How to reach out to and involve LGBT young people

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How to reach out to and involve LGBT young people
Jill Little Policy and Training
Officer Public Partnership Forum
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• In order to Reach out to and involve LGBT Young
  People, we need to
• UNDERSTAND their identities
• RECOGNISE their experiences
• IDENTIFY their needs

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LGBT Youth Scotland

• National youth organisation
• Established in 1989 support empower LGBT young
  people
• Provide services to
• Young people through groups work, one to one
  support and mentoring, outreach work, peer
  education, volunteering
• Professionals and practitioners through policy
  influencing work, research, training

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Understand LGBT young peoples identities
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LGBT stands forLesbian Gay
BisexualTransgenderBut what do these words
mean?
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Lesbian a female who is emotionally and
physically attracted to other femalesGay - A
male who is emotionally and physically attracted
to other males. Some women and girls prefer to
refer to themselves as gay women rather than
lesbianBisexual a person who is emotionally
and physically attracted to women and
menTransgender this is an umbrella term used
to describe a range of people whose gender
identity or gender expression differs in some way
from the assumptions made about them when they
were born
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Recognising LGBT young peoples experiences
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EFFECTS OF HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING

• Negative school experience
• Earlier school leaving
• Truancy
• Lower attainment for LGBT young people
• Harassment of same-sex attracted young people
  can contribute, among other things, to lack of
  sleep, loss of appetite, isolation, nervousness,
  being upset or angry, elevated rates of actual
  and attempted suicide and self-harm, absenteeism,
  truancy and limited achievement at school.
  Warwick, Chase and Aggleton, 2004
• You will teach pupils who are LGBT and/or are
  experiencing homophobic bullying or whose
  parents/friend/family are LGB or T

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Identifying LGBT young peoples needs
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• We have a legal requirement to provide equality
  in health services irrespective of sexual
  orientation or gender identity
• True!
• The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
  2007 prohibit discrimination on the grounds of
  sexual orientation in the provision of goods,
  facilities and services including health care

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• The World Health Organisation (WHO) removed
  homosexuality from its classification of
  illnesses in
• 1993

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• The right for legal recognition of true gender
  for transsexuals finally came in.
• 2004
• The Gender Recognition Act 2004 means that
  transsexuals can now apply to have their birth
  certificate changed so that their legal documents
  reflect their true gender

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• Lesbian women do not need to have a smear test
  as they dont have sex with men therefore are not
  at risk of cervical cancer
• False!
• Every woman regardless of sexual orientation
  needs to have a smear test
• Seventeen percent of lesbian and bisexual women
  have never had a smear test compared with 7
  percent of the general population
• One in ten who have not had a test have been
  told they are not at risk (Stonewall Scotland)

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• If young people are not out to services and the
  chance to disclose is not offered by service
  staff, then LGBT service users will remain
  invisible
• True!
• While monitoring of sexual orientation or gender
  identity can be difficult, asking questions in an
  open and honest format can make a massive
  difference

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Thank you! training_at_lgbtyouth.org.uk More details
in your info packs