June 22, 2009 (www.ppt.on.ca) – The findings of the Toronto Teen Survey (TTS)*, a survey of over 1,200 Toronto youth, were released on June 2, 2009. The survey contained some important findings about the sexual health needs of LGBTQ youth.

The study found that LGBTQ youth face significant barriers when looking to access services. As a result of these barriers LGBTQ youth were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report engaging in higher risk (penetrative) sexual activities and to report problems with drugs and alcohol.

Many involved with the TTS were surprised to find that while 7% of straight or “heterosexual-identified” youth had been involved with a pregnancy, 28% of sexually diverse youth reported pregnancy involvement. This finding highlights the need to provide LGBTQ youth with information about reproductive health as well as disease prevention. This finding also challenges many of the stereotypes about sexual orientation and sexual behaviour.

LGBTQ youth are having to find alternate sources to overcome these barriers, as they attempt to access the sexual health services and information they need. LGBTQ youth are more likely to receive health services in multiple locations, seeking referrals to LGBTQ-friendly service providers through hidden networks. They are also getting information from a wider variety of sources, with 53% of LGBTQ youth reporting consulting mass media for sexual health information, compared with 32% of straight youth.

Overall the TTS findings highlight the need for more services like PPT, which seek to challenge the heterosexism of the sexual health information that is available, and seek to ensure that LGBTQ youth are able to access sexual health services and information in a one-stop shop where they feel comfortable and respected. It is evident that health services need to ensure that LGBTQ youth feel included and welcome as clients in order to begin to address these barriers.

*The TTS research project is a partnership between the Gendering Adolescent AIDS Prevention Project (University of Toronto), Planned Parenthood Toronto, York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies, the University of Toronto’s Public Health Sciences Department, and the Ontario HIV/AIDS Treatment Network (OHTN). Toronto Public Health also collaborated on the project. For more information, please visit http://torontoteensurvey.ca/