Human Rights Campaign publishes results of 2018 LGBTQ Youth Survey

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), together with the University of Connecticut, have collected information from over 12,000 queer teenagers aged 13 to 17 years old for their annual LGBTQ Youth Survey. The report gauges what its really like to be a young LGBTQ person in America. While the report shows young queer people are coming out earlier, it has also found that these young people lack a proper support network.

Only 24 percent of respondents said they could “definitely be themselves as an LGBTQ person at home.” 78% reported not being out to their parents and hearing negative comments towards the community being made. 77% of those surveyed reported: “feeling depressed or down over the past week.” 85% also reported their average stress levels to be “a 5 or higher.” Only 11 percent of queer and trans youth said that their “racial or ethnic identity was regarded positively in the U.S.”

The number of young people who identify as pansexual has doubled since 2012, while the number of bisexuals have also increased.