Many LGBTQ+ young people are experiencing higher levels of abuse, spanning physical, sexual and verbal abuse. In fact, the majority of trans young adults (72%) have faced verbal abuse in the past year. One LGBTQ+ respondent said the verbal abuse came from ‘a teacher’, another said they experienced ‘name calling from family members’. These are the exact people meant to support and care for young people.

We also found that it’s still common for LGBTQ+ young adults to feel ashamed of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In fact, lesbians were the most likely to be struggling with shame (and were among the lowest paid at work, along with asexual respondents). Many also contemplate suicide, and this was particularly prevalent among bisexual/pansexual, trans and non-binary respondents. There can be no doubt: growing up LGBTQ+ is still unacceptably tough. And it’s particularly getting tougher for trans young people.

Time and time again we saw in the report findings that trans young people are facing some of the poorest outcomes. Only 6% of trans respondents felt supported at school. In early adulthood, trans youth are struggling more than many others in the LGBTQ+ community, in areas ranging  from safety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, to employment levels and family relationships. I worry this will continue to worsen in the current UK political, social and media climates unless parents, carers and teachers talk positively and openly about their support for LGBTQ+ people.

However, there is some good news. The report found that just 3% of those who self-describe as unsupportive of trans people even know a trans person, and that when you do know a trans person, you’re twice as likely to be an ally. We also found that despite a nasty and unhelpful trope suggesting lesbians are somehow inherently anti-trans, they were the most supportive of trans people in the study.

And lastly, there has never been clearer evidence that by supporting LGBTQ+ young people, you will help the next generation to thrive. The mean age that young people realise they are LGBTQ+ is 13.7 years old. What you do and say in school and at home will have a long-lasting impact on LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health, wellbeing, family relationships, career prospects and even their belief that they can one day have a happy family of their own if they’d like to.

But this should also be a warning to us all: if we fail to support our LGBTQ+ young people, they will face those devastating consequences well into adulthood.

The Positive Futures report by Just Like Us, with research independently conducted by Cibyl and sponsored by Deloitte, is out now. Read the report here.