trans people and other underserved communities, according to Lambda Legal. "We will not sit by and let this happen without a fight," SF Community Health Center CEO Lance Toma said in the press call. Between the lines: Both SF Community Health Center and SFAF receive millions of federal dollars annually to provide its services. That includes free HIV testing and prevention work, mpox interventions, culturally competent care and programs that address disparities in health outcomes. Taking away that funding would force them to reduce services and turn away clients, the lawsuit argues. SFAF alone serves roughly 27,000 clients per year. The GLBT Historical Society, whose founding members included trans people, has similarly relied on federal funding to preserve materials related to LGBTQ+ communities for nearly 20 years. Trump's orders would force potential cuts to staff and operations, leading to a loss of access to priceless archives that reflect "accurate representations of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive people throughout time," the lawsuit alleges. Other nonprofits involved in the lawsuit include Prisma Community Care in Arizona, the NYC LGBT Community Center, Bradbury-Sullivan Community Center in Pennsylvania, Baltimore Safe Haven and FORGE in Wisconsin. The other side: Trump has said his executive orders are an effort to defend women from "gender ideology extremism" and restore "biological truth." On the campaign trail last year, he frequently lambasted what he called " transgender craziness" and falsely claimed that gender-affirming operations are being conducted in schools without parents' knowledge. The White House did not immediately return our request for comment. Go deeper: One month of fear for groups targeted by Trump's executive orders
