Pride in Practice: Why Trauma Informed Workplaces Matter
CW: We reference Suicide, LGBTIQA Hate Crimes, Sexual Assault, and Violence in this article. While we do not go into detail, please be aware and proceed according to your needs. Remember — your mental health is most important!
June is Pride month and organizations are always looking for new ways to celebrate and recognize Pride and the LGBTQIA community- cue the rainbow-themed swag and posts about allyship. I’m not a fan of performative Pride, and there are many ways to support your LGBTQIA employees and customers that aren’t performative- policies, advocacy, etc. But there is one important way to support your LGBTQIA employees all year long that you might be overlooking- trauma informed cultures.
Why are Trauma Informed Cultures Important to the LGBTQIA Community?
If you’ve been following my work, you know I am a firm believer that trauma informed workplace cultures benefit everyone (even those who may not have experienced trauma). That said, it’s also important to look at why trauma informed practices are important to this community.
Prevalence of Trauma Among LGBTQIA Individuals
Statistics show traumatic experiences are more prevalent in the LGBTQIA community; both for children and adults.
When we look first at childhood traumatic experiences, the statistics are staggering, especially when we consider the outsized impact adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have on health outcomes.
According to The Trevor Project National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2020
1 in 3 LGBTQ youth report that have been physically threatened or harmed in their lifetime due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. For Transgender and nonbinary youth, that number rises to 40%
29% of LGBTQ you have experienced homelessness, been kicked out, or run away
40% of LGBTQ respondents seriously considered attempting suicide in the past twelve months
A 2021 National School Climate Survey reported that 82% of LGBTQ+ students felt unsafe in school because of at least one of their actual or perceived personal characteristics.
12% of LGBTQ Students have been the victim of sexual violence at school (Source: Psychiatry.org — LGBTQ)
As LGBTQIA individuals reach adulthood, the statistics still show an outsized impact of traumatic experiences and the lasting impacts of trauma.
LGBTQIA+ people are almost four times more likely to experience violent assault than straight people. These assaults include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.
Almost half (48%) of trans people say they have experienced discrimination, such as verbal harassment or physical assault, in the past year.
LGBTQ+ people are at higher risk of developing PTSD, with prevalence estimates of up to 48% of LGB individuals and 42% of transgender and gender-diverse individuals meeting the criteria for PTSD
LGBTQ+ people face structural discrimination at local, state, and federal levels (e.g., laws and policies that offer less protection to LGBTQ+ people) and across institutions such as education, employment, religion, housing, and health care
(Source: Trauma, Discrimination, and PTSD Among LGBTQ+ People — PTSD: National Center for PTSD (va.gov))
To date in 2024, at least 15 transgender and gender-expansive individuals have been killed in the United States. To keep this data in context, only 0.5% — 1.6% of US adults identify as transgender. You can learn more about each of their stories here as well as data from previous years.
Historical & Collective Trauma
In addition to the prevalence of individual experiences of trauma, the LGBTQIA community also faces a far-reaching history of discrimination, abuse, and other harm.
We also see the collective trauma of the community play out in acts of mass violence targeting LGBTQIA individuals (such as the Pulse and Club Q nightclub shootings) and the devastating impacts of anti-LGBTQIA legislation that continues to sweep across large portions of the United States.
The lengthy history of violence and discrimination in the community informed their perceptions and experiences, including experiences of trauma. Related, collective trauma- the notion that a group of people may develop negative psychological symptoms after a member of that community suffers from an act of violence. Even if they did not directly encounter the act or know the victim or survivor, many trauma symptoms emerge. Given the frequent reports of harm against the LGBTQIA community, collective trauma is common.
Research supports that microaggressions may serve as triggers to cumulative historical traumas experienced throughout life- so just as loud noises may trigger a veteran of war, members of the community may be triggered through microaggressions experienced in their daily lives, including at work.
We must also note the history of mental health care is problematic, given the inclusion of aspects of sexual identity and orientation in psychiatric diagnoses (e.g., “high-risk homosexual behavior” in the ICD10; homosexuality as a psychiatric diagnosis until 1973)
Mental health providers have been positioned as gatekeepers of life-saving gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse people. Gender-affirming care is often contingent upon DSM-5 gender dysphoria diagnosis. All of these factors make the fact that 15% to 33% of LGBTQ+ people report mistreatment in health care unsurprising.
How Trauma Informed Cultures Support Your LBGTQIA Team Members?
At the core, trauma informed cultures seek to do the following things in every aspect of cultural and individual action within an organization or community -
Create awareness around the existence and prevalence of trauma,
Understand how trauma may show up in their workplace, organization, or community
actively avoid retraumatizing survivors
Actively avoid doing harm
By incorporating these tenets into your culture, you create spaces where everyone can be more successful- regardless of prior experiences with trauma.
While we’ve spent much of this article outlining the prevalence of trauma in the LGBTQIA community, we should also note that we don’t want to assume someone’s trauma status and we don’t need to ask to have it disclosed to build trauma informed environments.
Tools that can help build out and bolster support also include The Wounded Workforce’s Seven Principles of Trauma Informed Workplaces-
Safety
Trust & Transparency
Community
Collaboration
Empowerment
Humility & Responsiveness
Cultural, Historical, & Gender Issues
You can learn more about each here and in my series of articles highlighting each principle on Medium.
The Wounded Workforce offers a certification for those seeking more knowledge and resources. You can learn more about the Certified Trauma Informed Workplace Practitioner certification here. And in honor of Pride Month, we are offering 25% off the certification with the code ‘Pride25’.
Below are some resources for LGBTQIA+ people dealing with trauma or the effects of trauma, such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD:
The Trevor Project website, online chat, hotline (866–488–7386), or text line (text START to 678678).
The Trans Lifeline at 877–565–8860 is run by trans people.
988 suicide and crisis lifeline.
SAGE LGBT Elder Hotline: 877–360–5428.
The Crisis Text Line at 741741.