Trinity has announced that it will partner with LGBTQIA+ youth organisation BeLonG To for a new national study examining the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ people in Ireland.
The study, called “Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland”, will also investigate public attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people and track what has changed for members of the community since Ireland’s same-sex marriage referendum and the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act in 2015.
The study is being conducted by a group of researchers led by Professor Agnes Higgins in the School of Nursing & Midwifery. A professor of mental health, Higgins also led the research of the LGBTIreland Report in 2016.
The LGBTIreland Report was a study of information collected during 2014/15, before the same-sex marriage referendum and the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act in 2015.
Some 2,264 young LGBTQIA+ people in Ireland participated in the study and resulting report.
Due to the large response rate received from the LGBTQIA+ population, the 2016 report is considered to be the largest study of LGBTQIA+ people in Ireland to date, the largest study of transgender people and the first study with a sample of intersex people.
Speaking about the new study, Professor Higgins said in a press statement that this research will help inform future policy and legislation: “We are delighted to announce the launch of the Being LGBTQI+ in Ireland research in partnership with BeLonG To.”
“It is eight years since we conducted the first national survey on the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQI+ people in Ireland.”
“This research will repeat the survey to assess changes that have happened since this time, as well as asking new questions to inform policy, service provision, and legislation going forward”, she added.
Welcoming the research, CEO of BeLonG To, Moninne Griffith said: “Ireland was lauded as a world-leader in LGBTQI+ rights in 2015 as the first country to approve marriage for same-sex couples by popular vote.”
“With this new study, we will see how Ireland has changed since this time for members of the LGBTQI+ community and if we still deserve to hold this title.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Trinity College Dublin on this research and take a snapshot in time of what it is like to be LGBTQI+ in Ireland today. I would like to thank our funders for providing us with the opportunity to conduct this important study”, she added.
This study is funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) & Social Inclusion, Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s What Works and Dormant Accounts Fund, through BeLonG To.
The study is open to responses from LGBTQIA+ people over 14 who would like to share their experiences of being LGBTQIA+ in Ireland today.
