Social contexts of intersectional stigma resulted in shame, concealing identities, and fear of accessing safer sex materials. Participants discussed how structural contexts such as heteronormativity in sexual health education and a lack of access to safer sex tools constrained their ability to practice safer sex. Social-ecological approaches to understanding sexual health guided this study. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 51 participants, including 16 LGBTQ youth aged 15-24, 21 LGBTQ adults aged 25 and above, and 14 key informants who worked with LGBTQ persons. This qualitative study explored the sexual health needs of LGBTQ persons in the NWT. Yet little is known of their sexual health needs.
LGBTQ persons in NWT are at the nexus of LGBTQ and Arctic health disparities. The Northwest Territories (NWT) has among Canada's highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Scant research has addressed health and well-being among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) persons in the Arctic.
