Challenges faced by
LGBTQ+ Youths

(Prepared by: Jena / TU)

“People may hate you for being different and not living by society's standards but deep down, they wish they had the courage to do the same.”

Kevin Hart

Here are two important basic acronyms when discussing the issue of LGBTQ+:

LGBTQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, 2/two-spirit, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, ally* + pansexual + agender + gender queer + bigender + gender variant + pangender community.
*Ally refers to someone who stands up for, supports and encourages the people around them.

SOGIE is an acronym for sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. SOGIE refers to characteristics common to all human beings because everyone has a sexual orientation and a gender identity, and hence is a more inclusive term to use.

Social Acceptance

The first major challenge LGBTQ+ youths encounter is social acceptance, which comes in two aspects: LGBTQ+ perspective and others’ perspectives.

1) Majority of LGBTQ+ youths are hesitant in sharing about their SOGIE.

Percentage of LGBTQ+ youths that feel comfortable disclosing their SOGIE towards:

Close LGBTQ+ Friends: 84%
Online communities: 45%
School: 13%
Parents: 8%
Religious communities: 3%

Social acceptance is a recognizable concern for youths who identify as LGBTQ+. Most LGBTQ+ youths have faced difficulty in being open about their SOGIE, in fear of opposing perceptions about them. Born to the digital era and being exposed to more online resources, Singapore youths are found to be more open-minded towards different types of SOGIE. A national survey has found that 84% of LGBTQ+ youths felt comfortable sharing about their SOGIE with their close LGBTQ+ friends, but only 8% are comfortable disclosing it to their parents. This stark contrast is alarming as it implies that only few felt comfortable revealing their SOGIE to their loved ones. Possible explanation includes fear of disappointing family expectations and losing friends. This strips them of potential family and social support, which can impede their young adult formative years. Researchers compared studies conducted pre- and post-COVID and discovered that the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms have increased among LGBTQ+ youths. This suggests that suppression of SOGIE due to social acceptance concerns can lead to harmful emotional impacts on LGBTQ+ youths. Hence, curating an inclusive environment could help to improve this situation.

2) Singapore society is gradually shifting away from anti-LGBTQ+ but remains largely conservative, especially the older population.

Singapore society is still fairly conservative towards homosexual issues despite rising awareness towards LGBTQ+ in recent years. A local survey has found younger respondents to exhibit more liberal attitudes towards LGBTQ+ community. Still, the gap of social acceptance of LGBTQ+ community remains large. The same survey showed that despite up to 80% of youths being willing to work and 75% are willing to form close friendships with LGBTQ+ folks, only 58% are willing to accept family members who are in a same-sex relationship. This implies that a significant percentage of people may unconsciously harbour an underlying denial towards the LGBTQ+ community. Meanwhile, the older population remains highly conservative towards diverse SOGIE and marriages that defies a heterosexual family unit. Collectively, although Singapore society’s acceptance of LGBTQ+ community is very gradually shifting to become more inclusive, large ratio of locals remain homophobic or hostile towards them.

Inclusivity: Quest for that sense of belonging

Do LGBTQ+ people feel a sense of belonging locally? It is often hard to feel a sense of belonging in a place where you are frequently and openly ostracised. Hence answering this question is much harder for LGBTQ+ youths, as they face basic legal and social challenges occurring in their everyday lives.

1) Insufficient political commitment in concretely supporting diversity and differences drives LGBTQ+ youths and community to feel more marginalised.

Legal document change hurdles
Dismissal of Section 377A repeal

Answering the above question is even tougher when one feels a sense of belonging to the society, although there is a lack of recognition and basic welfare. In Singapore, if a person seeks to change their legal gender marker on official documents, he needs to first complete a gender reassignment surgery and sterilisation. An individual has to undergo many hurdles like multiple medical examinations before their gender marker can be officially changed. Although it is unlikely for younger youths to have the means to pursue this, it poses a big obstacle for the older youths to have their SOGIE officially recognized by legal documents.

Similarly, a key legislation of Section 377A of the Penal Code of Singapore presently criminalises sexual behaviour between consenting adult males, even in private. It states that:

Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years.

There have been three court challenges to repeal Section 377A to date. The Singapore government dismissed the challenge, determined to keep this law as it is not actively enforced. However, enforcement or not, the LGBTQ+ community is more concerned about how Section 377A “infringes the right to equality, life, personal liberty and expression under Singapore's Constitution”. Repealing Section 377A holds much significance as it would be a milestone marking progress in Singapore society’s inclusivity towards LGBTQ+ community. Currently, Section 377A specifically criminalises intimate acts between two men, but not for women, this heavily impacts gays on a different level than lesbians. A study has found that there is a prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts have been high in the sample of local young GBTQ men. This implies that the absence of acknowledgement towards LGBTQ+’s SOGIE and also the lack of inclusivity in the greater environment is taking a toll on the mental health of LGBTQ+ youths (and community).

2) Bullying and discrimination diminishes LGBTQ+ youths’ confidence and sense of belonging.

LGBTQ+ youths have encountered discrimination in their daily lives. Physical and virtual bullying they face includes but are not limited to: homophobic slurs in school or religious community, disapproval from families, racism and humiliation. According to UNESCO, the majority of LGBT students from Asia-Pacific were reported to have experienced some form of bullying or violence. Sexuality, gender identity, relationship and mental health issues make up the bulk of the cases seen by Oogachaga, a local LGBTQ counselling group. A Universal Periodic Report shows findings that LGBT adolescents are at a far higher risk of suffering from poor mental health and depression than their peers. Cases of institution staff responsible for verbal or other forms of violence were noted too. It is documented that school bullying has caused LGBTQ learners to be impacted in terms of class participation, performance, completion of studies, physical and mental health, employment and economic prospects and broader societal level impacts. This could be the reason why LGBTQ youths often remain silent about their SOGIE and abuse, as being in the “closet” saves them from abovementioned discrimination and harassment. LGBTQ+ population is still facing a myriad of violence that comes in many forms: physical violence, bullying, verbal violence, psychosocial violence and sexual violence. The lack of an inclusive environment towards the LGBTQ+ community directly affects their daily lives. Given the circumstances, LGBTQ+ youths’ sense of belonging to Singapore is likely impacted as they struggle to find footing for their less accepted identity here, and slowly eroded with each discriminatory encounter.

Existing support system

Fortunately, online resources and support groups such as affirmative mental health counselling providers for LGBTQ+ community has been developed with increased awareness and increased ground-up efforts to promote inclusivity.

Fortunately, support systems specialising in mental health counselling for LGBTQ+ youths and community has slowly emerged in the past ten years. Many online resources are made available to help LGBTQ navigate their self-discovery challenges. Local LGBTQ+ affirming mental health service providers includes Oogachaga, Sayoni and Prout. In 2021, Singapore Psychological Society has announced to shift away from conducting “conversion therapy” - encouraging suppression of a person’s SOGIE - to affirming the diverse SOGIE of LGBTQ individuals and focusing on their mental wellbeing instead. Themed events such as Pink Fest have also popped up, aimed to provide the LGBTQ+ community with a safe space while raising awareness in the society.

In schools, mandatory relevant training for school counsellors and teachers in an effort to equip staff with ability to manage LGBTQ-bullying situations, which includes:

School counsellor: Trained to understand sensitivity, adapt to an objective approach to ensure best overall interest of students. Facilitates continued family support, discussions to enhance parents’ understanding of students’ concerns and issues. They also share suggestions to help improve communication.
Teachers: Trained to foster a positive classroom culture without pre-imposed prejudice. Encourages peer support so peers can look out for one another and help to sound out discreetly if the person can’t.
All staff: Continued understanding and system refinement towards LGBTQ bullying scene

As of now, there is no concrete data that presents the accurate percentage of LGBTQ+ population in Singapore. Are LGBTQ+ people and youths truly the minority? With the complex processes and personal struggles that one has to undergo before determining one’s SOGIE, the currently known estimates of Singapore’s LGBTQ+ population could be undercounting. We may never truly know until Singapore has become a true safe space for LGBTQ+ freedom of expression without negative sentiments towards them.

What can you do as an Instructor?

Educate yourselves to better understand the LGBTQ+ scene in Singapore and what the LGBTQ+ community is facing, regardless of your personal opinion, especially on LGBTQ+ terms. This summary is merely painting a picture of the tip of an iceberg.
Be open to hearing out participants, discourage disrespectful terms/remarks, acts of discrimination that contributes to harming LGBTQ+ youths’ mental wellness. Avoid any form of judgements and assumptions.
Respect potential hidden LGBTQ+ youths by being mindful of words, phrasing or jokes used when interacting with participants. Use inclusive terms.
Be aware of the social interactions within the group to recognize those that may be marginalised or trying to seek attention. Seek external guidance if you are unable to manage the participants on your own.
What you can do is similar to that under the Mental Health section.

Glossary

LGB: Sexual orientation - lesbian, gay, bisexual
T: Gender identity - transgender
Q: Expression - gender expression
Gender Expression: How an individual expresses his or her sense of self.
Gender Identity: One’s inner sense of self of being a girl/woman, boy/man, other genders, all, or neither.
Sex: A biological marker recorded in birth certificates
Sexual Orientation: Romantic and/or sexual attraction to men, women, both, or neither.