Research Matters: How many people are LGBTIQ? : A fact sheet by Rainbow Health Victoria

M. Carman, C. Farrugia, A. Bourne, J. Power, S. Rosenberg

Accurately estimating the number of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse and intersex (LGBTIQ*) in Australia is a critical gap in research. The lack of current population-level data limits understanding of health and wellbeing needs of LGBTIQ people, and the development of policy and programs for LGBTIQ communities. Population numbers can be a powerful advocacy tool when arguing for greater focus and priority attention to be given to a particular group. However, there are also significant problems with a paradigm that places value on a group of people based on its number, rather than valuing the wellbeing and rights of diverse