# data[].attributes.headline
Neuroqueer: the writings of Dr Nick Walker

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Neuroqueer: the writings of Dr Nick Walker

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https://neuroqueer.com/neuroqueer-an-introduction/

# data[].attributes.headline
Does it get better? LGBTQ social work students and experiences with harmful discourse

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Does it get better? LGBTQ social work students and experiences with harmful discourse

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https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2019.1568337

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Abstract
Although the field of social work is grounded in social justice, the social work educational experience, including classrooms, may not live up to this value, especially for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study examined the experiences of harmful discourse in social work classrooms for LGBTQ students. Findings indicate that students experienced being misgendered, tokenized, and erased through cis-/heteronormative language and classroom teachings. Although social work is guided by frameworks of social justice, microaggressions and discrimination may be vaguely glossed over, if addressed at all. This study highlights the gap between the values social work teaches and how social work education is delivered.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Does it get better? LGBTQ social work students and experiences with harmful discourse

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Abstract Although the field of social work is grounded in social justice, the social work educational experience, including classrooms, may not live up to this value, especially for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study examined the experiences of harmful discourse in social work classrooms for LGBTQ students.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p08cklsr

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BBC Sounds - Pride & Joy - Available Episodes

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Listen to the latest episodes of Pride & Joy on BBC Sounds

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Improving LGBTQ+ Young People's Experiences of Social Care

# data[].attributes.subject
Improving LGBTQ+ Young People's Experiences of Social Care

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Improving LGBTQ+ Young People's Experiences of Social Care

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Why now is the time to Take Pride in supporting LGBTQ+ rights

Stonewall staff

Research tells us that in 2022, the United Kingdom is a country that is proud to be inclusive; one where its people are increasingly embracing their LGBTQ+ neighbours, colleagues, family and friends...

Stonewall statement on Jake Daniels coming out

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Why now is the time to Take Pride in supporting LGBTQ+ rights

Stonewall staff

Research tells us that in 2022, the United Kingdom is a country that is proud to be inclusive; one where its people are increasingly embracing their LGBTQ+ neighbours, colleagues, family and friends...

Stonewall statement on Jake Daniels coming out

Stonewall staff

Liz Ward, Director of Programmes at Stonewall (she/her) said: 'We are proud that Jake has felt able to share his truth with the world. To come out publicly as the UK's first openly gay professional...

6 campaigns for lesbian equality you should know about

Stonewall staff

From education to the workplace to building a rainbow family, there are still many areas of life where lesbians don't yet have true equality. In the 1980s, the decade in which we were founded, '...

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The UK Government committed to banning conversion therapy in England and Wales in 2018, yet nearly four years have passed without a ban. But across the world, many places already have bans in place...

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Jean Vianney Cordeiro

Content warning - mental health, eating disorders, weight loss This year, our trustee Jean Vianney is running the London Marathon to raise money for Stonewall. Do you want to take on a challenge to...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stonewall staff Research tells us that in 2022, the United Kingdom is a country that is proud to be inclusive; one where its people are increasingly embracing their LGBTQ+ neighbours, colleagues, family and friends... Stonewall staff Liz Ward, Director of Programmes at Stonewall (she/her) said: 'We are proud that Jake has felt able to share his truth with the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
LGBTQ+ youth in care is a resource site dedicated to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ young people and care leavers.

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Last updated: 20 May 2022

Introduction

Best practice for protecting LGBTQ+ children and young people

All children and young people have the right to be protected and kept safe from abuse and neglect.

LGBTQ+ children and young people face the same risks as all children and young people, but they are at greater risk of some types of abuse. For example, they might experience homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying or hate crime. They might also be more vulnerable to or at greater risk of sexual abuse, online abuse or sexual exploitation (Barnardo’s and Fox, 2016; McGeeney et al, 2017; Xu and Zheng, 2014).

What does LGBTQ+ stand for?

LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and more. This term covers a broad range of people who have different lived experiences and may be at different stages in exploring their identity. It includes people who are asexual or have differences in sex development (sometimes known as being intersex).

There are a wide variety of terms people might use to describe their sexuality (who they feel attracted to) or their gender identity (their personal, internal perception of their own gender). For example, someone who has a different gender identity from the gender that was registered at their birth might identify as trans or transgender. Other people whose gender identity doesn’t sit comfortably with ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ might identify as non-binary, agender, gender fluid or genderqueer (Government Equalities Office, 2018).

Children and young people might identify as LGBTQ+ in more than one way, for example they could be gay and transgender. Children who are LGBTQ+ might also have other characteristics that mean they face additional challenges or need extra support, for example being in care, being disabled or being from a Black, Asian or minoritised ethnic group.

Adults who work with LGBTQ+ children and young people need to understand the challenges they might experience and know what action to take to support and help keep them safe.

What does this page cover?

Adversities faced by LGBTQ+ children and young people.

Risk of harm for LGBTQ+ children and young people.

Understanding intersectionality.

Policies and procedures you should have in place.

Best practice for supporting LGBTQ+ children and young people.

Relevant legislation and guidance.

Adversities

Adversities faced by LGBTQ+ children and young people

People’s perceptions of, or ideas about, LGBTQ+ young people’s identity can make children more vulnerable to negative experiences or interactions. These might include:

experiencing homophobia, biphobia and transphobia (The Children’s Society, Victim Support and National Police Chiefs Council, 2018; LGBT Health & Wellbeing et al, 2018; McDermott, Hughes and Rawlings, 2018; Scottish Government, 2021)

feeling the pressure of sexual and gender norms (McDermott, Hughes and Rawlings, 2018; Scottish Government, 2021)

having to manage their sexual and gender identity across different life areas (for example, coming out at school but not at home) (McDermott, Hughes and Rawlings, 2018)

feeling isolated or ‘different’ from their family and friends (The Children’s Society, Victim Support and National Police Chiefs Council, 2018; LGBT Health & Wellbeing et al, 2018)

feeling like they can’t express their identity because they’re worried about people’s responses (LGBT Health & Wellbeing et al, 2018)

having complicated or negative feelings about their gender identity or sexuality (McDermott, Hughes and Rawlings, 2018)

experiencing gender dysphoria (NHS, 2021).

“I am transgender but it’s so hard living like this when there are so many ignorant people out there. It’s really stressing me out and sometimes I wish I wasn’t here. I wish people would just accept me for who I am and that I could feel normal”

Childline counselling session with a child, age unknown.

These negative experiences and interactions can impact on all areas of a young person’s life.

Family relationships

Some young people who talk to Childline about gender and sexuality also talk about their family relationships. Topics discussed include:

experiencing negative reactions from family members after coming out

being afraid of not being accepted by their family

worrying about not being able to be themselves at home.

“I came out to my parents recently and they were really shocked and shouted at me which really upset me. I feel uncomfortable and I don’t like being at home as I am having to constantly hide how I am feeling. I have been going to the LGBT club at school and find it really helpful. It provides a safe space for me to be who I am. I feel I can talk to the teacher who runs the club about my feelings as they are so supportive and understanding”

Childline counselling session with a 13-year-old child.

Homelessness

LGBTQ+ young people are more likely to become homeless than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. This might be because of:

parental rejection

being subject to physical, emotional or sexual abuse from family members

family violence

(Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), 2015).

If they are homeless, LGBTQ+ young people are more likely to experience targeted violence and be exposed to sexual exploitation. For example, perpetrators might offer a child a safe space to stay in order to sexually exploit or abuse them (The Children’s Society, Victim Support and National Police Chiefs’ Council, 2018).

Mental health

Puberty can be a distressing and sometimes traumatic time for LGBTQ+ children and young people as their body and hormones start to change. They might start to have new or confusing feelings about their gender or sexuality. This can be particularly distressing if young people don’t have anyone to talk about things with or don’t feel supported.

Research suggests that LGBTQ+ children and young people might be at higher risk than their non-LGBTQ+ peers of:

self-harm

experiencing suicidal thoughts and feelings

anxiety

depression

(McDermott, Hughes and Rawlings, 2018; LGBT Health & Wellbeing, Scottish Trans, Equality Network, LGBT Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland, 2018; Becerra-Culqui, 2018).

Isolation or barriers to speaking out

There are some factors that might mean LGBTQ+ children and young people feel less able to speak out about any worries or negative experiences they’re having.

Barriers include:

worrying that telling someone will ‘out’ them before they’re ready

fearing that it will make the bullying or abuse worse

thinking no one will believe them

feeling they are to blame for what they’re experiencing

worrying that adults will think their gender identity or sexuality is to blame for their experience of abuse

(Bradlow et al, 2017; The Children’s Society, Victim Support and National Police Chiefs Council, 2018; Stonewall and Childnet International, 2021).

Young people who are questioning or exploring their sexuality or gender identity might have confusing or difficult feelings. They might worry they will face discrimination if they come out or not feel able to talk to anyone about what they’re going through. All of this can cause mental distress (Becerra-Culqui et al, 2018).

Risks of harm

Risks of harm

Evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ children and young people might be at increased risk of some forms of harm.

Child sexual exploitation

LGBTQ+ relationships are underrepresented in educational resources and the media (Barnardo’s and Fox, 2016). This means there are fewer examples of relevant, healthy relationships available to LGBTQ+ young people. If LGBTQ+ young people are not taught about healthy and unhealthy relationships, it might be easier for an abuser to groom them into believing an abusive relationship is normal.

If LGBTQ+ young people are unable to get information about sex and relationships from school or family, they might seek advice and support from people in adult spaces, such as gay clubs. This is particularly true of young people who live in rural areas or in communities where their gender identity or sexuality is not accepted. Adult spaces don’t have the same safeguarding and child protection measures in place as spaces specifically for children. Children might be pressured or coerced into doing something they don’t want to do, particularly if they are already isolated and don’t have anywhere else to turn for support (Barnardo’s and Fox, 2016).

The adults around a child can sometimes assume that it’s normal for LGBTQ+ young people to have sex at a younger age as part of exploring their identity. This means the adults might not consider being involved in underage sexual activity as a possible sign of abuse, and do not take appropriate action to protect the child. Similarly, professionals might not always consider the possibility that an adult woman is sexually exploiting a girl (Barnardo’s and Fox, 2016).

Online abuse

The internet can be a great place of advice, support and community for young LGBTQ+ people. However, there are also risks associated with using the internet.

LGBTQ+ children might use adult dating apps to meet other LGBTQ+ people, especially if they can’t find inclusive offline spaces or communities nearby. These apps are designed for adults and are not moderated in the same way as platforms designed specifically for children. This means the young people using them might encounter sexual content which could be harmful, and are likely to come into contact with adults who are looking for a sexual relationship (Internet Matters, 2021).

"I am really struggling with my emotions. I met someone online and we got on really well. We talked a lot and he knew I was desperate for money so offered to pay me for nudes. I trusted him and really needed the money, so I sent them. I immediately regretted it afterwards and got scared so I have blocked him and deleted everything to do with the account and images. I feel so disgusting and vile about it. I just want to be able to live with myself and not feel constantly guilty. I am ashamed and have learnt a lesson from it and will never let myself be manipulated like this again".

Childline counselling session with a 15-year-old boy

There is some evidence to suggest that LGBTQ+ children and young people are more likely to meet a partner or ask someone out online (McGeeney et al, 2017). The research suggests this could be because young people find it hard to meet other openly LGBTQ+ people in their community, or because they don’t want to come out to people in their offline lives (McGeeney et al, 2017). This research also showed that gay and lesbian young people were significantly more likely to meet up with someone offline who they had first met online and who was not who they said they were (McGeeney et al, 2017).

Online grooming could happen to any child or young person. But if an LGBTQ+ child or young person hasn’t come out, or feels that their gender identity or sexuality needs to be kept secret, perpetrators can take advantage of this to prevent the child from telling anyone about the relationship or to coerce them into meeting offline without telling anyone else.

Any young person might become involved in sending or receiving sexual photos or messages online. They might do this consensually, or they could feel pressured by their peers or adults. Once an image is shared online, young people have no control over how other people might use it. Some adults online might target LGBTQ+ young people to groom or blackmail them into sending explicit images or videos of themselves (Internet Matters, 2021).

They might seek information about a range of LGBTQ+ issues online, particularly if they don’t have any other sources of information. While doing so, they might come across inaccurate material, hate comments or content that isn’t age appropriate. All of these can cause children distress (Government Equalities Office, 2018; Ofsted and Brown, 2021).

Children might see anti-LGBTQ+ posts or homophobic, biphobic and transphobic comments even if they aren’t specifically looking for information about LGBTQ+ issues. These can be distressing whether or not the child or young person is directly being targeted (Internet Matters, 2021).

Bullying

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying is based on prejudice or negative attitudes about gay, lesbian bisexual or transgender people. This can include name calling, using offensive language and negative stereotyping. Bullying can happen anywhere, including at home, at school or online (cyberbullying).

HBT bullying can affect children who have come out as LGBTQ+, who are questioning their gender identity or sexuality or who don’t conform to gender stereotypes and are seen as ‘different’ (Scottish Government, 2021). It might also affect children and young people who have LGBTQ+ family members.

“People in my school bully me. They push me around, hit me and spit at me and call me names. I go to the LGBTQ+ club at school to avoid them, but they follow me and keep shouting names at me. I feel stressed and annoyed and like I am not part of the school or welcomed anymore. I am too scared to tell on the bullies because last time I reported them it made the bullying worse.”

Childline counselling session with a 13-year-old child

Some children have reported experiencing HBT bullying, verbal assault and physical assault in school because of their gender identity or sexuality. This can leave them feeling unsafe in school environments (Government Equalities Office, 2018; Ofsted, 2021; Scottish Government, 2021).

Children and young people who experience HBT bullying can be more likely to have suicidal thoughts and feelings, or self-harm (McDermott, Hughes and Rawlings, 2017).

Intersectionality

Taking an intersectional approach

LGBTQ+ children, like all children, have diverse identities. As well as experiencing prejudice or bias related to their gender identity or sexuality, they might experience challenges relating to other parts of their identity, such as:

ethnicity

disability

mental health

having been in care

where they live, how much money they have and how much access they have to education.

The way these challenges interact is known as intersectionality.

For example, a child may be growing up in a culture which does not accept their sexuality or gender identity. It can be difficult for children to cope with this and it can have a negative impact on their welfare.

“I’m upset because I came out to my family as transgender and they’re refusing to support me. My family are from Pakistan and don’t want me to dress in girl’s clothes because they say it will bring shame to the family. I’ve been self-harming and recently the pressure from my family has been so much that I’m feeling suicidal again, I don’t know what to do”

Childline counselling session with a transgender girl aged 16.

> Listen to our podcast episode on intersectionality in social work practice

Learning for practitioners: understanding the child

When you’re working with a child, consider all the factors that might influence their safety and wellbeing. Take the time to get to know them, understand their lived experience and how they might face risks due to how other might perceive their identity.

You could consider creating safe spaces for children who have similar identities and come from the same community. This might help them talk about their experiences and get peer support.

Find out more about:

> Safeguarding children who come from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities

> Safeguarding d/Deaf and disabled children and young people

> Safeguarding children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

> Looked after children

> Child mental health

Policies and procedures

Creating policies and procedures

LGBTQ+ inclusive policies

Your organisation’s policies and procedures should set out how you will create a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for all children and young people.

You should ensure that LGBTQ+ children and young people are fully represented in all your policies and procedures as part of your work to ensure your organisation is fully inclusive.

Think about how you can work collaboratively and make sure you include the views of people in the LGBTQ+ community. How can you engage with the LGBTQ+ adults and children in your organisation so that they feel comfortable?

For example, you should consider how you can support transgender and non-binary children and young people to wear the clothes (e.g uniform or sports kit) and use the toilets and changing rooms that they feel comfortable with. Your policies should reflect that decisions need to be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration all children’s safety. You should discuss options with the young person and their parents or carers (as long as this does not put the young person at risk of harm) (Scottish Government, 2021).

It’s important to use appropriate language when talking to and about children and young people. You should ask LGBTQ+ children and young people what language they use to describe themselves, and use these terms in your policies and procedures.

> Read our blog about contextual safeguarding

Safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures

All organisations that work with children and young people need to have a safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures.

This should include your commitment to protect all children regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

You should make sure that your safeguarding and child protection policy recognises the additional risks and vulnerability factors for LGBTQ+ children and young people.

You should complete risk assessments for specific contexts, such as changing rooms, taking into account all safeguarding risks that might be present and taking appropriate action to keep all children safe (Scottish Government, 2021).

> Read more about safeguarding considerations for getting changed at school

> Find out more about writing a safeguarding and child protection policy and procedures

> Take our introductory safeguarding and child protection courses

Recognising and responding to child protection concerns

All your staff and volunteers should know how to recognise and respond to concerns about children and young people’s safety and welfare.

Concerns about LGBTQ+ children and young people should be dealt with sensitively, taking into consideration any complicated feelings they might have about their sexuality or gender identity. For example, if a child has been using adult dating apps you need to take immediate steps to keep them safe. But you should also consider the reasons why they might be using those apps.

Make sure children know they can talk to you about anything that’s worrying them. Make sure children also know about Childline and how they can contact them for confidential advice and support. Calls to 0800 1111 are free and children can also get support and advice via the Childline website.

Young people under 18 who are worried that a sexual image or video of them may have been shared online can use Childline and IWF’s Report Remove tool to see if it can be taken down.

> Learn more about recognising and responding to abuse

> Find out more about how to respond to a disclosure of abuse

Information sharing

If you are worried about a child or young person’s safety and welfare you should share this information promptly, following your organisation’s safeguarding and child protection procedures.

However, you should be mindful that LGBTQ+ children and young people might not want to come out to everyone in their life. Sharing a child or young person’s gender identity or sexuality might put them at extra risk if the person you tell is not supportive.

You could also break a child or young person’s trust if you share information about their gender identity or sexuality without their permission, or without letting them know first.

You should only share information about a child or young person’s sexuality or gender identity if they give you permission, or if it’s relevant to a child protection concern.

For example, you might have to tell someone about a young person’s sexuality or gender identity if:

they are experiencing homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying

they are using adult dating apps

there is a concern they might have been groomed or coerced into a sexual relationship

there is a concern they might be experiencing sexual abuse or exploitation

they are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness because their family are unsupportive of their gender identity or sexuality

(Stonewall, 2022).

Supporting children and young people

Supporting children and young people

There are a range of ways you can help support and protect the LGBTQ+ children, young people and families you work with.

Understanding a child’s lived experience

It’s important to remember that any child or young person you’re working with could be LGBTQ+, whether or not they have told you about their identity. You should aim to understand the lived experience of every child, the risks that might be present and how that interacts with their life and identity.

Make it clear to the children and young people you work with that you’re someone they can talk to about their identity and feel safe with. Be open minded and don’t make assumptions about a child’s sexuality or gender identity. Always consider how gender identity or sexuality could impact on their life and any risks they might face.

You could ask children and young people their pronouns, chosen name and how they would like to be referred to.

Relationships and sex education

Some young people who are exploring or questioning their sexuality or identity might struggle to accept themselves if they have insufficient knowledge about being LGBTQ+. This can contribute to low wellbeing or mental health issues (Ofsted and Brown, 2021).

LGBTQ+ people and families should be reflected throughout the curriculum to help LGBTQ+ children feel safe and included (Scottish Government, 2021). It is important that children and young people are taught about all kinds of relationships, including LGBTQ+ relationships. When having discussions about relationships, make it clear to children and young people that same sex relationships and different gender identities are valid and should be respected. Talk to them about what a healthy relationship looks like, and make sure they know who to talk to if they are ever worried about anything.

Each nation in the UK has guidance on how schools should deliver relationships and sex education.

Parents and carers can find out how to support children who are questioning or exploring their gender identity  and sexuality on the NSPCC website.

Mental health

Adults in your organisation should know how to recognise and respond to concerns about children and young people’s mental health.

> Find out more about how to recognise and respond to children’s mental health issues

Think about how your organisation can support LGBTQ+ children and young people who are struggling with their mental health and promote good emotional wellbeing.

The NSPCC website has information for parents and carers on how to recognise if a child is struggling with their mental health and how to support them.

Online safety

Your organisation should have an online safety policy that takes into account the additional risks LGBTQ+ children and young people might face online. Staff and volunteers should be able to recognise and respond to any child protection concerns about LGBTQ+ children and young people online.

Young people under 18 who are worried that a sexual image or video of them may have been shared online can use Childline and IWF’s Report Remove tool to see if it can be taken down.

The Childline website has lots of advice and information for children and young people about online safety.

Bullying

Creating an inclusive and safe environment in your organisation can help children and young people learn to respect everyone’s identity and reduce bullying.

Using resources that show different types of families can help improve children and young people’s behaviour and reduce homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying (Ofsted and Brown, 2021).

You should have an anti-bullying statement which sets out your commitment to preventing and tackling bullying and how you will respond to incidents.

Staff and volunteers should challenge gender stereotypes and any kind of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language. Your organisation’s behaviour codes should outline your expectations that everyone is treated with respect, both on- and offline.

Make sure children and young people know who in the organisation they can talk to if they are experiencing bullying.

> View our range of anti-bullying resources

The NSPCC website has advice for parents and carers on how to keep children safe from bullying.

Children and young people can find help on the Childline website if they’re being bullied.

Legislation and guidance

Legislation on safeguarding LGBTQ+ children and young people

Statutory guidance across the UK highlights the responsibility of those in education, community and care sectors to safeguard all children from all forms of abuse and neglect.

Find out more about the child protection system in:

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Safeguarding and child protection legislation and guidance for schools

LGBTQ+ children and young people in the UK are protected under equality legislation.

> Read more about children’s rights

Guidance on supporting LGBTQ+ children and young people in schools

Across the UK there is guidance and best practice information on supporting LGBTQ+ children and young people in schools. Organisations in other sectors might also find this helpful.

The House of Commons Library has published a briefing on bullying in schools in the UK, which provides information and signposts guidance on how schools can tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying (House of Commons Library, 2020a).

The House of Commons Library has also published a briefing giving an overview of provisions to support transgender children and young people in schools across the UK. It covers the Equality Act 2010, toilet facilities and changing rooms, sports, school uniforms, the curriculum and bullying (House of Commons Library, 2020).

In England, the Department for Education (DfE) has published non-statutory guidance for schools on the Equality Act 2010. This provides guidance on how schools should ensure that children and young people aren’t discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender reassignment (DfE, 2014).

Ofsted has published a research commentary on teaching about sex, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. This shares examples of good practice and covers school culture, the curriculum, teaching about sexuality and gender and engaging with parents. It also includes good practice examples from faith schools (Ofsted and Brown, 2021).

In Northern Ireland, the Education Authority (EA) has published guidance for schools and other education settings on supporting transgender children and young people. This includes information on creating an inclusive environment, the curriculum, bullying and practical considerations such as toilets, changing rooms and uniforms (EA, 2019).

In Scotland, the Scottish Government has published non-statutory guidance for schools on supporting transgender young people. This guidance includes information on:

child protection, confidentiality and information sharing

bullying and safety

language

mental health

the curriculum

a whole-school approach to supporting transgender young people

working with parents and carers

practical considerations such as toilets, physical activity and uniforms

(Scottish Government, 2021).

LGBT inclusive education has been a national requirement for schools in Scotland since 2021. The Scottish Government has created an online toolkit to help teachers embed LGBT learning themes throughout the Scottish curriculum (Scottish Government and Time for Inclusive Education (TIE), 2021).

In Wales, Estyn has published guidance on how schools can support LGBTQ+ children and young people and create an inclusive environment (PDF) (Estyn, 2020).

References

References

Albert Kennedy Trust (2015) LGBT youth homelessness: a UK national scoping of cause, prevalence, response, and outcome (PDF). [London]: Albert Kennedy Trust.

Barnardo’s and Fox, C. (2016) ‘It’s not on the radar’: the hidden diversity of children and young people at risk of sexual exploitation in England (PDF). Essex: Barnardo’s.

Becerra-Culqui, T. et al (2018) Mental health of transgender and gender nonconforming youth compared with their peers. Pediatrics, 141(5).

Bradlow, J. et al (2017) School report: the experiences of lesbian, gay, bi and trans young people in Britain's schools in 2017 (PDF). London: Stonewall.

Children’s Society, Victim Support and National Police Chiefs Council (NPSCC) (2018) Supporting LGBTQ+ children and young people at risk of child sexual exploitation: guidance for professionals (PDF). [London]: The Children’s Society.

Department for Education (DfE) (2014) Equality Act 2010: advice for schools. [Accessed 03/08/2021].

Education Authority (EA) (2019) Guidance for schools, EOSTAS centres and youth service on supporting transgender young people. [Accessed 18/10/2021].

Estyn (2020) Celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion: good practice in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) learners in schools and colleges (PDF). [Cardiff]: Estyn.

Government Equalities Office (2018) National LGBT survey: research report (PDF). Manchester: Government Equalities Office.

House of Commons Library (2020a) Bullying in UK schools. [Accessed 03/08/2021].

House of Commons Library (2020b) Provisions to support transgender children in schools. [Accessed 18/10/2021].

Internet Matters (2021) LGBTQ+: advice for professionals working with LGBTQ+ young people aged 7-18. [Accessed 30/07/2021].

LGBT Health & Wellbeing, Scottish Trans, Equality Network, LGBT Youth Scotland and Stonewall Scotland (2018) LGBTI populations and mental health inequality (PDF). [Edinburgh]: LGBT Health & Wellbeing.

McDermott, E., Hughes, E. and Rawlings, V. (2018) The social determinants of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth suicidality in England: a mixed methods study. Journal of Public Health, 40(3): e244-e251.

McGeeney, E., Hanson, E., Brook and National Crime Agency (2017) Digital romance: a research project exploring young people's use of technology in their romantic relationships and love lives (PDF). London: National Crime Agency.

NHS (2021) Gender dysphoria. [Accessed 18/10/2021].

Ofsted (2021) Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. [Accessed 03/08/2021].

Ofsted and Brown, Chris (2021) Research commentary: teaching about sex, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. [Accessed 03/08/2021].

Olson, Kristina R. et al (2016) Mental health of transgender children who are supported in their identities. Pediatrics, 137(3): e20153223.

Russell, Stephen T. et al (2018) Chosen name use is linked to reduced depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviour among transgender youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(4): 503-505.

Scottish Government (2021) Supporting transgender young people in schools: guidance for Scottish schools. [Accessed 16/08/2021].

Scottish Government and Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) (2021) lgbteducation.scot [Accessed 13/10/2021].

Stonewall (2022) An introduction to supporting LGBT children and young people: a guide for schools, colleges and settings (PDF). London: Stonewall.

Stonewall and Childnet International (2021) Staying safe online: practical strategies to best support all children and young people online, including those who identify as LGBT (PDF). London: Stonewall.

Xu, Yin and Zheng, Yong (2014) Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among lesbian, gay and bisexual people: a meta-analysis. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 24(3): 315-331.

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Safeguarding LGBTQ+ children and young people | NSPCC Learning

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Explains why LGBTQ+ children might be at greater risk of some types of abuse and shares best practice for professionals on supporting and protecting them.

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Research tells us that in 2022, the United Kingdom is a country that is proud to be inclusive; one where its people are increasingly embracing their LGBTQ+ neighbours, colleagues, family and friends. However, with intolerant, minority viewpoints being presented as fact in our media and in our politics, it's never been more important to show up to protect our rights.

As we look back on 50 years of Pride in the UK, we can reflect on how LGBTQ+ acceptance has seen one of the fastest and most dramatic changes in public attitude in post-war Britain.

According to the British Social Attitudes survey in 1987, at the height of the AIDS epidemic and the dawn of Section 28, three-quarters of the public said they felt that a same-sex relationship was either 'always' or 'mostly' wrong. These attitudes were often fuelled by sensationalist, homophobic reporting in our press.

35 years on, the world has changed, even if the headlines haven't.

Our research shows that today, the UK public is significantly more likely to take pride in supporting the LGBTQ+ community than it is to find them 'wrong'. One in three people reported they actively 'respect' us, and one in five declared 'admiration'. Less than one in 20 reported feelings of 'envy', 'resentment' or 'fear'.

This report adds further colour to the beautiful picture being painted by other pieces of research. YouGov polling shows more than seven in ten Brits would support someone close to them who came out as LGBTQ+, and greater numbers of people now feel comfortable being out as their true selves.

Despite this, the hard-won rights of LGBTQ+ people are under threat. In the digital age of misinformation, we're facing new, often underhanded, challenges that threaten to weaken the foundations on which we're building a safer future for all. Through attacks in our politics, online, and in our media, who continue to promote what are now demonstrably minority viewpoints uncontested, the LGBTQ+ community finds itself under a near-constant deluge.

And the real harm is already being felt.

This year, the UK Government reversed its promise to implement a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, acting against international medical and human rights consensus, and instead acting on rhetoric. The result is a ban that, in its current guise, will ultimately end up protecting no-one from abuse.

Additionally, the UK Government's own research has shown that reported LGBTQ+ hate crime has grown at double the rate of other forms of hate crime over the past two years. And with four in five anti-LGBT hate crimes going unreported, these figures are likely only the tip of the iceberg. Words have an impact, and the debates on LGBTQ-inclusive education and trans equality in the media, online, and in the street are creating an environment where an LGBTQ-phobic minority feel emboldened to make us less safe.

And the world is noticing. The Council of Europe approved a report by the Parliamentary Assembly which condemns "extensive and often virulent attacks on the rights of LGBTI people for several years" in the UK. And our country has dropped down ILGA-Europe's annual ranking of LGBTQ+ rights across Europe for the third year running, plummeting from 1 st to 14 th since 2015.

None of this is the will of the UK public.

That's why it's now more important than ever that we, as a majority movement of people who support LGBTQ+ equality, make our voices heard. We've fought and won before, and we can do it again. Over the past 50 years - since the first Pride in London marched against police pushback - we've witnessed a host of dramatic changes that have improved countless LGBTQ+ lives. We've been fearless in our demand for progress in the face of ongoing anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. But our work is never done.

Now is the time to act. Together.

As long as LGBTQ-phobia threatens our ability to thrive as our true selves, we must all stand up for LGBTQ+ rights and resist attempts to drive us back into hiding. We're stronger together, but we must not stand passively by as a silent majority. So, let's speak up and act now to show the world - and our leaders - that we are a country that is proud to be inclusive.

Take the first step now. Sign the pledge below and add your voice to our collective call for real, positive change.

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Why now is the time to Take Pride in supporting LGBTQ+ rights

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Research tells us that in 2022, the United Kingdom is a country that is proud to be inclusive; one where its people are increasingly embracing their LGBTQ+ neighbours, colleagues, family and friends. However, with intolerant, minority viewpoints being presented as fact in our media and in our...

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EVENING SHADOWS | OFFICIAL TRAILER | SRIDHAR RANGAYAN

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LOEV | Official Trailer [HD] (2017) | Shiv Pandit, Dhruv Ganesh, Siddharth Menon

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'Transgender people of colour face unique challenges as gender discrimination and racism intersect'

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'Transgender people of colour face unique challenges as gender discrimination and racism intersect'

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Throughout history, transgender people of color have had a place of honor in many indigenous cultures around the world.

This changed in many places, however, as European colonizers began forcing indigenous people to follow white social norms. These include anti-Blackness, Christianity and a gender binary that reduced gender to just man and woman. Colonizers presumed that being cisgender, or having a gender identity that is congruent with gender assigned at birth, was the only acceptable norm.

For trans people who refused or were unable to conform, colonial societies often used racism and cissexism, or behaviors and beliefs that assume the inferiority of trans people, to invalidate their existence, limit their access to resources and threaten their well-being. For example, colonizers in some cases deemed people who expressed their gender outside the binary as sinful and deviant, and punished them with emotional and physical violence.

The reverberations of these colonial beliefs are still felt today. In just the first three months of 2022, there were over 154 anti-trans state bills proposed across the U.S. seeking to limit the rights of trans kids and their parents.

And for trans people of color, the challenges they face because of gender discrimination are exacerbated by struggles they deal with because of racism.

We are researchers who study how LGBTQ people of color build resilience, resist oppression and promote wellness within their communities. We look at how having multiple identities like being trans and a person of color intersect and interact with each other in ways that affect how someone navigates their life.

Trans people of color who have multiple marginalized identities face higher levels of stress from being a minority compared to those with fewer marginalized identities. While there has been a lack of research on the experiences of trans people of color, many studies suggest that many of the challenges they face arise from the intersection of racism, xenophobia and cisnormativity.

Common challenges and barriers

The health care system has historically been a fraught with danger for trans people of color.

Over the years, people of color have been experimented upon without consent, denied ownership over their own test results and bodies and denied access to care. Some have played critical roles in transforming medical research and science without any knowledge of doing so.

Mistrust is magnified for trans people of color, who may get deadnamed (called by the birth name they no longer go by), misgendered and be racially discriminated against all in one medical appointment.

Medical professionals and lawmakers have also mandated gatekeeping measures that require extra steps to qualify for gender-affirming care such as hormones and surgery. Trans people are asked to prove that they have a persistent experience of dysphoria, defined as an incongruence between one's gender assigned at birth and one's gender identity. This treats being transgender as an illness to be cured based on what cisgender people believe bodies should look like. It erases gender euphoria, or a feeling of joy or satisfaction associated with a gender separate from what was assigned at birth, as a reason for pursuing transition.

With only a limited number of providers who can competently and respectfully help them navigate these life-changing services, trans people of color are often left to fend for themselves. With ongoing legislation that outlaws gender-affirming treatment for trans kids, they and their families are forced to travel long distances to obtain care, or not have access to care at all.

Continuous exposure to stressors resulting from this discrimination have negative physical and mental health consequences for trans people of color. And these challenges are compounded by other common barriers, including homelessness, employment discrimination and restricted access to legal documentation, among others.

Targets of violence

Trans people of color face disproportionate rates of violence as a result of racism and transphobia. Compared to their cis peers, trans people are four times more likely to be a victim of a violent crime.

And trans people of color have been the overwhelming targets of this violence. The Human Rights Campaign has recorded over 256 cases of fatal violence against trans people since 2013 in the U.S., 84% of whom were people of color. In 2021 alone, 57 trans people were killed, and over half were Black trans women. Black trans women continue to have the highest risk for violence due to how their experiences of anti-Black racism, cissexism and sexism intersect (also known as transmisogynoir).

The true numbers are likely to be much higher. Many hate crimes go unreported, due to both fear that one's identity will be questioned and lack of trust in law enforcement.

Additionally, trans people of color often experience violence from police and other law enforcement officials. A 2015 report by the National Center for Transgender Equality in the U.S. found that 58% of trans people reported being harassed, abused or mistreated during their interactions with police. It also noted that police frequently assume that trans women of color are sex workers. A 2021 study showed that trans Latinx immigrants and asylum-seekers who enter the U.S. often experience torture and are denied basic medical care in detention facilities.

Resilience and strength

Trans people of color have found many different strategies to help them navigate and overcome these challenges.

One is to build resilience, or coping with and adapting to stressors and adversities. Many trans people of color draw strength from supportive role models and members of their community. Being a positive role model themselves and having a strong sense of their own self-worth are also key factors to building resilience.

For example, one trans person of color who survived a traumatic event shared in a study that resilience for them meant having pride in their gender and racial and ethnic identity, while also recognizing and negotiating the challenges they face because of systemic oppression. They also built resilience by engaging in activism, advocating for themselves and connecting with trans communities of color.

Trans people of color continue to find strength in collective action. Trans women of color have been at the forefront of social justice movements, and Black trans women have been a central driving force in the fight for LGBTQ rights.

Toward liberation

There are countless ways to support trans people of color working toward liberation.

One way is self-education. This includes learning about privilege and how it gives select groups power over others in ways that range from microaggressions to physical violence. It is important to note that self-education is a continuous journey that requires humility.

Another way is to keep up with attacks against marginalized communities and be a co-conspirator. Instead of just being a passive ally, ask how you can leverage your privilege to support trans people of color. This could be working to provide inclusive and safe work environments, schools and medical systems, among others. It could also be fairly and equitably compensating trans people of color for their labor.

Finally, call in and call out. Speak up when someone is being harmful to a trans person of color. Listen and take responsibility if you are called out.

[ Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation's newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.]

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Transgender people of color face unique challenges as gender discrimination and racism intersect

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Being both trans and a person of color comes with a unique set of challenges. Collectively working toward overcoming these barriers is one way this community fights for survival.

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‘This is radical love’ – the history of black queer Britain in pictures

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‘This is radical love’ – the history of black queer Britain in pictures

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‘This is radical love’ – the history of black queer Britain in pictures

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From queer punks in Huddersfield to lesbian-run sound systems in Brixton, Black LGBTQ Britons have been raiding their old photograph collections to document some pioneering scenes

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Activists warn against loophole in UK ban on conversion practices

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Activists warn against loophole in UK ban on conversion practices

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Campaigners are urging ministers to ensure any forthcoming UK-wide ban on conversion practices does not contain a loophole allowing those who received "informed consent" from their victims to evade justice.

Critics of the practice declared "you cannot consent to abuse", as a survey revealed the extent of sexual violence used during attempts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Research indicates about 7% of LGBT+ people have been offered or undergone conversion practices, and activists are concerned that UK proposals do not go far enough, with the consent loophole causing the most consternation.

A Holyrood committee last week published a report calling for an immediate ban on the "traumatising" practice in Scotland, with the recommendations being welcomed as a fully comprehensive prohibition, with no exemptions.

The consultation on Whitehall proposals is closing on Friday, with supporters rallying to ensure the UK government's measures on the "abhorrent practice" are equally watertight. The novelist Jeanette Winterson told the Guardian: "Any country with equal rights should be banning conversion therapy. To me, it's as bad as forced marriage."

The LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop released a survey last week that revealed that about one in four LGBT+ victims of sexual violence in the UK had been assaulted by people they believed were trying to "convert or punish" them for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Galop CEO, Leni Morris, said: "Our survey shows very starkly that the reality of conversion therapy in the UK is far from what people imagine, or have seen in films like The Miseducation of Cameron Post, where American high school kids get sent to a Christian camp."

Addressing the proposed consent loophole, Morris said: "It is fundamental that UK legislation does not carve out a form of abuse that is OK if you agree to it - consider domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based violence - you cannot consent to abuse."

Galop runs a helpline for people who have experienced conversion practices. "We hear from a large proportion of people who believe they consented to what happened to them," Morris said. "I would argue you can't consent to something that if you do not go through with it, you risk losing your religious connections, your community, your family or your home".

Sasha Misra of Stonewall said comprehensive legislation was required to outlaw "all forms of conversion therapies in every setting without loopholes ... It's been over three years since the UK government committed to banning conversion therapy, it must act now to protect our communities and outlaw this abhorrent practice once and for all".

The UK government has explicitly pledged to include trans people in their legislation, despite a recent response from the Equality and Human Rights Commission suggesting that the legislation should initially focus on attempts to change sexual orientation only.

In Scotland, some faith groups expressed anxieties that prayer and pastoral conversations would be affected by the new law. Holyrood's Equalities Committee rejected this, however, stating it saw no conflict between banning conversion practices and protecting religious practice.

Blair Anderson, of End Conversion Therapy Scotland, himself a survivor of the practice, said the public were often shocked at its prevalence. "The public don't know that this is happening all around them, in family homes or in churches," he said. "My experience was informal and at home: that's why we need a broad definition of what conversion therapy is."

He added: "As a teenager, my mother would take me through prayer, asking God to stop me being gay, and reading passages from the Bible telling me I would go to Hell. She isolated me from support and told me that family members would die as a punishment if I didn't change."

Winterson has previously written about being subjected to exorcisms as an LGBT+ teenager by the Pentecostal church.

She said: "My view is that if a person isn't comfortable with their sexual orientation, they should be able to find a therapist to talk through their feelings. There are plenty of uncomfortable heterosexuals, and of course there are people who for religious reasons, and sometimes for family reasons, find their gayness impossible to manage.

"Therapy is great; conversion therapy is silly. The talking cure isn't there to talk you out of your feelings; it's there to help you be you, whatever that means."

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Activists warn against loophole in UK ban on conversion practices

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Campaigners are urging ministers to ensure any forthcoming UK-wide ban on conversion practices does not contain a loophole allowing those who received "informed consent" from their victims to evade justice. Critics of the practice declared "you cannot consent to abuse", as a survey revealed the extent of sexual violence used during attempts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.

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Reviewing Our Rights As 2022 Gets Started: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

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Reviewing Our Rights As 2022 Gets Started: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

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Donate

Support EachOther to bring you independent journalism, film-making and story-telling which put the human into human rights.

Make a donation

Throughout 2021, EachOther reported on human rights issues across the UK, including those affecting people on account of their characteristics protected under the Equality Act. To usher in the new year, we are highlighting the issues that are particularly affecting five such groups in UK society, looking forward to the opportunities 2022 might afford them and the challenges the year ahead might pose. In this mini-series, we focus on these five of the nine protected characteristics in the Equality Act: race, sex and gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and religion.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK face threats to their human rights in many walks of life. Due to the interconnecting nature of issues affecting the community, this feature reflects on questions of rights impacting two protected characteristics under the rainbow banner: sexual orientation and gender identity.

Throughout 2021 and heading into 2022, LGBTQ+ people's rights were threatened from multiple angles - particularly the right to protection from discrimination under of the Human Rights Act. Additionally, their right to health, protected under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , was sometimes infringed and their right to marry and start a family also came under threat.

How were the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the UK impacted in 2021?

He added: "NHS gender identity services are not good enough, or mental health services, particularly for people with marginalised intersectional identities."

Hate Crime

In 2014-15, there were 6,363 reports of hate crimes based on sexual orientation, but in 2020-21 there were 19,679 reports. For 2014-15, 598 transphobic hate crimes were reported, but 2,588 were reported in 2020-21. Data, obtained via freedom of information requests to 45 police forces, exposed a 2% and 12% increase in hate crimes based on transgender identity and sexual orientation respectively since 2019/20's figures.

Unfortunately, currently available data does not provide a clear picture of how increases in hate crime affected people with multiple protected characteristics, such as Black or disabled LGBTQ+ individuals. Considering the increases in disability-related and race-related hate crime, it is likely that further marginalised LGBTQ+ people faced considerable threats to their right to protection from discrimination in 2021.

Healthcare

Throughout 2021, LGBTQ+ healthcare hit headlines. It started with a High Court ruling in December 2020, which stated that people under the age of 16 are considered unable to provide informed consent to gender-affirming healthcare, such as puberty blockers.

Ball added: "This may have impacted upon the waiting times for access to gender-affirming healthcare for some young people and may have also contributed to heightened levels of anxiety and distress during this time."

TransActual UK , a lobbying group that advocates for trans rights, estimates that hundreds of patients were left in distress waiting for care, including those who were already in the middle of their bottom surgery journey or are waiting for necessary repairs for complications. But health inequalities do not end there.

"Trans people have unequal rights of access to the same medication, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and procedures, like mastectomies and hysterectomies, compared to cis people in comparable positions," said jane fae, director of TransActual UK. "For a start, cis women do not need a psychiatrist report before HRT. Access to IVF for trans, lesbian, and bisexual people is currently a postcode lottery."

Conversion Therapy

In 2018, the government pledged to explore options for ending conversion therapy in the UK but 2021 revived media interest in the subject.

In May 2021, the government said it would introduce legislation to ban conversion therapy. However, it first committed to holding consultations on the issue. Initially pledging to introduce a ban three years ago, the government has experienced pressure from some faith organisations asking for exemptions on the grounds of religious freedom.

The report reads: "It is vital that the definition implemented is sufficiently broad to effectively capture all forms these practices can take. Legislation must not allow any potential loopholes for individuals and institutions to continue undertaking conversion practices under a modified aim or false pretence."

With no legislation on enforcing a ban published, 2022 will see a fight to end conversion therapy in the UK once and for all.

Non-Binary People

Protections for non-binary people have long been weak in the UK. People who do not use either "he/him" or "she/her" pronouns are unable to switch to "they/them" or other options on official documentation, such as passports.

These difficulties in securing accurate documentation as a member of the LGBTQ+ community are not confined to non-binary people.

"Birth certificates are all over the place: a trans mum in a lesbian relationship cannot go down as parent number two but would have to be father," explained Chay Brown, director of TransActual UK. "For gay men and heterosexual trans women, only one partner can go on the birth certificate. There is no option for non-binary people. If a surrogate is married, her husband goes on the birth certificate, even though he has nothing to do with the child genetically. Trans dads who give birth are put down as 'mothers'."

How were the rights of LGBTQ+ people protected in 2021?

Wins for the LGBTQ+ community were in short supply in 2021 but there were still some significant highlights.

Scotland became the first country to make teaching LGBTQ+ history in schools mandatory. In September, school staff were equipped with a toolkit of LGBTQ+ inclusive teaching resources and were given an awareness e-learning course.

Now, people can donate blood if they have had the same sexual partner for the last three months, allowing gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships to donate blood. A blanket ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood was in place for decades. Then, in 2011, the rules were changed to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood if they had not had sex in 12 months, which was reduced to three months in 2017.

In June, thousands of people took part in the Trans+ Pride march in London, which saw a massive display of solidarity with trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people. Then, in July, the first-ever Reclaim Pride march took place in London. Led by human rights and LGBTQ+ activist Peter Tatchell, thousands of activists and allies attended to advocate for less commercialised Pride events in the UK and protest the lack of protections shielding the trans community. The event also took the opportunity to call on the government to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) and stop stalling on banning conversion therapy.

What are the key issues going to be for LGBTQ+ rights in 2022?

"Queer people, especially in our little area of Scotland, are quite rural and so we heavily rely on being able to move and go around to be able to see people," she said. "There are certain times where you do feel that you may actually be the only gay in the village. So to all of a sudden be stopped from doing that, I think that had a great effect on everybody's mental health, and just their overall well being."

For 2022, Ball hopes to develop their skill set by engaging in further learning to help more vulnerable LGBTQ+ people. They said: "In 2022, myself and other YPAS Therapists are being trained in Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprogramming (EMDR) Therapy, which has been extensively evidenced to be effective as a trauma-focused therapy. With the local and national increases in LGBTQ+ targeted hate crimes, this provision could be utilised effectively with survivors of hate crimes within the LGBTQ+ community."

The Equality Network is paying close attention to gender recognition reform, conversion therapy and improving NHS gender identity services in 2022. Hopkins added: "Unfortunately, the public attacks on trans equality and trans people will probably get worse, at least until gender recognition reform has been passed."

"The system for gender recognition for trans people is increasingly at odds with systems elsewhere in the world," said fae. "As a piece of bureaucracy, it is failing. People are currently taking six months to get through an incredibly bureaucratic system."

In 2022, TransActual UK plans to continue their support of campaigns to ban conversion therapy and to overhaul the GRA to better support trans people.

While 2021 saw some highlights for the LGBTQ+ community, rights abuses were still frequent and they threaten the community in 2022 as well. There remains a long way to go before equality is a reality for LGBTQ+ people in the UK.

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Reviewing Our Rights As 2022 Gets Started: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - EachOther

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Support EachOther to bring you independent journalism, film-making and story-telling which put the human into human rights. Make a donation Throughout 2021, EachOther reported on human rights issues across the UK, including those affecting people on account of their characteristics protected under the Equality Act.

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A Short History of LGBT Rights in the UK

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A Short History of LGBT Rights in the UK

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A short history of LGBT rights in the UK

This article traces the journey of the LGBT community from 1533 to today, looking at the battles for equality that were fought and legislative changes made.

The Buggery Act of 1533, passed by Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII, is the first time in law that male homosexuality was targeted for persecution in the UK. Completely outlawing sodomy in Britain - and by extension what would become the entire British Empire - convictions were punishable by death.

The Buggery Act 1533

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Convictions under the Buggery Act 1533 were punishable by death.

It was not until 1861 with the passing of the Offences Against the Person Act, that the death penalty was abolished for acts of sodomy - instead being made punishable by a minimum of 10 years imprisonment.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 however, went a step further once again, making any male homosexual act illegal - whether or not a witness was present - meaning that even acts committed in private could be prosecuted. Often a letter expressing terms of affection between two men was all that was required to bring a prosecution. The legislation was so ambiguously worded that it became known as the 'Blackmailer's Charter', and in 1895, Oscar Wilde fell victim.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885

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The Criminal Law Amendment Act was used to send Oscar Wilde to prison in 1895.

Female homosexuality was never explicitly targeted by any legislation. Although discussed for the first time in Parliament in 1921 with a view to introducing discriminatory legislation (to become the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 1921), this ultimately failed when both the House of Commons and House of Lords rejected it due to the fear a law would draw attention and encourage women to explore homosexuality. It was also assumed that lesbianism occurred in an extremely small pocket of the female population.

In the post-war period, transgender identities started to become visible. In 1946 Michael Dillon published Self: A Study in Endocrinology. The book, which in contemporary terms could be described as an autobiography of the first transgender man to undergo phalloplasty surgery, recounted Dillon's journey from Laura to Michael, and the surgeries undertaken by pioneering surgeon Sir Harold Gillies. Dillon wrote: 'Where the mind cannot be made to fit the body, the body should be made to fit, approximately at any rate, to the mind.'

In May 1951 Roberta Cowell, a former World War II Spitfire pilot, became the first transgender woman to undergo vaginoplasty surgery in the UK. Cowell continued her career as a racing driver and published her autobiography in 1954.

Meanwhile, a significant rise in arrests and prosecutions of homosexual men were made after World War II. Many were from high rank and held positions within government and national institutions, such as Alan Turing, the cryptographer whose work played a decisive role in the breaking of the Enigma code. This increase in prosecutions called into question the legal system in place for dealing with homosexual acts.

The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, better known as theWolfenden Report, was published in 1957, three years after the committee first met in September 1954. It was commissioned in response to evidence that homosexuality could not legitimately be regarded as a disease and aimed to bring about change in the current law by making recommendations to the Government. Central to the report findings was that the state should focus on protecting the public, rather than scrutinising people's private lives.

Wolfenden Report, 1957

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The Wolfenden Report recommended that 'homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should be no longer a criminal offence'.

It took 10 years for the Government to implement the Wolfenden Report's recommendations in the Sexual Offences Act 1967. Backed by the Church of England and the House of Lords, the Sexual Offences Act partially legalised same-sex acts in the UK between men over the age of 21 conducted in private. Scotland and Northern Ireland followed suit over a decade later, in 1980 and 1981 respectively. The Sexual Offences Act represented a stepping stone towards equality, but there was still a long way to go.

In 1966 The Beaumont Society was set up to provide information and education to the general public, medical and legal professions on 'transvestism' and encourage research aimed at a fuller understanding. The organisation is now the UK's largest and longest running support group for transgender people and their families.

In the wake of the Stonewall Riots in New York in June 1969 over the treatment of the LGBT community by the police the UK Gay Liberation Front was founded (GLF) in 1970. The GLF fought for the rights of LGBT people, urging them to question the mainstream institutions in UK society which led to their oppression. The GLF protested in solidarity with other oppressed groups and organised the very first Pride march in 1972 which is now an annual event.

Gay Liberation Front Manifesto

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The 1971 Gay Liberation Front Manifesto proclaimed that 'Homosexuals, who have been oppressed by physical violence and by ideological and psychological attacks at every level of social interaction, are at last becoming angry.'

When the GLF disbanded in late 1973 the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE), based in Manchester, led the fight for equality by legal reform. Age of consent equality however, did not come until 2001 in England, Scotland and Wales, and 2009 in Northern Ireland.

The fight for sexual equality however, was far from over. Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, introduced by the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher, banned local authorities from 'promoting homosexuality' or 'pretended family relationships', and prohibited councils from funding educational materials and projects perceived to 'promote homosexuality'. The legislation prevented the discussion of LGBT issues and stopped pupils getting the support they needed. Section 28 was repealed in 2003, and Prime Minister David Cameron apologised for the legislation in 2009.

In 2004 the Civil Partnership Act 2004 allowed same-sex couples to legally enter into binding partnerships, similar to marriage. The subsequent Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013 then went further, allowing same-sex couples in England and Wales to marry; Scotland followed suit with the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014. Northern Ireland enactment the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, making same-sex marriage legal on 13 January 2020.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004, which came into effect on 4 April 2005, gave trans people full legal recognition of their gender, allowing them to acquire a new birth certificate - although gender options are limited to 'male' or 'female'. Between July and October 2018 the UK Government consulted the public on reforming the Act. As of 1 September 2020 no report from the consultation has been published.

The Equality Act 2010 gave LGBT employees protections from discrimination, harassment and victimisation at work. The legislation brought together existing legislation and added protections for trans workers, solidifying rights granted by the Gender Recognition Act.

The LGBT community continues to fight for equality and social acceptance.

is a Sound Archive and Humanities Reference Specialist at the British Library. Steven co-curated Steven Dryden Gay UK: Love, Law and Liberty (2017, British Library) and led a series of student workshops and public lectures at the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Harvard University, USA (2018).

Steven's primary research interest is in the use of language by heritage institutions. His recent work has focused on the cataloguing of gender and sexual minorities in archive and museum catalogues. Steven develops content for the British Library LGBTQ Histories website and has spoken widely across Europe and the UK.

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A Short History of LGBT Rights in the UK | The British Library

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This article traces the journey of the LGBT community from 1533 to today, looking at the battles for equality that were fought and legislative changes made.

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LGBT+ History Month Claiming our past - Celebrating our present - Creating our future LGBT+ History Month is for everyone; whether you work in education, a museum, library or art gallery, a business, a service, are a member of a network/social group or an individual.

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Social work, queer theory and after: A genealogy of sexuality theory in neoliberal times

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Social work, queer theory and after: A genealogy of sexuality theory in neoliberal times

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Unhealthy Attitudes: The treatment of LGBT people within health and social care services (2015)

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Unhealthy Attitudes: The treatment of LGBT people within health and social care services (2015)

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Dear Isabelle Trowler... I feel uncomfortable as a gay student on my social work course

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Dear Isabelle Trowler... I feel uncomfortable as a gay student on my social work course

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A letter from a social worker student and care leaver about being a queer social work student

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Dear Isabelle Trowler,

I am a trainee social worker. As a care experienced young person, I wanted to use my experiences to help others and stand up for their rights. What I didn't expect was to feel uncomfortable as a gay student on my social work course.

I didn't feel that I could share my experiences with my fellow student social workers because there was a lack of understanding and respect for LGBTQ+ issues. I knew that there were people on my course who did not agree with LGBTQ+ relationships and I was concerned about how they would react to me. I didn't want to be judged or discriminated against. This in turn made me question whether these students would be able to practice in an inclusive, anti-discriminatory way.

I had not come out during my time in care or the early years of being a care leaver. However, I did live with a care leaver identifying as gay who felt they needed to hide their sexuality and relationships from their personal advisers, social workers and fellow care leavers for fear of discrimination. I have experienced care leaver social work frameworks and applications that were written solely in cisgender terms, while excluding LGBTQ+ options. This made me feel invisible.

Urgent overhaul of social work education

If we want social workers to engage in truly inclusive practice, there needs to be an urgent overhaul of social work education.

My social work course did not provide nearly enough training or resources on how to work with LGBTQ+ people. While I attended a variety of lectures on particular service user groups, such as those affected by gangs and youth violence, domestic abuse, learning disabilities and mental health, there were no lectures that acknowledged LGBTQ+ service users or covered sexuality and gender identity across the spectrum and how this is relevant for social work today.

I certainly felt that I could not openly discuss being gay or the need for greater awareness of LGBTQ+ service users."

And it seems that the problem extends beyond my degree course. A 2014 study by academics from America and Canada found that social work students felt they were inadequately prepared to practice with LGBTQ+ service users, especially transgender service users, reporting there was almost no trans-affirmative training in social work courses.

The low level of readiness to practice with this group highlights the importance of social work education and the desperate need to focus on including LGBTQ+ topics such as terminology, gender-based oppression, queer theory and social constructionism in its research, course work and practice.

Worryingly, a 2015 report by Stonewall the Government Equalities Office (2019) found that 57% of health and social care professionals in general, and 55% of social workers in particular, did not consider sexual orientation to be relevant to a person's health. This is despite numerous studies indicating that the LGBTQ+ population is at higher risk of complex needs than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts.

Specialist LGBTQ+ practitioners

As a trainee social worker identifying with the LGBTQ+ community, my mission is to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ service users. I aim to promote LGBTQ+ education within the fields of health and social care and make LGBTQ+ needs visible within those discourses. I want to ensure that LGBTQ+ people, young and old, always have a safe space to be themselves, people they can turn to for support, and eradicate the barriers to accessing health and social care services. To make this a reality, I believe that there should be LGBTQ+ specialised social workers.

After I graduate, I want to be an LGBTQ+ specialised social worker and go into universities to hold sessions with student social workers to educate them on LGBTQ+ service users and their specific needs. I would also like to create a collaboration bringing LGBTQ+ social workers together to raise awareness.

To ensure that universities are properly preparing student social workers to work with the LGBTQ+ population I think courses should include an assessed piece of work covering gender/sexuality/queer studies. I would also like to see social work education providers utilise external organisations such as Mermaids UK and LGBT Foundation to educate their social work students.

But there are also steps that social workers can take right now to ensure that LGBTQ+ people feel genuinely supported:

1. Social workers can ensure that they keep personal information confidential to ensure that the service user isn't 'outed' without their knowing. For some LGBTQ+ people, having their gender or sexual identity revealed against their wishes can be dangerous. The fear of being outed is one of the main barriers preventing LGBTQ+ people from accessing services.

2. Social workers can help to encourage LGBTQ+ inclusivity within their workplaces by wearing badges that show they are allies or displaying posters or artwork like those by Stonewall to create an accepting environment.

3. Social workers can promote LGBTQ+ inclusivity further by being aware of the heteronormative structures present in today's society. Personalisation is key when working with the LGBTQ+ community. Using frameworks that are revised to include the specific needs of LGBTQ+ people allows for their needs to be acknowledged.

Trainee social workers have a gap in their knowledge concerning the LGBTQ+ community, leaving them unable to offer adequate support to those service users. Let's equip social work students with the skills and awareness they need and establish specialist LGBTQ+ social workers to ensure that we are offer fully inclusive practice.

Yours,

Reena Syed
Reena Syed is a student social worker and a participant in the Letters from Lockdown creative writing project run by children's charity Coram. The project is part of the Voices Through Time programme of events for care experienced young people, exploring the history of care from 1700 to the present.

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'Dear Isabelle Trowler...I feel uncomfortable as a gay student on my social work course'

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Dear Isabelle Trowler, I am a trainee social worker. As a care experienced young person, I wanted to use my experiences to help others and stand up for their rights. What I didn't expect was to feel uncomfortable as a gay student on my social work course.

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Outing the Past - The Festival of LGBT History

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Outing the Past - The Festival of LGBT History

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The International Festival of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans History

We are very grateful to Schools OUT UK for all the support for helping facilitate this festival

Do you have a history to share about a LGBT+ Organisation, Network, Charity, Movement or Person, or an area you are researching?
Then apply here to become a presenter for 'OUTing The Past 2023', the International LGBT+ History Festival:

Read about last years hubs and programmes below.

Looking for potential presentations to host your own event? Follow the link below!

What's going on in theatre...

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We are very grateful to Schools OUT UK for all the support for helping facilitate this festival Do you have a history to share about a LGBT+ Organisation, Network, Charity, Movement or Person, or an area you are researching?Then apply here to become a presenter for 'OUTing The Past 2023', the International LGBT+ History Festival: Read about last years hubs and programmes below.

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AKT - homelessness charity that supports LGBTQ+ youth 

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AKT - homelessness charity that supports LGBTQ+ youth 

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"Young people know what they're talking about. They must be listened to." - Cath Hall

akt formed in Manchester in 1989 by Cath Hall, an experienced foster carer, and founder member of Manchester Parents Group (MPG), who had become acutely aware of the rejection and ejection of young LGBT people from their family home and the homophobia they faced within school and society.

Cath was an activist during the days of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and is the original straight ally.

Cath on setting up akt (1990)

"I was a foster carer and had looked after several young people who were LGBT. Some of them had horrific experiences in care and had mostly been running away. We worked to provide a very safe place for them where they'd also meet good people to model themselves on. We started akt (formerly The Albert Kennedy Trust) in July 1989. A dozen people came to a meeting and about eight or nine of them became dedicated volunteers. It was an emotional response, an angry response, to what was going on at the time."

Cath on working with young LGBT people (1990)

"The young people know clearly what they want and feel, but they feel unable to tell other people that. They're not sure what's expected of them trying to fit into a society that won't allow them to be who they are. What would I tell a young person? Be proud of who you are and don't be afraid to tell somebody - but choose carefully the person that you tell."

Who was Albert Kennedy?

Albert was an incredible young man who inspired our founder Cath Hall to set up akt. Albert tragically died after falling from the roof of a carpark in Manchester, after experiencing homophobic abuse simply for being who he is. His loved ones remain in our thoughts always.

akt: Year By Year

1989 Six LGB volunteers led by straight ally Cath Hall meet at Manchester Town Hall to launch The Albert Kennedy Trust ( akt). The world's first ever service for homeless LGBT youth is born, providing safe homes and support, then later, mentoring.

opens in London to meet growing need amongst young people.

wins the Stonewall Equality Award.

Purple Door , the UK's first emergency safe house for LGBT young people.

2013 arrives in the northeast following merger with local project Outpost Housing Project.

2014 is 25 and launches a national multi-media campaign to raise awareness of homelessness.

2015 supports the development and launch of STREHA , eastern Europe's first charity offering emergency accommodation to LGBT youth.

2015 launches its first No Room For Hate campaign with a series of powerful videos featuring young LGBT people who have been supported by .

marks it's 30 2017 #aktGoesDigital! We launch our first digital and national service to provide young people with preventative support where and when they need it most.

th anniversary with a series of events, a brand refresh, an exhibition and short film. Even after 30 years, the issues affecting LGBTQ+ youth homelessness are still relevant today.

From 2019, we are now referring to ourselves as akt. Why?

' akt' is how our young people, supporters and the wider community have come to know us as we've grown, and so we're pleased to own that in our new brand identity. It was important for us that we retained an important link to Albert in our name and were loyal to our history, while making a change that enabled us to talk more broadly about our founders story, particularly Cath Hall. This was based on feedback from our young people. Using the acronym enables us to keep Albert as a part of who we are - which is important - while being able to be associated with more than just one person's story.
You can find out more about our new brand here.
Check out our gallery below!

Latest

Most read

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Read more

We're continuing to support young people online and staff can still be contacted as normal. Read more

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"Young people know what they're talking about. They must be listened to." - Cath Hall Cath was an activist during the days of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and is the original straight ally. Cath on setting up akt (1990) "I was a foster carer and had looked after several young people who were LGBT.

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Top Tips for Working with Trans & Gender-Exploring Young People

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Top Tips for Working with Trans & Gender-Exploring Young People

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A live record of queer experiences, memories, and thoughts, mapped out

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Queering the Map is a community generated counter-mapping platform for digitally archiving LGBTQ2IA+ experience in relation to physical space.

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During the 1970s, Social Workers Began Placing LGBTQ Youth with Queer Foster Families

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During the 1970s, Social Workers Began Placing LGBTQ Youth with Queer Foster Families

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US-based, but provides a good recap of what was happening to queer communities in the '60s and '70s.

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Matt Katz: Welcome back to The Takeaway. I'm Matt Katz in for Tanzina Vega. The 1970s were a turbulent time in the United States. The anti-war movement was in full swing, second-wave feminism had taken hold, and the Black Power movement had gained recognition. It was around this time that members of the gay and lesbian community, who faced discrimination in everything from housing to employment, became more visible as they advocated for equal rights under the law.

Recent reporting from The New Yorker found that it was during this cultural revolution that social workers quietly began placing LGBTQ teenagers with queer foster parents after placements in more traditional homes fell through. Karen Hagberg is 77 years old, and she was an activist in the gay movement in Upstate New York in the late '60s and early '70s.

Karen Hagberg: We were approached by the Social Services Department of Monroe County in New York, requesting that we find foster parents for a young teenager who was described to us at that time as a cross-dressing boy, and we would call her now a transgender woman.

Matt Katz: Karen could hardly believe that during a time and homosexuality was criminalized, that the state was reaching out to the gay and lesbian community in an official capacity.

Karen Hagberg: This seemed so radical and so subversive and so amazing on the part of the Department of Social Services, that we felt compelled to answer their request in the affirmative.

Matt Katz: Karen and her partner applied and became foster parents to a transgender African American teenager named Veera, who had previously been moved in and out of several failed foster placements.

Karen Hagberg: She was able to be herself in our home, and she hadn't been with gay people before and here we were lesbians, and we had lots of gay male friends and other lesbians coming and going, and it was very different from other foster families she had been exposed to. She had discovered a community of trans women and she hung out with them and felt good when she was around them.

Matt Katz: To learn more about the history of the seemingly radical act of placing queer youth with gay and lesbian foster families in the '70s, I spoke to Marie-Amélie George, an Assistant Professor of Law at Wake Forest University specializing in LGBTQ rights, and Michael Waters, a freelance writer who wrote about this recently for The New Yorker.

Michael Waters: The main thrust of this piece is talking about these series of foster care placements that happened loosely and without a connection in the early 1970s. Essentially, what happened is, individual social workers and social work agencies started reaching out to the queer community in different ways, essentially, in order to register queer people as foster parents, one of the first times that you see this mainstream recognition of queer people as potentially, parents, and this took all sorts of forms.

A lot of times what happened is social workers had these queer kids who were in and out of the foster care system, so they'd go through multiple homes, and a lot of times, they would be failed placements and a lot of these families rejected them because the kids were queer, and especially trans or gender non conforming. Some individual social workers just out of desperation, seemingly, would place ads in gay newspapers, for instance, basically saying, "Hey, we have this kid, will you take care of them for us?"

For this piece, I spoke to a couple of people who responded to those ads or responded to requests from social workers, and actually got registered as parents officially with the county or state for the first time.

Matt Katz: We're going to talk about some of those specific examples. That's extraordinary reporting. Marie-Amélie George, this is a pretty remarkable set of circumstances given the time period, right? Advocating for gay and lesbian rights was certainly part of the cultural shift taking place during the '70s, but can you give us some context for what was going on in society at the time?

Marie-Amélie George: Let me give you two separate strands of background that are really useful for understanding what's happening now, or during this period. The first is just an incredible cultural revolution that is happening in the late '60s and early '70s. There was the rise of a new left with student protests against Vietnam. There's growing militancy in the civil rights movement, also in large part coming from students, there was a rise of second-wave feminism. There's just a spirit of radicalism and advocacy for social change that is really palpable around this time and it gives rise to a new wave of gay and lesbian rights advocacy.

Before the Stonewall riots in 1969, most gay and lesbian rights advocates were emphasizing, middle class for conformity and having mainstream society tolerate gays and lesbians. After Stonewall, there's the rise of a new gay liberation movement, which is really talking about how being gay is just as good as being straight. It takes on a new tone, it becomes much more militant and as part of that, they are pressing for advocacy in all parts of their lives, an end to employment discrimination.

Until the early '70s, being gay or lesbian was an automatic basis for being fired from jobs with the federal government, you couldn't get a security clearance. Until 1961 every state criminalized consensual same-sex sexual activity and that started to change in the early '70s. Gays and lesbians who socialized at bars could be arrested just for being gay there under [unintelligible 00:06:04] Lunas vagrancy and disorderly conduct charges. There was really a strong movement to expand gay rights in this period.

Matt Katz: Michael, let's get into one of these examples. Don Ward is one of the children you wrote about in your story and his biological parents signed him over to Washington State when he was 15 years old after they found out that he was gay and that's why they did so. What was life like for dawn before and then after he was placed with a gay foster parent?

Michael Waters: The first few homes that Don was placed in were quite bad for a number of different reasons, but a lot of them did center around his sexuality. Also, Don, although he identified as-- he was a cic-man, he did like try on makeup, he was playing with gender in a way that I think especially drew notice to him in this system that was not friendly to queer people in the slightest. He told me that after every placement, he talked with a social worker named Marion, and at some point, after a few of these failed foster placements, Marion decided that they had to try something new.

She had the wild idea to reach out to a gay person, and Don Ward around this time for context, was involved in the gay scene in Seattle, so he was going to this place called the Gay Counseling Center, for instance, mostly on a social basis, and a lot of queer adults and other queer kids around his age started to hang out there and so he had some of these early connections to the queer community. At the same time, there were a series of protests in Seattle around police brutality against queer people, and he actually participated in some of those as well.

His social worker, hearing that and seeing all the wrong that was happening in these straight cisgender families that didn't accept him, she decided to reach out to an activist in the community, who was a gay reverend at the time, and who was also one of the protest leaders. She basically took him to a cafeteria and said, "Hey, are you willing to be a foster parent for this child?" He said yes.

Matt Katz: Marie-Amélie, in the '70s, social workers were quietly placing queer youth with gay and lesbian foster parents at a time when homosexuality was criminalized in the US. How do you square the state sanction placement of these children with gay and lesbian families with the fact that states themselves were simultaneously anti LGBTQ?

Marie-Amélie George: It seems incredibly radical, but it's less so when you think about why it is that people were afraid of gay and lesbian parents. No one was sure how it is that people became gay. There was this theory that dated back decades, that people learned to be gay. It wasn't an innate trait, but rather that people learned from role models and were indoctrinated into the so-called gay lifestyle.

One of the big fears in the lesbian mother and gay father custody cases was that by allowing these parents to have custody of their children, the state was basically going to allow these children to grow up to be gay. What made the adoption and foster care context different is that these were self-identified gay and lesbian teens, so this harmful outcome that the state had already befallen them. It's not like gay and lesbian parents could make the situation bad, it was already there.

Matt Katz: Right.

Marie-Amélie George: The real shift and radical move was when gay and lesbian parents started fostering young children who didn't self-identify in any particular way. At that point, a lot of social science research had come out showing that parental sexual orientation had no impact on children's future sexual orientation, so social workers were much more comfortable with that.

Matt Katz: Michael, what was it like for the foster parents themselves? You spoke to some of them to hear from a social worker to get a call and for them to become parents unexpectedly?

Michael Waters: I think the foster parent I spoke to who best exemplifies this is Karen Hagberg, who fostered a child in Rochester, New York around 1972. The way she described it to me is that it was such a surprising thing to be asked that she just couldn't turn it down just because it felt so revolutionary, she almost felt compelled to do it.

The way it happened for her, a newspaper article, a newspaper ad from 1972 in which the County social services department had advertised in the gay newspaper for Rochester, essentially saying, we have this girl who's been in and out of the system, this trans girl, and their exact wording was something along the lines of, we feel that a gay family would be the best placement.

Karen had doesn't remember exactly how she responded to that ad, but at some point she did. She was at the time living with a girlfriend named Kate and the two of them responded. They were interested and the County sent them over paperwork. I mention that also because the paperwork wasn't even really ready to have parents as foster parents. For instance, the papers that they were assigned to fill out in order to register with the County assumed that the couple would be a man and a woman. Karen and Kate literally just crossed out man and woman and instead wrote lovers.

The system, although the County had reached out, it wasn't necessarily equipped to deal with foster parents. I also think an important thing to note too, is that Karen and Kate were in their early twenties at the time and she did tell me that she almost felt compelled to say yes because it was such a radical proposition in the first place, but herself was quick to admit that she didn't know that she was the most equipped to be a foster parent in the end. I think that was true of the foster parents that I did speak to. It just felt like, how could you say no to this? They did their best, but I don't think any of them necessarily thought that they were as ready as they could have been.

Matt Katz: Then in terms of finding foster homes for these queer foster youth, what role did activism play at this time, Marie-Amélie, in terms of just making sure that these kids were taken care of and highlighting these issues?

Marie-Amélie George: Social workers were turning to gay and lesbian rights groups, and they were self-identified as gay and lesbian rights groups at the time as opposed to LGBTQ and were asking them to find foster parents for them. Some of these organizations, like the Mattachine Society, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, they were setting up formal programs to put social workers in touch with potential foster parents. These ads in gay and lesbian newspapers that Michael described are ones that gay and lesbian rights organizations are producing and they're circulating.

There's also a sharp increase in just the number of organizations addressing gay and lesbian issues. There are specific lesbian mothers groups, gay fathers groups, and they provide networks of support for people who want to become parents.

Matt Katz: Marie-Amélie, let's talk about today. Michael reported that only 25 states prohibit agencies from discriminating against prospective parents on the basis of sexuality and gender identity. Some agencies today continue to reject gay parents for foster placements because they're gay. President Obama barred such agencies from receiving federal funds, President Trump reversed that.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to rule this year on whether the city of Philadelphia was within its rights to not renew a contract with Catholic Social Services because that agency won't allow same-sex couples to foster children. Could that Supreme Court case be a breaking point in this story that we've been talking about that's been ongoing over the last four decades?

Marie-Amélie George: It's possible that the court will rule that these agencies can't discriminate based on sexual orientation. It might also be the case that the court rules they can, but there's also some possibilities in the middle. They could really narrowly tailor this and say, look, these agencies are private agencies, but they're performing a quintessential public service, right? Foster care has been a state program. They're working as agents of the state and so because of that, we're going to treat them differently than say, a private business. We're going to say you're basically acting with the state's authority, which means you have to follow the rules that the state imposes.

Matt Katz: Marie-Amélie, Michael, thank you very much for taking the time.

Marie-Amélie George: Thanks so for having us.

Michael Waters: Thanks so much.

Matt Katz: Marie-Amélie George is an Assistant Professor of Law at Wake Forest University, and Michael Waters is a freelance writer who focuses on queer history. Special thanks to Michael for his excellent reporting in The New Yorker and for introducing us to Karen Hagberg, one of the queer foster parents who cared for LGBTQ youth.
Copyright © 2021 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio's programming is the audio record. terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.

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During the 1970s, Social Workers Began Placing LGBTQ Youth with Queer Foster Families | The Takeaway | WNYC Studios

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Matt Katz: Welcome back to The Takeaway. I'm Matt Katz in for Tanzina Vega. The 1970s were a turbulent time in the United States. The anti-war movement was in full swing, second-wave feminism had taken hold, and the Black Power movement had gained recognition.

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A short history of trans people's long fight for equality - Samy Nour Younes

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A short history of trans people's long fight for equality - Samy Nour Younes

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Samy Nour Younes: A short history of trans people's long fight for equality

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Transgender activist and TED Resident Samy Nour Younes shares the remarkable, centuries-old history of the trans community, filled with courageous stories, inspiring triumphs -- and a fight for civil rights that's been raging for a long time. "Imagine how the conversation would shift if we acknowledge just how long trans people have been demanding equality," he says.

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How to talk (and listen) to transgender people - Jackson Bird

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How to talk (and listen) to transgender people - Jackson Bird

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Jackson Bird: How to talk (and listen) to transgender people

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Gender should be the least remarkable thing about someone, but transgender people are still too often misunderstood. To help those who are scared to ask questions or nervous about saying the wrong thing, Jackson Bird shares a few ways to think about trans issues.

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46 young people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans took part in the SpeakOut research project about life in the care system. Six young people who worked as co-researchers on the project talk about coming out in care. This film was made as part of the SpeakOut research study. The research briefing can be downloaded below.

More information here: uea.ac.uk/speakout

Film created by The Creative Research Collective

Funded by NIHR CLAHRC East of England
Matt Lewis - sound
Wendy Scott - additional animation

© University of East Anglia 2018

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46 young people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans took part in the SpeakOut research project about life in the care system. Six young people who worked as co-researchers on the project talk about coming out in care. This film was made as part of the SpeakOut research study.

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New Family Social - Adoption, Fostering & Tea

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New Family Social - Adoption, Fostering & Tea

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Adoption and fostering chat with people who've done it, from the UK's LGBT+ adoption and fostering charity, New Family Social.

Adoption and fostering chat with people who've done it, from the UK's LGBT+ adoption and fostering charity, New Family Social.

Just amazing!

All the episodes are really interesting and different. Just an amazing podcast!!

Couple in Phase one

My partner came across your podcast and are so grateful, we have just started the process and just finishing phase one.
It's all very scary and amazing at the same time, this podcast has opened our eyes and made us feel, more comfortable with what we have been feeling, great podcast and would highly recommend a listen.

Honest and Refreshing

It's great to hear an honest perspective from LGBT people actually going through the process or have already been through it. It's refreshing to not have an organisation spin on it or the doom and gloom that's forced on you by an adoption agency. Great work.

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fostering & tea: the new family social podcast

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‎Adoption, Fostering & Tea: The New Family Social Podcast on Apple Podcasts

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Adoption and fostering chat with people who've done it, from the UK's LGBT+ adoption and fostering charity, New Family Social. Adoption and fostering chat with people who've done it, from the UK's LGBT+ adoption and fostering charity, New Family Social. All the episodes are really interesting and different. Just an amazing podcast!!

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Charity supporting families with LGBTQ+ members

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A national voluntary organisation and charity dedicated to supporting parents and their lesbian, gay, bisexual and Trans sons and daughters

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From Care to Where - Daydreaming, imagination and a lot of Reading with Callen James Martin

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From Care to Where - Daydreaming, imagination and a lot of Reading with Callen James Martin

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Fiction-loving care leaver Callen James Martin, talks to us about working in publishing, writing his first novel and how the care system could better support young people questioning their sexuality.

You can follow Callen on Twitter (@CallenJMartin).

You can follow From Care To Where? on Twitter (@FromCareToWhere) and Instagram (@fromcaretowhere).

From Care To Where? is proudly sponsored by Madlug. With every bag you purchase, a pack-away travel bag will be given to a child in care.

From Care To Where? is created and hosted by Christel Dee, a London based digital producer, presenter, author and care leaver.

Intro music by: Jeppe Sorensen
Midroll music ( Heartbreaking, Sincerely) by Kevin MacLeod ( License)
Cover photography by: Ant Belle
Researcher & Co-Editor: Aphra Luchesa Smith

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12. Daydreaming, Imagination and a lot of Reading with Callen James Martin - From Care To Where?

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Fiction-loving care leaver Callen James Martin, talks to us about working in publishing, writing his first novel and how the care system could better support young people questioning their sexuality. You can follow Callen on Twitter (@CallenJMartin). You can follow From Care To Where? on Twitter (@FromCareToWhere) and Instagram (@fromcaretowhere).