There has been a new study commissioned by the LGBT West group to look into the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people living in the west of Ireland.  We all know that living in cities like Dublin, Cork and Galway make being out a little easier but I was still shocked to see just how isolated people in the west of the country feel.

The study shows the following disturbing statistics:

90% felt isolated at times because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

50% of those who had experienced discrimination were verbally abused and 20% had been physically attacked.

Levels of drug and alcohol use appear to be higher than the general population – 43% had taken cannabis, 39% ecstasy and 34% cocaine.

This makes for a difficult read but the truth is that we in the cities don’t fully appreciate how lucky we are.  We complain about the pubs and centres we have but at least we have them and if we’re not into that we can join the hill walking club or the choir!

The idea that 90% of the people asked said they felt isolated is dreadful.  I think we’ve all felt isolated at some time in our lives but for the vast majority to feel that way is not only a reflection of Irish society in general but reflects poorly on the LGBT community who seem to have left them there?

It’s not acceptable to expect every member of our community to move to a city, some have responsibilities that make this an imposibility, so what can we do?

Is there anything specific we can do or does it all a come down to the general notion of getting people accepted throughout the country?  Let us know what you think!

Popularity: 1% [?]