Research highlights that while LGBTQIA+ communities demonstrate remarkable resilience, they are also significantly impacted by systemic inequalities and stressors often shaped by experiences of stigma, discrimination or hostility directed towards these communities.
Figure 1: LGBTQIA+ people in Australia have worse self-rated health than the general population.
Source: Hill et al. 2020
Psychological distress and intimate partner violence
- 83.3% of LGBTQIA+ 16 to 17 year olds in Australia have high or very high levels of psychological distress, more than 3 times the rate in the general population of 16 to 17 year olds (27.3%)
- Rates of intimate partner violence for LGBTQIA+ people in Australia are equal to, or higher than, those between non-LGBTQIA+ people.
Source: LGBTIQ+ Health Australia 2021 and Women’s Health East 2021
LGBTQIA+ population in Boroondara
Just under 12% of adults in Boroondara identify as LGBTQIA+ (Figure 2). While age data is unavailable at an LGA level, Victorian data indicates that a higher proportion of the LGBTQIA+ population is aged 18-34.
Figure 2: Proportion of adults who identify as LGBTQIA+, by region, sex and age group.
At the 2021 Census, 1.4% of couple households in Boroondara identified as being in a same-sex relationship. Of these, 12.8% were raising children, highlighting the diversity of family structures within the community.