This New Happiness Survey Is Asking LGBT People Around the World, ‘How Happy Are You?’
Happiness and quality of life are both essential to people’s well-being. Yet in too many countries those qualities in LGBT people are seriously compromised due to the stigma, discrimination, violence and even the criminalization they face. Excess mental stress affects our health, welfare and prosperity. The just-launched LGBT Happiness Study survey seeks to measure that. (Participate in the survey here.)
A global survey on happiness, sex and quality of life among LGBT people, the LGBT Happiness Study is a major global research study that aims to give a voice to our community. It takes about 12 minutes to complete, and it’s a great opportunity for LGBT people to be heard. You participation can help make a difference for our community around the world.
LGBT people face inequalities in health and standards of living, and — because of homophobia — we often face additional discrimination in education, at work and in a variety of institutional, governmental and societal ways. Levels of abuse and the burdens of those play out in our overall well-being. The LGBT Happiness Study measures this variance across many variables.
In Africa, Asia and Latin America, evidence on just how much stigma, discrimination and social and economic inequalities affect the quality of life of LGBTI people is pretty scarce, and that’s one reason why this LGBT Happiness Study is so important.
This research is the first of its kind and has been developed under a partnership led by The LGBT Foundation, The United Nations (UNAIDS), the Universities of Aix-Marseille and Minnesota, as well as LGBT community partners like the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the World Health Organization.
“We want to immerse in what makes up the real life of the LGBTI community in different parts of the world,” says Erik Lamontagne, Senior Economist at UNAIDS.
The LGBT Foundation is leading the way on promoting the LGBT Happiness Survey in at least 18 languages. The survey will cover the lived experiences of LGBT people in a wide range of countries and from diverse cultures, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Marathi, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Urdu.
“Examining LGBT happiness and often the lack thereof is critical to eliminate disparities, including in health and the relationship between underlying conditions and individual choices. Advancements to LGBT well-being around the world are not equal, nor permanent. In order to improve health, we need to focus on addressing the conditions at large faced by LGBT people,” says Sean Howell, CEO of The LGBT Foundation.
The LGBT Happiness Study is officially open for participation. It takes about 12 minutes to complete, so be heard. Your participation really will help make a difference.
