The unpaid caring landscape from an LGBTQ+ perspective

TW: mention of homophobia/transphobia, mention of AIDS epidemic

Whilst awareness of unpaid caring responsibilities is on the rise, unpaid carers are an often hidden or invisible group who support family members, partners, friends or neighbours without pay. An unpaid carer can be of any age or identity and provides help and support to a person who could not manage without that support due to physical or mental illness, frailty or addiction, or any other reason. LGBTQ+ carers are even more invisible. As of August 2019, Carers UK estimates 390,000 people from the LGBTQ+ community are unpaid carers, but research on LGBTQ+ carers remains scarce and there are no clear figures on the number of unpaid carers within the LGBTQ+ community. 

Challenges 

The challenges of caring are well documented by organisations such as Carers UK and The Carers Trust. This includes carers struggling to find time for their own health concerns and needs, experiencing poor mental health, isolation and exhaustion to name a few. Some of the barriers that carers face can be exemplified and compounded when carers also identify as LGBTQ+. This can be because the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to experience higher rates of depression, anxiety as well as being more at risk of homelessness and substance misuse (LGBT Foundation report). The Carers UK research briefing focusing on LGB carers during the pandemic found that compared to their heterosexual counterparts LGB carers were more likely to have poor mental health and more likely to feel lonely or isolated.

There are also specific challenges that come from being an LGBTQ+ carer. A major challenge highlighted in a report on LGBT carers in England, ‘Can You See Us?’, was heteronormative assumptions or attitudes of support services. This can include assuming the carer is heterosexual, assuming family set up i.e., that the cared for or carers’ same sex partner is their friend or family member, or assumptions of gender identity based on gender presentation. The effect of such assumptions can erase a person’s identity and experience and put people in the uncomfortable position of having to ‘come out’ repeatedly and also, 'go back into the closet' to access services without experiencing discrimination.

Another challenge faced by LGBTQ+ carers can be the lack of understanding around the concept of chosen families. A chosen family or family of choice can be a network of friends, neighbours and ex-partners for example who for multiple and various reasons, such as rejection from biological family, are each other’s main source of support and care. In instances like this, LGBTQ+ carers may not be recognised as a carer and lose access to crucial information and support. There is a long history of caring within the LGBTQ+ community that may not fit the mould of the unpaid carer. For example, during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s, the LGBTQ+ community rallied to provide care for friends and neighbours who became increasingly ill with the disease.

These are just a few of the challenges and barriers LGBTQ+ carers can face but trans and gender nonconforming carers can face even further difficulties. As highlighted by the Carers UK research briefing, more needs to be done to involve trans and gender nonconforming carers in research to ensure their specific experiences and support needs can be understood and met. Such challenges can include discrimination like misgendering as well as physical challenges as a result of medically transitioning which may affect their ability to care.

Get involved

With all this in mind, the LGBTQ+ carers research project seeks to address the gaps in knowledge and resources available to involve LGBTQ+ unpaid carers in research to ensure involvement of the very group it wishes to benefit. To get involved fill in the form here or contact e.zamani@sheffield.ac.uk or keisha.tomlinson@sheffield.ac.uk for more information.

Published on 13/03/2023 by Keisha Tomlinson