Content warning: This article discusses sensitive topics, including mental health challenges, self-harm, suicide, and violence. If you or someone you know is struggling with these issues, please reach out to a mental health professional or a support hotline for assistance.

About 62 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) youth experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, a lawmaker said Thursday.

Citing The Trevor Project and other local research, Bataan First District Rep. Geraldine Roman, the country's first transgender person elected to Congress, also noted that 59 percent of LGBTQI youth have attempted to harm themselves in the past year.

Additionally, Roman added that 75 percent of LGBTQI youth have had suicidal thoughts and nearly half have attempted to take their own life.

Moreover, a UNICEF study in 2016 reported that 85.1 percent of gays and 75.8 percent of transgenders experienced psychological violence, while 36.7 percent of gays and 23 percent of lesbians experienced sexual violence.

With that, Roman renewed calls to pass the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression or SOGIE Equality Bill in order to protect the marginalized and families with members from the LGBTQI community and their children "who are not receiving enough protection."

"At its core, the SOGIE Equality Bill seeks to protect the vulnerable," Roman said during the Bonggang-Bonggang Bata: Protect LGBTQI Children media conference in Quezon City.

"Diverse families and children receive few protections at present, and rainbow kids face challenges that all children deserve to be protected from," she added.

The lawmaker vowed to continue working with families, communities, and stakeholders "where every Filipino child can grow up safe and happy."

Another report from Human Rights Watch revealed that LGBTQI high school students who experience verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment, and discriminatory policies are prone to experience depression, isolation, and suicidal ideation.

Advocates from Save the Children Philippines and Babaylanes also pressed for the immediate passage of the SOGIE Bill as these numbers "are not just statistics" but real experiences of real people.

They called for policy change critical to protecting LGBTQI youth, emphasizing that anti-discrimination ordinances and the passage of the SOGIE Equality Bill "are important steps towards a society that is safe, supportive, and full of protection for every child, regardless of their SOGIESC."

The SOGIE Bill — a measure against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity — has been pending in both the House of Representatives and the Senate amid opposition from religious groups.