June is Pride month. A month to commemorate decades of struggles for the conquest of civil rights, dignity and justice for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, intersexes, queers, and other people with different sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sexual characteristics. Rome has been invaded by a rainbow tide.
At dawn on June 28, 1969, the New York police raided Greenwich Village, a popular meeting place for young members of the LGBTQ+ community, which was followed by a significant protest (Stonewall riot), symbol of the fight for freedom and rights .
In 2015, the United Nations called on Member States to end violence and discrimination against LGBTIQ+.
Their health, in its components of physical, mental and social well-being, is often ignored by health services around the world.
The World Health Organization recalls the fundamental principle of human rights according to which all people should have access to health services without any discrimination. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recalls the importance of “leaving no one behind”.
LGBTIQ+ individuals and communities are less likely to interact with healthcare providers due to stigma and discrimination, human rights violations (violence and criminalization) and to have their health needs addressed due to denial of care.
Homophobia, conversion therapy (a method condemned by science) and institutionalized violence against communities and individuals have a dramatic impact on their lives.
As underlined in an editorial in the scientific journal Lancet «…you cannot punish someone for their sexual orientation or gender identity: they are an integral part of the self…».
A crucial and priority principle must be included in the global debate on the health of LGBTIQ+ people: educating ourselves to respect diversity.
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