Abuse leads to drug use in LGBT youth

One quarter of LGBTQIA teenagers have used an illicit substance over the past six months, as new research reveals why drug use is so high in queer young people.

One quarter of LGBTQIA teenagers have used an illicit substance over the past six months, as new research reveals why drug use is so high in queer young people.

Illicit drug use is higher in LGBTQIA+ young people than the general population, with new research revealing elevated levels of abuse and sexual assault actively contribute to queer Australians taking illegal substances.

One quarter (26.4%) of LGBTQIA+ teenagers aged 14-17 have reported taking illicit drugs in the past six months, compared to 9.7% of people of the same age group in the general population, a survey from La Trobe University has revealed.

Similarly, 41.9% of queer young people aged 18-21 had engaged in drug use over the past six months, compared to about 31% of those in the general population.

“Self-identified problematic drug use was associated with psychological distress, homelessness, and experiences of sexual harassment based on sexuality or gender identity,” Associate Professor of Public Health at La Trobe and research author Adam Bourne said.

Nearly a third (28.3%) of those who had used drugs had taken cannabis. MDMA was the second most popular drug at 7.3%, followed by antidepressants at 5.2%

About 40% of those surveyed said they had received some form of verbal abuse over the past six months, while 23% said they had been sexually harassed based on their gender or sexuality.

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University of South Australia gender studies researcher Alice Rose said the study was clear in proving drug use was a “coping mechanism” for young queer Australians.

“It really signals how societal factors are still shaping individual behaviours,” she said. “That idea that same sex marriage being legalised somehow fix things is really a misconception when 40% of the people (in the study) reported verbal abuse in the last six months.”

Ms Rose said “microaggressions” and “subtle discrimination” would contribute to the drug use of young queer Australians.

“I like to use an analogy for microaggressions, of being like sand in your shoes,” Ms Rose said.

“You don‘t notice one grain of sand, but think about what being LGBTQIA+ might mean. You go to a doctor, and the form doesn’t have your gender on it. Or if you go to a prenatal class, and they talk about mothers and fathers, and you feel excluded.

“The grains of sand just keep adding up and being felt in the shoes of LGBTQIA+ people.”

In order to reverse soaring drug use in LGBTQIA+ young people, “we need to make our systems are more inclusive” so the group feel less stigmatised and isolated, Ms Rose said.

She added that drug education programmes should be designed for the specific groups within the LGBTQIA+ community, rather than treating them as one single group.