GALE launches survey on service provision for LGBTIQ+ during Covid-19

LGBTIQ+ people disadvantages by Covid-19

Before constructing the survey, GALE did an elaborate review of research that was done in the past one and a half years on LGBTIQ+ and Covid-19. All available research shows that vulnerable groups in society are affected in a more serious way by the epidemic than the mainstream population. LGBTIQ+ are no exception. Outside Europe, many countries don’t have a good social security system, and partly because of discrimination, LGBTIQ+ more quickly are drained of economic and financial resources, which can lead to acute problems with housing and food. Within Europe, financial social security is often less of a problem, but LGBTIQ+ people are commonly more stressed and fearful than the rest of the population. Vulnerable groups among the LGBTIQ+ population, like the elderly. HIV+ people and transgender people often have a less elaborate or stable social network, and may have to face the epidemic on their own. Young LGBTIQ+ maybe isolated at home in a hostile heteronormative environment and vulnerable to abuse and rejection. For many gay men, the Corona epidemic reminds them of the traumas of the HIV epidemic. HIV+ people and transgender people have less access to medical services and medicines, with greater social and even life-threatening consequences. In some Eastern European countries, populist governments have made use of the crisis to further restrict personal liberties and especially to curb the rights of transgenders.

The survey

The survey was constructed by the Greek organization Symplexis and by GALE. It has only 28 questions, and because most of the participants can skip half of the questions, it can be filled in with in five minutes. The first half of the questionnaire is meant for LGBTIQ+ people and asks them about their experiences during the epidemic. The second part of the questionnaire is meant for providers who provide services for LGBTIQ+ people. It asks them about the challenges they felt serving this population. These can be challenges that existed before Covid-19 (like not being informed about gender and sexual diversity) but could also be related to Covid-19 itself (like how to deal with specific challenges faced by LGBTIQ+ during the epidemic, or more general challenges of providing services in the face of lockdowns and social distance measures.
It would be great if you could fill in the questionnaire or one of the translated versions if you are LGBTIQ+ or a service provider (or both). It would also be great if you could encourage your own service providers to take five minutes to fill in the survey. The deadline for filling in the survey is 30 November.

Sources: RAINBO Project, Facebook page RAINBO Project
The specific surveys for Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and the UK can be found on the GALE page on RAINBO. These are translated in the relevant languages and contain contact details in case you want to contact the country partner.