In Ireland, over-55 homosexuals and lesbians face a double discrimination. As in the catholic island being old and homosexual is a double deadly sin. So much so that the majority of these citizens lives alone, without a partner and has many difficulties in integrating into the society. To an extent that one out of ten did not have the courage to come out neither with his family nor with the closest friends. A secret that is hidden mainly for the fear of harassment (26,6%) or isolation (34,6%). A real discomfort that finds confirmation from the data on alcohol abuse. Since, according to a recent survey, the 82,8% admits of hitting the bottle both as an incentive to find the strength of coming out and as a palliative treatment to ease daily bullying. These are some of the data disclosed by the first report on older LGBT in Ireland promoted by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN).
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