No Safe Place: A Qualitative Examination of Minority Stress Experiences Among 2SLGBTQ+ Individuals in the Waterloo Region

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of socio-ecological stressors impacting 2S/LGBTQ+ individuals in the Waterloo Region in Ontario, Canada in the new wave of anti-queer rhetoric. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews with 2S/LGBTQ+ community members (N = 30) in the Waterloo Region. Braun & Clarke’s six-step process of thematic analysis was employed. Minority stress theory was used to assess how socio-ecological factors (e.g., structural discrimination) contribute to manifestations of minority stress and how this health shapes health and well-being. Participants reported experiences of distal stressors (e.g., institutional exclusion, violence, social marginalization) and proximal stressors (e.g., fear, identity concealment, and isolation) across different social and ecological contexts. Individuals with multiple marginalized identities described excess minority stress. The findings highlight an urgent need for trauma-informed, intersectional approaches in service provision, community support, and policy development. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on the mental health and social challenges faced by 2S/LGBTQ+ communities. Given the current socio-political climate in Canada, further inquiry is essential to not only document ongoing harms but also to identify persistent gaps and failures in program implementation and make recommendations facilitating the delivery of services to alleviate these shortcomings.