25% of young, bisexual women in Sweden have had thoughts of killing themselves
states a very recent report from Svenska Folkhälsomyndigheten (Swedish National Institute of Public Health) about LGB-peoples health and living conditions (a similar report about trans*-people will come next year). Among other things it concludes that bisexual women as a group to a larger degree have been subject to violence, have the highest unemployment rates compared to other women, the worst economical situation and to a greater extent suffer from severe anxiety-problems and severe ache.
This part caught my eye: ”Upplevelser av permanent diskriminering innebär kroniska stressorer som underminerar den enskildes skyddsfaktorer och ökar sårbarheten. Upplevelserna bidrar även till minskad självkontroll, mindre hälsosamma levnadsval och en ökad ohälsosam livsstil. Om det däremot finns starka skyddsfaktorer, såsom socialt stöd, förmåga till psykologisk coping och stark gruppidentifikation kan dessa buffra den negativa påverkan.” (page 33)
I’ll try to translate it to English: Experiences of permanent discrimination bring about chronical stressors that undermine the individuals protection factors and increase the vulnerability. The experiences also contribute to reduced self-control, less healthy choices of ones way of living and an increased unhealthy lifestyle. If there on the other hand exist strong protection factors, such as social support, ability to psychological coping and a strong identification with a group can they buffer the negative impact.
The part about a strong identification with a group got me thinking about how I and many other bisexual people don’t feel like we belong anywhere and how destructive that feeling is.
This report was also a news item on Swedish radio with focus on the bisexual peoples problems the very same day it got released and that made me ridiculously happy (though the content of course was saddening to hear) because I’ve never heard or read about LGBT-issues with focus on the B in Swedish mass media before, also I’ve never heard the word biphobia being used in a Swedish context.
The report is in Swedish but there is a summary translated to English (page 17-22) which I’ve copypasted as a whole:
Summary
The overarching aim of public health in Sweden is to create societal conditions for good health on equal terms for the entire population. The Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) adopted the national public health policy in 2003 in the Government’s Public Health Objective Bill (Govt. Bill 2002/03:35). A further bill, A Renewed Public Health Policy (Govt. Bill 2007/08:110) was adopted in 2008. An important part of the Public Health Agency of Sweden’s assignment is to follow up the development of the determinants of health and their distribution in different groups.
In January 2014, the Government decided on a national strategy to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons equal rights and opportunities in various areas (Regeringen, 2014). The strategy aims to strengthen the work for equal rights and opportunities for LGBT persons regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
The present report describes the development of health and its determinants among homo- (lesbian and gay) and bisexual persons compared to heterosexual persons over the period from 2005 to 2012. The report presents the results from the public health questionnaire Health on Equal Terms and is an interim report on the government’s commission according to the Swedish National Institute of Public Health’s appropriation directions for 2013 (S2012/8855/SAM, (in part)). The commission was transferred to the newly established Public Health Agency of Sweden on 1 January 2014. The basis for the analysis is an earlier Government commission concerning the health conditions of LGBT persons, the results of which were presented by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health in 2005 (registration number S2003/5150/FH). This report also contains a review of international research on LGBT persons’ life situation with the focus on discrimination, vulnerability to violence, and health outcomes.
The results show that the vast majority of homo- and bisexual persons enjoy good or very good health. In spite of this, great differences remain as regards self-assessed health among these and heterosexual people. Heterosexual persons are generally healthier than homo- and bisexual persons. The reported level of good health has increased in all groups since 2005. However, there is no statistically significant difference in the increase among homo- and bisexual persons. Additionally, it is more common for homo- and bisexual persons to report ill health than heterosexual persons, most significantly among bisexual women and homosexual men. Young bisexual women have the least trust in other people, show most ill-health, experience most violence and have the most self-destructive behaviours/suicidal thoughts and attempted suicides of the groups that were compared.
One important conclusion is that there is a need for in-depth studies of effective health-promoting and prevention measures among homo- and bisexual persons. Such knowledge is vital in achieving the overarching aim of public health in Sweden of creating societal conditions for good health on equal terms for the entire population.
The report does not contain any correlation analyses but describes only differences in the proportions of homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual persons with regard to living conditions, living habits and health outcomes. Most determinants and all health outcomes are presented for the 2005–2012 period, where the group of homo- and bisexual persons is compared to the heterosexual group. To be able to describe differences between the three groups – homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual persons – data from 2010–2012 has been combined in a special analysis for every determinant and health outcomes. All the analyses presented are divided by gender.
Below follows a detailed description of the empirical findings:
Living conditions
Discrimination. For all years it is considerably more common for homo- and bisexual persons to be subjected to abusive treatment or behaviour compared to heterosexual persons. Most common of all is for bisexual women to be subjected to abusive treatment or behaviour. The proportion who has been subjected to abusive treatment or behaviour decreased in the heterosexual group between 2005 and 2012. The same tendency (note that where the term tendency is used in the present report, the difference is not statistically significant; see the section on statistical methods, page 47) can be observed among homosexuals and bisexuals. Despite the decrease, there are great differences between homo- and bisexual persons compared to heterosexuals when it comes to having been subjected to discrimination.
Violence. It is considerably more common for homo- and bisexual persons to be subjected to threats of violence and actual physical violence than for heterosexuals. It is most common of all among bisexual women. No statistically significant difference could be found in any sexual orientation group for the years between 2005 and 2012, neither for men nor for women, in the proportion who had been subjects to threats of violence and those actually subjected to physical violence.
Social participation. Homosexual women report that they have less social participation (i.e. that they have not taken part in social activities or events) to a greater extent than heterosexual women. Among men it is the bisexual group who report less social participation to a greater extent than hetero- and homosexual men. No clear trend over time can be observed for either men or women in any of the sexual orientation groups regarding the proportion with low social participation.
Trust and support. It is more common among both homo- and bisexual women to report that they do not trust other people compared to heterosexual women. Among men it is the bisexuals that in larger proportions report that they do not feel trust compared to homo- and heterosexual persons. The proportion that do not feel that they can trust people is on approximately the same level in 2012 as in 2005, both for homo- and bisexual people and heterosexual persons. It is more common for homo- and bisexual women than for heterosexual women to have little confidence in the healthcare services, school, the police, the social services, the Public Employment Service, the courts and the parliament. Bisexual women report that they had little confidence in the Social Insurance Agency more often than heterosexual women. It is less common among homo- and bisexual women to have little confidence in trade unions than among heterosexual women. Among bisexual men, it is more common to have little confidence in the police, the social services and the courts than among heterosexual men. It is more common among heterosexual men than among homosexual men to have little confidence in parliament and county council politicians. It is also more common to have little confidence in trade unions among heterosexual men than among bisexual men.
Men lack both emotional and practical support to a greater extent than women. The largest proportion that lack emotional support can be found among homo- and bisexual men. Among the women, it is most common to lack emotional support in the bisexual group. Homo- and bisexual men lack practical support to a greater degree than heterosexual men and a corresponding difference is evident among women. No clear trend over time can be observed is any sexual orientation group for either gender, neither among those who lack practical support or those who lack emotional support.
Education. A long education is less common among bisexual women than among hetero- and homosexual women. Homosexual men have a long education to a greater degree than hetero- and bisexual men.
Labour market situation. Heterosexual women have a professional occupation to a greater degree than both homo- and bisexual women. It is also more common for homosexual women to have a professional occupation than bisexual women. The same pattern can be seen among men. It is more common for bisexual women to be unemployed compared to both heterosexual and homosexual women. Both homo- and bisexual men are unemployed to a greater degree than heterosexual men. The proportion of men on early retirement pension is higher among bisexual men than among heterosexual men.
Economic conditions. It is more common among homo- and bisexual persons to have no cash margin, be in financial crisis and have a low income than among heterosexual. It is most common of all among bisexual women.
Living environment. It is overall considerably more common among women to forgo going out alone out of fear of being assaulted, robbed or molested in some other way than among men. Among women, it is more common among bisexuals to not got out alone than among heterosexuals. Both homo- and bisexual men forgo going out alone because they are afraid to a greater degree than heterosexual men. No clear change in this indicator over time can be observed in any sexual orientation group.
Living habits
Smoking. It is more common to smoke on a daily basis among homo- and bisexual men. Among women, bisexuals smoke more than heterosexual women. The distinct reduction over time in the proportion of daily smokers among heterosexual persons can also be seen as a trend among homo- and bisexual women but not among homo- and bisexual men.
Snuff. It is less common among homo- and bisexual men to take snuff daily than among heterosexual men. Among women, the opposite is true – it is more common for homo- and bisexual women to use snuff. It is most common of all among homosexual women. Among heterosexual men, the proportion that used snuff decreased between 2005 and 2012 and the same tendency can be seen among homo- and bisexual men. Among women, there is no distinct trend over time regarding those who use snuff.
Alcohol. Over the whole period it is much more common for homo- and bisexual persons to have dangerous drinking habits than for heterosexual persons. This difference is greatest among women. A declining trend in the proportion of at-risk consumers of alcohol can, however, be seen among both homo- and bisexual women between 2005 and 2012. There is no corresponding trend among heterosexual women. There is also a tendency towards a decrease in the proportion of at-risk consumers of alcohol among homo- and bisexual men, which means that the difference between homo- and bisexual men and heterosexual men has decreased. However, despite the declining trend, the differences between homo- and bisexual persons compared to homosexual persons are still considerable.
Narcotics. Mainly young people have used cannabis over the past 12 months and of those it is mainly homo- and bisexual persons who use cannabis to a considerably greater extent than heterosexuals. The proportion of bisexual women who use cannabis is also higher than among homosexual women. Among men, a greater number of homo- and bisexuals than heterosexual persons have used cannabis during the last 12 months. There is no statistically significant difference in numbers between homosexual and bisexual men. The same pattern can be seen among the men, although the difference between them is not statistically significant. No clear trend as regards change can be seen over the period among homo- and bisexual women and men.
Sedentary leisure time / physical activity. Homo- and bisexual persons tend to have a sedentary leisure time to a greater extent than heterosexual persons. No distinct change can be seen in the proportion of sedentary persons between 2005 and 2012 in any sexual orientation group within either gender. No differences can be found in the proportion that took exercise and trained regularly between homo- and bisexual persons and heterosexual persons.
Health
General health status. Good health was more common among heterosexual persons than homo- and bisexual persons. The proportion of both men and women with a heterosexual orientation increased between 2005 and 2012. The same trend can also be observed among men and women with a homosexual or bisexual orientation.
Also, it is more common for homo- and bisexual persons to state that their general health is poor compared to heterosexual persons. This is most apparent among bisexual women and homosexual men. Poor health is less common among heterosexual persons in 2012 than in 2005. A corresponding change cannot be seen for either homo- and bisexual women or homo- and bisexual men.
Mental health. A considerably higher proportion of homo- and bisexual persons have impaired mental well-being than heterosexual persons and the highest proportion can be found among bisexual women. Comparing 2005 with 2012, no change can be seen in the proportion with impaired mental well-being for either men or women in any sexual orientation group.
Anxiety, worry or distress are much more common among homo- and bisexual persons than among heterosexual persons. It is explicitly bisexual women who experience great discomfort from anxiety, worry or distress. No changes over time can be seen in this indicator in any sexual orientation group.
Over the whole period, a considerably larger proportion of homo- and bisexual women suffer from stress compared to heterosexual women; this largely applies to men also. No changes in the proportion of persons who feel stressed can be found in any group between 2005 and 2012.
It is more common for homo- and bisexual persons to state that they suffer from severe insomnia compared to heterosexual persons. No changes over time can be seen in this indicator in any sexual orientation group between 2005 and 2012.
The proportion that had had suicidal thoughts during the previous 12 months is almost five times higher among bisexual women than heterosexual women. The proportion of bisexual women who had had suicidal thoughts is also considerably higher than among homosexual women. It is also considerably more common for homosexual women to have suicidal thoughts than heterosexual women. Considerably more homo- and bisexual men state they have had suicidal thoughts than heterosexual men.
It is considerably more common among homo- and bisexual persons to have attempted to take their own lives during the previous 12 months than among heterosexual persons. The difference is greatest in the 16-29 age group and among those with a short education.
Physical health. It is more common to be in severe pain among women than among men and most common of all among bisexual women. No difference in the proportion with severe pain can be found in any of the three male sexual orientation groups. It is more common among both homo- and bisexual women to report long term illness compared to heterosexual women, and it is also more common among bisexual men to report that they have long term illness compared to heterosexual men. This difference can be seen most clearly among women aged 16–64. No change can be seen between in the proportion with severe pain or the proportion with a long-term illness in any of the sexual orientation groups for either men or women between 2005 and 2012.
Overweight and obesity are less common among homosexual men compared to both bisexual and heterosexual men. There are no difference in the proportion of overweight or obese persons among homo- and bisexual women and heterosexual women. The proportion of overweight and obesity among heterosexual persons increases between 2005 and 2012. The proportion of overweight and obesity among homo- and bisexual persons increased over time in such a way that is difficult to determine whether a corresponding trend exists in these groups.
Contact with care services. More homo- and bisexual women than heterosexual women report that they have had contact with care services during the last three months. This largely applies to corresponding groups of men also. A greater proportion of homo- and bisexual women have been admitted to hospital than heterosexual women. Among men there is no statistically significant difference.
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