News
Gay, Bi Men 'Neglected' By NHS
Gay and bisexual men are being neglected by the NHS, a Stonewall report released today reveals.
Stonewall, the UK's leading LGBT right charity, which published the Gay and Bisexual Men's Health Survey (available here), found that Britain's gay and bisexual men are more likely to attempt suicide and self-harm, have depression, smoke, drink and take illegal drugs. The survey also revealed that their needs are often overlooked by health services like the NHS, which tend to focus solely on gay men's sexual health.
Based on responses form 6,900 gay and bisexual men, the survey also found that gay and bisexual men are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have experienced domestic abuse from a family member or partner. Four in five of those who faced abuse have never reported it to the police, and more than half of those who did report were not happy with how the police dealt with the situation.
Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said: "This deeply troubling report provides hard evidence that Britain's 1.8 million gay and bisexual men are being let down by health services which often see homosexuality and bisexuality purely as sexual health issues. As a result hundreds of thousands of gay and bisexual men are in dire need of better support from health professionals.
This landmark report makes a number of recommendations that could help health services improve before more lives are ruined."