The Trevor Project Releases Work Safety Guide for LGBTQ+ Youth

Only 9% of young LGBTQ+ people perceive their workplace as a safe space. The organization responds with a practical guide for companies, leaders, and HR teams. 

The Trevor Project Mexico has published the Guide to Creating Safe Work Environments for LGBTQ+ Youth, a practical resource aimed at companies, HR departments, and people in leadership positions.

The document addresses a documented gap. According to the organization's own 2024 Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Youth, only 9% of this group perceives their workplace as a safe space. The remaining 91% experience it, to varying degrees, as an environment of tension, silence, or risk.

The guide launched on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, commemorated each May 17. That date marks the anniversary of the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. The guide frames emotional safety at work as a health issue, not merely an organizational culture matter. 

Measurable Consequences

The organization’s 2024 survey establishes a direct link between the work environment and the mental health of young LGBTQ+ people. Those who work in non-affirming spaces report a suicide attempt rate of 33%. Among those who work in affirming environments, that figure drops to 25%. 

This data shifts the conversation about workplace inclusion beyond corporate reputation or regulatory compliance. It reframes the management of the work environment as a variable with direct impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of employees. For HR teams and leadership, it signals that inaction also carries a cost.

"Although they may seem minor or unimportant, everyday acts of violence in the workplace generate emotional, psychological, and even physical harm to LGBTQ+ youth. They tend to have a deep cumulative impact that is not always visible, but is decisive in their wellbeing," says Erika Barrera, Director of Digital Crisis Services, The Trevor Project Mexico. 

Behind the Launch

The guide arrives during a period of corporate rollback on diversity policies. Since 2025, a significant number of large and multinational companies have reduced or eliminated their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. The trend, which originated primarily in the United States, has affected the global operations of several companies with a presence in Latin America.

In that environment, the guide from The Trevor Project Mexico fills an operational gap, serving as a resource with concrete instructions for those who want to act but lack a clear framework. Its intended audience is not exclusively DEI teams. It targets anyone with the ability to influence the work environment: an area manager, a team leader, a HR professional, or a colleague without a formal leadership title. 

The guide addresses four dimension. The first is language: the use of inclusive forms in internal communications, policies, and institutional documents. The second is physical space: adapting restrooms, uniforms, and signage to remove gender barriers. The third is internal policy: reporting protocols, response mechanisms, and criteria for handling situations of discrimination or harassment. The fourth is culture: building active allies and sustaining ongoing training programs.

To connect these dimensions, the guide proposes a four-axis intervention model: prevent, detect, respond, and repair. The framework acknowledges that organizations do not all start from the same place and that required actions vary according to the maturity level of each environment.

With this publication, The Trevor Project Mexico places a resource in the hands of companies that can be integrated into existing onboarding, training, and policy review processes. It does not prescribe a single roadmap; instead, it offers a set of criteria that each organization can adapt to its own context.

The guide enters the market at a moment when legislative and social pressure on working conditions for vulnerable populations continues to grow across several markets in the region. 

The Trevor Project is the leading global organization in crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth. In 2024, it published the first mental health survey of this population in Latin America.  As mental health consolidates as a strategic pillar of talent management, access to specialized external networks reduces the burden on internal teams and expands the support available to employees.