As leaders at SAGE, the world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people, we often hear stories like Laila’s. The questions she is grappling with reflect the experience of a growing number of LGBTQ+ elders around the world who are now living longer and experiencing isolation, financial instability, and discrimination at rates disproportionate to the general population.
It is difficult to estimate the number of LGBTQ+ elders alive today. Most governments do not collect information based on gender identity and sexual orientation. However, the data is clear on one point: the number and proportion of older people in the general population is rapidly increasing.The World Health Organization projects that the number of people over 60 years old will double to over 2 billion by 2050. Indeed, this demographic trend is occurring in every country worldwide, most prominently in low- and middle-income countries, where 80% of older people will reside by 2050. […]
Click here to read the full piece. This story was originally published by Advocate on August 29, 2024.
