Human Rights Commission Report: “Bisexuals Are At Greater Risk Of Health Problems.”
The “Health Disparities Among Bisexual People” report shows that bisexuals experience worse health than people of any other sexual orientation, including gay men and lesbians.
Bisexual women were found to have higher rates of cancer, heart disease, obesity and mental health problems than any other group of women. Bisexuals of all genders were found to have higher rates of depression and display the most incidences of binge drinking, self-harming and suicidal behaviours.
“Bisexual people are the largest single group within the LGBT community, but we’re not addressing their specific healthcare needs,” said Tari Hanneman, Deputy Director of the Health and Aging Program at the HRC Foundation.“The reality is that bisexual people face discrimination not only outside of our community, but also from within. And that can discourage them from engaging in and benefiting from the work that LGBT advocates are doing to address our mental, physical and sexual health.”… Continue reading
Complicated? Report on Bisexual Peoples' Experiences with Public Services Launches
A new report into the experiences of bisexual people in the UK was launched today.
Complicated?, published by The Equality Network, is the first UK research report to focus specifically on bisexual people’s experiences of accessing services.
The report reveals some worrying statistics including:
- Two thirds of respondents feel they have to ‘pass’ as straight when accessing public services
- Only a quarter of respondents feel comfortable being ‘out’ in LGBT spaces
- Almost half (48%) of respondents reported having experienced biphobic comments. 38% have experienced unwanted sexual comments about their bisexuality
- Just under half of respondents (44%) said they would only sometimes or never feel comfortable disclosing their sexuality when accessing sexual health services
It is particularly concerning that biphobia was most often reported when respondents tried to access NHS and LGBT services, which are key to health and wellbeing, but happily the report also… Continue reading