Working with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young People, Jan Bridget, Gay and Lesbian Youth in Calderdale

Transcription

1 Working with Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young People, Jan Bridget, Gay and Lesbian Youth in Calderdale Ten Main Issues Having worked with LGB young people for over 20 years, I have identified ten main issues which regularly come up. These are: Homophobia i The majority of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people will have internalised a stigmatised identity and initially be frightened of admitting who they are: they do not want to be associated with the negative stereotypes of homosexuality, stereotypes created by religion, medicine and, until recently, the law. Stereotypes which are perpetuated by the media, education and the family. LGB young people 'in denial' are extremely vulnerable. Isolation Internalised homophobia is made worse because of the invisibility of LGB issues in the school curriculum, a lack of positive role models and the continued use of stereotypical images in the media. In other words, until young people come into contact with information which challenges negative messages, their stigmatised identity will remain intact. Many young people when they first come out believe that they are 'the only one'. They are not aware of any other young people who are gay! Hence the need for a coming out process: Until a young person has accepted their sexual orientation i.e. come out to themselves, they cannot begin the second stage of the process, i.e. telling other people such as friends and family. This process is neverending and whilst it makes them vulnerable to rejection (many lose friends, families and jobs) at the same time it enables them to develop their identity: you need to come out at some level to be able to access support, in particular from local LGB youth groups. As a result of greater tolerance and visibility in the media, LGB people are coming out at younger ages; but this is making them even more vulnerable because they are still at school, where homophobic bullying is rife, and dependent on their parents, who may reject them. The average age for coming out used to be 21 years, it is now 16 years with some coming out as young as 13 years. Bullying Around 80% of LGB young people have either experienced or witnessed homophobic bullying in school: bullying based on the belief that the victim is known or perceived to be gay. A similar percentage have witnessed homophobic abuse in the streets. This makes self acceptance even more difficult. Some young LGB people who have been bullied delay the coming out process: the act of bullying confirms that they are bad and should be punished. It is therefore more difficult to admit to being gay. However, the longer a young person is stuck in this 'denial' stage, the more vulnerable they become. Parental rejection Whilst other young people who belong to minority groups with stigmatised identities have the support of their parents to tackle the discrimination they will experience, 1

2 most LGB young people, at least initially, experience rejection by the very people who are meant to love them: their parents. A proportion (possibly 10%) of parents accept their LGB offspring without question and support them; a similar proportion (10%) throw their child out when they discover they are gay. Most parents react badly initially and gradually come round to varying degrees. However, few parents positively support their children to deal with internal and external homophobia, not least because they don't understand. Parents have to go through a similar process as their LGB children: they must first challenge their internalised homophobia and replace the negative messages with more accurate information, i.e. just because their child is gay does not mean that he is a pervert, he is still the same person as he was before they found out; the only difference is he loves people of the same sex. It is possible that young LGB people who experience both homophobic bullying and parental rejection are more likely to attempt suicide. The longer an LGB young person stays at home with homophobic parents constantly undermining part of their core sense of being, the more vulnerable they become. Some of the most distressed young LGB people come from homophobic families. Internalised homophobia, isolation, bullying and parental rejection results in many LGB young people being vulnerable to: Mental health problems In a local study by GALYIC (Gay and Lesbian Youth in Calderdale), 83% had experienced long periods of depression; 70% had experienced suicidal thoughts; 51% had made suicide attempts; 76% had self-harmed; 35% had had phobias, 48% anxieties; and 4% eating disorders ii ). Whilst this is only a small scale study (33 young people were interviewed) nevertheless other local, regional, national and international research supports the findings to greater or lesser degrees. iii Homelessness It is estimated that between a quarter and a third of homeless young people are LGB. This is either because their parents have thrown them out or they have left home early because of homophobic parents. Forty-two percent of the GALYIC study had been homeless, many because of issues around their sexual orientation. If parents cannot or will not accept and support their LGB offspring then it is crucial that safe and supportive housing is found: many homeless hostels are unsafe for LGB young people and simply perpetuate the homophobic environments they have fled. Without safe housing, like other young homeless people, homeless young LGB people become further vulnerable to alcohol/drug misuse, prostitution, sexual abuse, etc. Alcohol & Drug misuse It is estimated that about a third of LGB people have, or have had, alcohol/drug problems. This often starts in adolescence when they turn to alcohol and/or drugs as a way of coping with internalised homophobia. Using alcohol/drugs in this way stops young people moving forward in their identity development; instead of challenging the internalised negative messages (difficult though this is) and developing internal strength, LGB young people remain stuck in the denial stage. It is essential, therefore, to deal with any substance problems first. 2

3 Whilst the adult gay scene can offer a place where LGB people can be themselves, it is not necessarily a safe place for vulnerable young LGB because of the emphasis on use of alcohol, drugs and sex. Sexual abuse Thirty-nine percent of the GALYIC study had experienced sexual abuse and/or rape. This finding has been repeated in other local and international studies. There is an urgent need for more research in this area. However, it has been suggested that it is their vulnerability which makes LGB young people prone to sexual abuse/rape. Both young men and young women are vulnerable. Some are abused by family members or family friends; some have been abused by religious leaders; others by strangers: a possible outcome of vulnerable LGB young people accessing the adult gay scene is that they end up drunk or drugged and find themselves being picked up by someone older than them who then sexually abuses or rapes them. Sometimes young women are raped by men in the belief that this is what they need to make them straight. Being sexually abused and/or raped often affects the coming out/identity formation process as it can make victims more confused about their sexual orientation. Some believe the myth that sexual abuse makes people gay. Risky sexual behaviour U.S. school studies have found that LGB young people are twice as likely to get pregnant or father a child as heterosexual young people. A significant proportion of LGB young people have had sexual intercourse with members of the opposite sex. It is possible that some young people, whilst trying to find out if they are LGB, have sexual intercourse without condoms and become pregnant/get someone pregnant. At the same time, young people with low self-esteem, a poor self-identity and who misuse alcohol and drugs are more likely to be promiscuous or pursue risky sexual behaviour. Inaccessible mainstream services The situation facing vulnerable young LGB people is often compounded by mainstream, generic, services (set up to support young people with mental health problems, homelessness, alcohol & drug misuse, sexual abuse, and risky sexual behaviour) who, in the main, do not meet the needs of LGB young people. iv This is partly because they are unaware of the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of their clients but also because most professional training includes little on the issues facing this vulnerable group. Indeed, in some cases, professional intervention has had a disastrous effect when wrong information or advice is given, e.g. telling a young person to come out to their family and not taking on board the possibility that they may be thrown out. Many professionals who work with young people do not understand the emotional turmoil most LGB young people go through in accepting who they are. Some think that simply giving the young person the telephone number of the local LGB youth group is sufficient. Going to an LGB youth group for the first time can be almost as terrifying as coming out to parents. There is also the situation where some professionals, because of their religious convictions, act in a homophobic way: this can be as simple as removing a poster advertising the local LGB youth group and thereby denying potential membership or the worse case scenario is when they feed into internalised homophobia by emphasising the negative messages, increasing guilt and encouraging young LGB 3

4 people to believe they can become straight. There is no evidence that religious conversion therapy can work; on the contrary, research suggests that this is likely to make LGB young people become more depressed and suicidal. Whilst it might be possible to encourage someone to stop having same-sex sexual relations, it is not possible to change one's sexual orientation. Provision of Services LGB Youth Groups: Targeted Services Accessing a local LGB youth group, which provides a safe space to meet peers, can challenge the isolation faced by many LGB young people. However, these groups are usually only found in large towns and cities and provision of support varies from once a month meetings to weekly youth groups and more. GALYIC (Gay and Lesbian Youth in Calderdale): An Example of Good Practice GALYIC was established in 1999 based on needs identified in a research project. v Services now include a weekly youth group, weekly drop-in, one-to-one support, residentials, joint events with regional LGB youth groups, projects (publicity, website, newsletter, local radio), a befriending service and a youth council as well as support for families and work with agencies. GALYIC have pursued a multi-agency approach from its inception not least because it is a small charity with only a few members of staff but also because of the varied needs of its members and the fact that Calderdale is a semi-rural area. Whilst face-toface staff are qualified professionals (usually youth and community workers) they are not trained or qualified to deal with, for example, mental health problems. Working with other agencies is, therefore, essential. On the one hand it means that GALYIC can access specialist support for its members whilst on the other there is a need to raise awareness of the issues so that those young people who access mainstream services are more likely to get their needs met. Having said this, unless mainstream services are aware of the sexual orientation/gender identity of its clients, meeting their needs will be impossible. Mainstream Services: Six Steps to Becoming Gay-Friendly To make a service accessible it must be 'gay-friendly.' The most important first step is to ensure that all staff, but especially those who work face-to-face with young people, are trained in awareness of the issues; policies and procedures must be in place for dealing with staff who are homophobic. The third step is to develop specialist services, in many instances this will mean identifying a member of staff who is either LGB or who has knowledge of the issues (e.g. because a sibling is LGB); that person will then need extra support and training to develop their knowledge and skills in supporting LGB young people. A good way of achieving this is to second the worker to work with the local LGB youth group. Once all this is in place, the fourth step is to publicise within mainstream publicity so that potential clients will know - from the start - that the agency is gay-friendly. The fifth step is to introduce procedures that facilitate identification of clients: if the messages clients pick up from publicity, posters in waiting rooms, equal opportunities statements all make it clear that services are gay-friendly, and staff have had training and are aware of the need to identify the sexual orientation of their clients, asking a client about their sexual orientation in a sensitive manner at an appropriate time becomes much less daunting; see Asking the Question below. The sixth step is making a successful referral to the local LGB youth group because tackling isolation is crucial. As many 4

5 of the referrals received from mainstream agencies have not been successful (success is measured by whether the young person attends the youth group and/or other services), GALYIC have developed a Referral Form (see below). Assessment of Need Because of the vulnerability of its members, GALYIC have developed procedures to assess their needs; this can be found in the Referral, Assessment and Support Flow Chart (see below). An initial assessment, using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire (see below) identifies the level of vulnerability (the young person completes the form and if the results suggest they are 'at risk' the worker discusses their responses and agrees with them which service they need immediate referral to i.e. housing support, sexual health counsellor, CAMHS, alcohol & drugs service, etc). Confidentiality is stressed, and this will only be broken if it is considered the young person is a danger to themselves or to others (they are informed of this). As soon as possible a full needs assessment is conducted utilising the GALYIC Needs Assessment Tool which covers issues of coming out, school, homophobic abuse, alcohol/drug use, sexual health, mental health, support. The worker and young person then agree an action plan based on the results, which is regularly reviewed. In many cases, once the young person has accepted their sexual orientation, has accessed peers, positive role models, and accurate information, they grow from being frightened, isolated and vulnerable to developing a positive identity, making new friends and are then able to get on with the usual developmental tasks of adolescence and young adulthood. vi On-going Support Needs However, some young people will have developed harmful coping strategies as a result of internalised homophobia, homophobic bullying and abuse, parental rejection and emotional abuse. Once they are removed from the unsafe environment (or the environment becomes safe) and access appropriate support, they can challenge their inner fears and develop more positive ways of dealing with oppression. Many of the mental health problems will be alleviated or reduced (this is not to say that should there be a reversal in their circumstances or extra stresses such as breakdown of a relationship, their mental health problems won't resurface as their past experience continues to make them vulnerable, but as they learn to deal with homophobia and discrimination in more positive ways, their inner strength increases and their vulnerability lessens). Others, in particular those who have developed more serious mental health problems including schizophrenia need extra help. There needs to be further research but there are possible links between stress caused through internalising a stigmatised identity and schizophrenia; especially if alcohol/drug misuse is involved. It is crucial that those young people who do not have the support of parents are able to access support from other sources, e.g. for support after experiencing homophobic abuse, employment or housing discrimination. Even supportive parents rarely understand the ramifications of homophobic discrimination. Those young people who have been rejected by their families are vulnerable in the same way that many young people leaving care are: they do not have the on-going love and support of families. There is, therefore, a desperate need for crisis intervention work with those families who have problems accepting their LGB children. 5

6 i Fear and hatred of homosexuals which is found in both heterosexuals and homosexuals. If the young person belongs to another minority group they will be dealing with internalised stigmatised messages in relation to their other minority status. ii In an earlier study more had experienced eating disorders and other research confirms this vulnerability. iii For access to research, resources, policies see: search with LGBTs. iv The situation will vary in different parts of the country. London, for example, has many dedicated services for LGB youth with mainstream services being more accessible. v ACTION for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young People in Calderdale, Lesbian Information Service. vi For young people who are transgender, the process is more complicated. It is usually only transgender young people who identify as either lesbian, gay or bisexual who access LGB youth groups. LGB youth groups can offer acceptance and support to transgender young people and facilitate access to specialist support based on whether or not they decide to transition to the opposite gender. 6