The Network at the time of the national Covid 19 emergency wishes to alert all LGBT+ community members and public service organisations and local authorities to the following risks and issues that affect generally or sub-groups of our LGBT+ community are particularly susceptible to in comparison to the broader general public:
LGBTQ people are vulnerable because of three specific factors.
- “The LGBTQ+ population uses tobacco at rates that are 50 percent higher than the general population,” it states. “COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that has proven particularly harmful to smokers.”
- LGBTQ people are also at risk because our community has higher rates of HIV and cancer, “which means a greater number of us may have compromised immune systems, leaving us more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections.”
- 3. The third and final factor in LGBTQ people being more vulnerable is because we “continue to experience discrimination, unwelcoming attitudes, and lack of understanding from providers and staff in many health care settings. “As a result, many are reluctant to seek medical care except in situations that feel urgent – and perhaps not even then.”
Source – Gay Times: https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/community/133402/lgbtq-people-are-more-vulnerable-to-coronavirus-for-three-reasons/
Please watch this space for more information including action representations the Network is making to Public Health Dorset, Dorset NHS CCG, and in regard to aspects of point 3, Dorset Police, the Office of the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner (DPCC) and local authorities. In all of these our community working with these state organisations can make a difference in the fight against Covid 19 and also anti-LGBT prejudice & hate crime, and for LGBT+ inclusion and welfare!
Stay safe, self-isolate, and social distance to save lives and help our NHS and public services to help us all!!