FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

October 8, 2024 

CONTACT: 

Malkia Hutchinson, National Center for Lesbian Rights | mhutchinson@nclrights.org 

NCLR to be the New Home of the National LGBTQ Women’s Community Survey Created by the Late Urvashi Vaid 

“The {LGBTQ} rights movement is not a party. It is not a lifestyle. It is not a hair style. It is not a fad or a fringe or a sickness. It is not about sin or salvation. The {LGBTQ} rights movement is an integral part of the American promise of freedom.” – Urvashi Vaid, 1993 

As one of her final acts of activism and exploration in her search of justice, Urvashi Vaid and Justice Work, the social justice research organization she founded, along with the Critical Race Lab at Emory University created the most comprehensive study to date of LGBTQ women. The study was designed to investigate the complex web of discrimination and structural violence faced by women and nonbinary people who partner with women. The results of this study led to the development of a groundbreaking data set for seeing and understanding the lives and needs of queer women. 

NCLR is proud to become the new stewards of this data and look forward to the policy and programming this data will inform for years to come. LGBTQ women are rich in diverse experience and, due to systems of oppression such as sexism, homophobia, transphobia and racism within our culture, are severely under-studied and resourced. 

“NCLR is proud to be the permanent home of the LGBTQ Women’s Community Survey” says Imani Rupert-Gordon, President of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “This groundbreaking report is the most inclusive, comprehensive, and diverse of its kind. Too often, decisions about the LGBTQ community have been made based on a limited collection of perspectives. Having access to this wealth of data will allow us to better advocate for our entire community.”The comprehensive data set of 5,002 completed surveys is organized around twenty thematic areas and examined through eight demographic lenses. The data has already released many reports, including the Health Findings Brief released today. This data finds that LGBTQ women experience high rates of trauma, barriers to care, higher rates of arthritis, asthma and cervical cancer and a shorter lifespan than their non-LGBTQ counterparts. In spite of these challenges, survey respondents also articulated resiliency and community as ways to help them survive and thrive. NCLR is honored to continue Urvashi’s work in improving the lives of LGBTQ women. 

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The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the human and civil rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding, NCLR has maintained a longstanding commitment to racial and economic justice and the LGBTQ community’s most vulnerable. www.nclrights.org