In Sickness and In Health: Norfolk’s LGBT+ Healthcare History

This LGBT+ History Month, we are shining a light on the history of the LGBTQ+ community’s experience of health and healthcare.

From hormone replacement therapy and mental health to AIDS and safe sex, this history has been extremely complicated – leaving LGBTQ+ people still facing health inequalities even today. Taking a look through the LGBTQ+ Ephemera Collection at the Norfolk Heritage Centre in the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, Queer Norfolk have chosen objects to explore LGBTQ+ people’s complex relationship to healthcare, health and wellbeing.

HIV/AIDS

It is thought that HIV/AIDS first appeared in the UK in the early 1980s. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) can be transmitted through sexual intercourse with an infected person, sharing contaminated needles, childbirth or through infected blood products. The disease damages the immune system, eventually turning into AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome). AIDS makes it harder for the body to fight off other diseases, meaning even simple infections become deadly.

Before effective treatment was available, those who were diagnosed with the disease were not expected to live more than a couple of years. Effective treatments emerged around the turn of the century, and by 2015, only around 1% of people living with AIDS died from the disease. It is estimated that 20,000 people have died from HIV/AIDS in the UK.

Mental Health and Wellbeing

Studies have shown that mental health issues are more prevalent within the LGBTQ+ community compared to those who do not identify as LGBTQ+. This includes higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and self-harm. The reasons for this disparity are complex but are often linked to stigma, prejudice, and discrimination experienced by the LGBTQ+ community.

Organisations such as EAST, the Norwich Gay Men’s Health Project and Women on Women provided support during the challenging HIV/AIDS pandemic and the increased prejudice experienced by LGBTQ+ people at this time. More recently, as mental health services are stretched, community support through charities such as Mind and Norfolk LGBT+ health project have stepped in to provide support and counselling.

Trans Healthcare

Healthcare for transgender people has changed dramatically over the past century. Despite the development of modern medicine allowing for highly sophisticated forms of transition-related care, this change has not come without its own complications. Research collated at the end of 2022 shows that the average wait time for a first appointment with an NHS Gender Identity Clinic is 4.5 years and in some regions the wait can be as long as 6.5 years. Though specialist care is available through private organisations, the high cost of treatments is a barrier to many trans people. Other access barriers may include a lack of appropriate or regional services, stigma from healthcare professionals, exclusion and discrimination.

In response to these barriers, some people undertake DIY transition methods. This involves undergoing hormone replacement therapy without the supervision of a licensed medical provider. DIY processes can be risky and often rely heavily on community-generated resources as a form of peer support. Their necessity, however, comes from a lack of suitable options for people in need of transition-related care.

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If you’re keen to see more about Norfolk’s LGBTQ+ healthcare history, head to the Millennium Library in Norwich to see a display of the materials shown in this article, and more!