United Nations claims homophobia costs global economies billions (VIDEO)
The United Nations anti-LGBT discrimination campaign ‘Free & Equal’ has released some startling statistics that show that homophobia and transphobia are still major problems across the world.
The video, titled ‘The Price of Exclusion’, focuses on the cost of global discrimination financially and to the people who suffer under social and legal discrimination due to their sexual and gender identities.
Openly gay Star Trek actor Zachery Quinto narrates the video, and reveals the uncomfortable reality of being LGBT in the world today, including how 40% of homeless youth in major US cities identify as LGBT.
Bullying and family rejection are cited as some of the causes of this high rate of LGBT homelessness.
“For the individuals in question, these are personal tragedies,” Quinto says in the video.
“For the wider community they represent an enormous waste of human potential, of talent, of creativity and productivity that weighs heavily on society and the economy”.
Citing a world bank pilot study, the video claims that global LGBT discrimination could cost a country the size of India $32 billion a year.
On top of this, the video also says that young lesbian, gay and bisexual people are four times more likely to attempt suicide, with the number rising to ten times more likely for young transgender people.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has said that the video aims to “challenges the myth that the impact of LGBT discrimination is small, or marginal, or confined to only a small part of the community.
“It’s not only LGBT people who pay the price; we all do. Every trans kid thrown out of home or forced out of school is a loss for society. Every gay or lesbian worker denied work or driven to emigrate is a lost opportunity.”
The ‘Free & Equal’ campaign was first launched by the United Nations Human Rights office back in 2013 and has released a number of videos in the past including a Bollywood style LGBT equality music video.
Back in August, the members of the UN stripped LGBT eqaulity from its historic global developement goals agreement.
Watch the video below.
