Feelings of LGBTIQ+ Children and Adolescents

Study results

In the article "Psychological Well-Being of Sexual Minority Young Adults in Iceland: Assessing Differences by Sexual Attraction and Gender” (2017) is a study comparing the feelings of homosexual and bisexual students with those of homosexual students in a survey of Icelandic high school students in 2013 (Youth in Iceland). Depression, anger and the experience of stress were examined and the results were analyzed by gender. They showed that homosexual and bisexual youth, girls and boys, have a worse feeling than heterosexual youth. The situation of girls was particularly poor, but both homosexual and bisexual girls experience more anger than heterosexual girls, and the dichotomous girls had the worst feelings in all groups. In 2010, the article “Life satisfaction for gay teenagers in grade 10” was published, which reported that gay teenagers rated their life satisfaction much lower than their peers. At that time, there was a gender gap among gay students, but gay girls rated their life satisfaction as the lowest.

Barka in Iceland

There is little research and public figures in Iceland on transgender people and especially transgender children, but from interviews to judge as well as quantitative data from other countries, transgender people are worse off than others when considering mental health, physical health, education and financial status and are at a higher risk of violence and prejudice than Sisi people (I am still the same person). Social experience and the experience of trans individuals ". Anna Guðrún (Northern Ireland, 2013). Winning Bear Valsdóttir, an NGO consultant in '78, suggests that silence and suppression of emotions can lead transgender children to experience intense anger, anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, and other mental health problems ("Child and adolescent sexual problems. From the perspective of children and parents", lecture by Sigrid Bear Valsdóttir, 2013). It can be said that trans children are a particularly vulnerable group, but education and support are extremely important and can make it easier for everyone to come out and live as a trans. It is important to note that prejudice and exclusion of transgender children may occur in their homes and, in particular, by family members, as with other homosexual groups. It is therefore particularly important that the school system provides them with support and understanding. The CoR's Human Rights and Democracy Office has created a primary school support programme for trans pupils which can assist schools in supporting students.

Intersex Iceland

There has been little discussion of the status of intersex children in the Icelandic context, but the work of the Intersex Association in Iceland and the Icelandic guide for parents of children with atypical gender characteristics (intersex children) are preferred.

Intersex

The school system plays a key role through education and discussions. Worthy of mention is an opinion from the Ombudsman for Children from 2015 on measures against intersex children:

“The rationale behind intersex children tend to be that it is difficult for a child with delirious genitals or other deviations from the“traditional” male or female body to feel like they belong to the community and develop a strong self-image. Conversely, intersex individuals have suggested that they may feel the physical and mental consequences of such actions, as well as the sense of shame associated with the secrecy that prevails over their status… It is not appropriate to view it as a solution to bullying and illiteracy to plunge everyone into the same tournament, but rather to promote education, thus increasing people's tolerance and understanding of the diversity of human life.”

Unnecessary interventions in the bodies of intersex children (children with atypical gender characteristics) may have been banned by amendments to the Sexual Self-Regulation Act in 2020.