New research shows that LGBT people are more likely to have a disability than the general population. For example, in a survey of more than 26,000 transgender people, 39% reported having a disability. And one in three lesbians and one in three bisexual women report having a disability in a population-based survey in Washington.
As the country reflects on what work remains for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in America, the Movement Advancement Project, in partnership with the Center for American Progress’s Disability Justice Initiative and LGBT Research and Communications Project, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), and the National LGBTQ Task Force, released a short summary of what we know about LGBT people with disabilities.
Despite the passage of the ADA more than a generation ago, people with disabilities experience high rates of unemployment and job discrimination, still face challenges in daily life ranging from inaccessible services and facilities, and face barriers to competent and thorough health care. For LGBT people with disabilities, there are added challenges. For example, LGBTQ people with disabilities are more likely to receive unemployment than their nondisabled LGBT peers – and LGBT people in general have higher rates of unemployment than non-LGBT people. A quarter of LGBTQ students reported being bullied or harassed at school because of a disability.
