A survey conducted by The Center’s Women’s Resource Center has found that the majority of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in San Diego feel alienated within their own community.

The Women’s Needs Assessment survey, the findings of which were presented at The Center’s Community Coalition Lunch on April 15, set out to determine LBT women’s requirements, specifically in healthcare, community and social programming.

Of the 300 surveys answered, the focus group consisted of 76 percent lesbian, 20 percent bisexual and 4 percent transgender.

Of that group, 56 percent were single, 22 percent were parents and 57 percent had an income above $35,000.

Heather Berberet, director of mental health services at Walden Family Services and the survey’s organizer, said, “One of the most powerful things we heard during the survey was how disconnected and left out women felt from the avenues available to them. Women described how difficult it was to feel a social connection and how disappointed they were with that. This sense of feeling uncomfortable within their own community is very distressing.” She added, “Most did not think there even was a community; period.”

The survey results showed that the most excluded of the LBT community, those that felt isolated from society by a lack of “mirroring” of their personal circumstances included women of color, transgender women, bisexual women and those that are parents.

“To feel a sense of belonging, they had to see someone who matched their ethnicity, age, gender, parental and financial status and sexual orientation,” Berberet said.

She added that set “cliques,” such as that of the young political activists, professional or wealthy lesbians and older lesbian women, further galvanized community division.

However, the survey also discovered that the majority of LBT women felt discrimination of their identity “created political change, purely by their existence in society,” which Berberet felt was a salient part of LBT women’s identity activism.

A lack of money and time, a lack of GLBT-friendly childcare and fear of repercussions within society because of their involvement were all barriers to the women’s participation in community events.

Fear also drove a potentially dangerous trend in healthcare, as LBT women’s apprehension about visiting their doctor excluded them from receiving preventative care in areas where they have a higher disease risk, such as breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers.

“Fear of sexual orientation bias really stops women from going to the doctors,” Berberet said, “even for those who have insurance or money to go.”

One in four respondents had not visited a doctor in the last year, and those that did see doctors went for acute care or routine pap smears.

One in five women had had a negative experience during a pap smear and one in 10 during a mammogram, where they felt the health provider was not “appropriately sensitive” to their needs.

Obstacles to accessing care included fear of coming out and the inability to predict the care providers’ response; fear of not receiving the same level of treatment because of their sexual orientation; and inconsistency in care, which led to repeat disclosures of sexual orientation.

One in five had no health insurance, possibly because of an absence of domestic partnership health benefits, and half the parents had no health insurance for their children, although Berberet felt these statistics were not disproportionate to other sectors of society, even with the availability of Medi-Cal.

The women were unaware of resources already available to them, such as the Toni Atkins Lesbian Health Fund, which helps low income or uninsured lesbian and bisexual women access necessary healthcare.

“Before this study, I had the perception that training providers meant more competence by them, but from this we’ve learnt they just need to respond sensitively and professionally. If healthcare providers want to include the women of this community, they need targeted outreach programs and to train their providers in appropriate responses to these women,” Berberet said.

However, she added, until LBT-sensitivity training is given during healthcare providers’ schooling, this problem will continue to arise.

Other needs identified included more senior housing, more domestic violence shelter beds, more affordable mental healthcare and an increased awareness of the resources already available.

The Center now plans to aid the “mirroring” process by enhancing partnerships between a diverse cross-spectrum of women, and hopes to facilitate a connection between women in the community and community leaders.

For an LBT-friendly healthcare directory, visit this article online at www.gaylesbiantimes.com for a link to The Center’s website.