Archive: 11.10.2018.

On October 10th, the World Health Organization marks World Mental Health Day, with a special focus on the prevention, raising awareness, and treatment of mental disorders. When discussing mental health, it is crucial to pay particular attention to groups that, due to various forms of violence and oppression, are marginalized, such as lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex individuals.

Members of marginalized groups face unique challenges in the societies in which they live, due to their specific socioeconomic status and their differences based on gender, sexuality, class, and belonging to particular national, ethnic, or religious groups. Daily encounters with prejudice and discrimination, as well as experiences of psychological, physical, and/or sexual violence, often force us, LGBTI individuals, into situations where we are compelled to live in fear, shame, and hiding.

The latest analysis, covering data from 35 studies in 10 countries, confirms that LGBTI youth are at a much higher risk of suicide compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers—three times higher. Transgender youth are at a six times higher risk of suicide due to the intensity of the violence they experience. The World Health Organization has also released a report on suicide rates, clearly identifying LGBTI individuals as one of the most vulnerable groups.

For these reasons, we believe it is essential to pay greater attention to the efforts to reduce discrimination and stigma faced by LGBTI individuals, especially transgender and intersex people, whose pathologization continues, and whose experiences of violence intensify as our visibility and empowerment grow.

Until July 2018, transgender identity was classified as a mental disorder, which led to further stigmatization and discrimination against transgender people, reduced their trust in institutions, and increased oppression, affecting all spheres of our lives. The long period of pathologization of our identities and bodies ended when the World Health Organization (WHO) officially confirmed through the revision of the International Classification of Diseases that transgender identities are no longer considered mental disorders. This opened the way for better protection and respect for the rights of self-determination and bodily integrity for transgender and gender-nonconforming people. However, intersex conditions are still heavily pathologized, leading to violations of the right to bodily integrity for intersex individuals, which significantly endangers their mental health.

Providing support to LGBTI individuals and our families is crucial for our safe and respectful existence in society. On this occasion, we call on every individual, as well as relevant institutions and organizations working on the promotion and protection of human rights, to invest their efforts and contribute to raising societal awareness about the necessity of protecting, and thus preserving, the mental health of LGBTI individuals.

Association Spektra

Queer Montenegro