For LGBT youth, being in lockdown will likely mean staying with family, but not all family situations are safe or supportive. Being with LGBT-phobic families adds additional barriers to accessing external support networks that help protect them against a difficult home life.
Young people considering coming out during the coronavirus lockdown should wait until the pandemic has passed, an LGBT and homeless charity has advised. The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), which supports members of the LGBT community aged 16-25 in UK, said young people should “think hard” about coming out while self-isolating with their families.
Tim Sigsworth, AKT CEO, said he was concerned about how some families might react to the news at a time when stress levels are already high due to the Covid-19 lockdown. He added: “If you’re a young person and you’re thinking of coming out, press pause on that until you get support. You can’t predict at these completely unprecedented times how your parents will react. They, like you, are under a lot of stress and they may not react in a positive way.”
For trans and gender diverse people especially, housing discrimination had already forced people into homelessness, and precarious housing situations, one in five trans people experience homelessness in their lifetime. With Covid-19 lockdown, it can be much worst.
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