Supporting LGBTQIA+ Youth

LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults face different issues across various systems than non-LGBTQIA+ youth because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Discriminatory policies and practices lead to adverse outcomes for LGBTQIA+ people. Negative experiences with providers who do not respect them can be traumatic for LGBTQIA+ youth who may have experienced emotional and physical violence over their sexual orientation or gender identity.  

It is imperative that professionals working with young people create safe and welcoming spaces for LGBTQIA+ youth. Understanding how to best support LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults is necessary to connect with and support them, and to effectively advance justice.  

We encourage you to learn more about the challenges LGBTQIA+ youth face navigating public systems across LCYC’s four main practice areas:  child welfare, juvenile court, youth and family immigration, and youth homelessness.  

Child Welfare

LGBTQIA+ youth are overrepresented in the child welfare system. 

Supporting Your LGBTQ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents notes that though only 5-10% of the general population identified as LGBTQIA+, 24% of females and 10% of males aging out of the child welfare system report identifying as LGBTQIA+.

LGBTQIA+ youth can enter the child welfare system after facing rejection from their biological family over their identity, and sometimes continue to face this refection in the child welfare system. In these situations, it is not uncommon for youth in the child welfare system to be forced into homelessness or other unsafe living conditions to escape further verbal harassment or physical violence. 

Juvenile Court

LGBTQIA+ youth are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system.

An estimated 20% of youth in the juvenile justice system identify as LGBTQIA+. Around 13.6% of boys in the juvenile justice system identify as LGBTQIA+, while the percentage of girls was 39.9%.

LGBTQIA+ youth navigating juvenile court face bias and discrimination throughout their proceedings. Trans youth are often misgendered, and/or referred to by a dead name, especially if they have not undergone a legal name change, which comes with its own difficulties. Discrimination is only heightened once an LGBTQIA+ youth is in custody. In custody, LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults face harassment, emotional abuse, physical and sexual assault, and prolonged periods spent in isolation.

Youth and Family Immigration

Many LGBTQIA+ people face persecution in their home countries and are forced to flee.

Having to flee leads to an overrepresentation of LGBTQIA+ people in the immigrant community, specifically in the undocumented community.

LGBTQIA+ immigrants often experience marginalization due to the intersections of their identities. Immigrants and refugees who identify as LGBTQIA+ may be struggling with being accepted by their family/culture, the threat of deportation, and aggressive court processes with limited language support. Furthermore, immigrants and refugees of color who identify as LGBTQIA+ experience the additional intersection with racial discrimination. 

Youth Homelessness

LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults are overrepresented in the homeless population. 

The 2020 Seattle/King County Point-in-Time Count of Individuals Experiencing Homelessness found that 27% of the youth and young adults experiencing homelessness identified as LGBTQIA+.

When experiencing homelessness, young people who identify as LGBTQIA+ are at greater risk of extreme violence, such as trafficking. LGBTQIA+ youth are seven times more likely than non-LGBTQIA+ youth to be the victim of sexual violence.