Someone to turn to

By Tom Burke

Labour has a proud record of achieving equality for young LGBT people. The headlines are familiar to many of us: repealing section 28, ensuring an equal age of consent and tackling homophobic bullying in schools. The proposed public sector equality duty will require public bodies to promote equality for LGBT people and new guidance on tackling transphobic bullying will be released shortly.

Whilst much has been achieved, many young lesbian, gay, bi and trans children and young people continue to face bullying and discrimination. Stonewall found that almost two thirds of young LGB pupils have experienced direct bullying. Young people have told the Children’s Rights Alliance for England that sex education is inadequate and did not address their needs. They lack support in school about homophobia or worse would experience it from staff. Too many feel isolated and alone, badly affecting their mental health and wellbeing.

These experiences highlight how we have started to reach the limits of what legal reform alone can achieve for young LGBT people. Whilst important debates about strengthening legal protection from discrimination continue, it is increasingly recognised that social acceptance of young LGBT people is what will really change their life experiences. This has two parts – changing society’s attitude on the one hand but also by building the self-esteem and confidence of young LGBT to accept their sexuality, to have pride in their sexuality and the resilience to deal with homophobia.

How do we do this? What young LGBT people have said is the need to meet and socialise with other young people just like them. Much of this would be like any group of young people – a desire to make new friends. However, they also want to share their fears of “coming out” and how to deal with the intoxicating ‘first love’ in the face of hostility and the real risk of homophobic reactions. Bringing young LGBT people together to support one another is key.

To respond to this demand, many LGBT youth groups have developed across the country. Most are run by charities or local authority youth services and many are led by lesbian and gay professionals. They offer this safe space for young people to come together.

For many young people this is a real lifeline, especially as the rest of the gay community is very adult centered. The pink pound has a strong association with alcohol and sex. Apart from a few large cities, the gay community is mainly gay pubs and if you’re lucky a gay club. “Gay shops” are usually full of porn and young people are barred. The gay press is full of pictures of muscular men which are alien and unachievable for many young men. Lots of gay social groups are just for adults. Whilst this may be perfectly fine for adults, it ends up excluding younger people amongst our community.

Sadly, these LGBT youth groups remain few and far between. Many are funded through HIV prevention funding (targeted at young gay and bisexual men) so sometimes must neglect the needs of young gay and bi women. Many are run by committed but undertrained volunteers. They lack the space to meet and the money to run good activities. Provision for Trans people remains appallingly low.

We need to tackle this and create a gay community which is inclusive of all – young and old. We can create a society where all young LGBT people can live their lives with dignity and have pride in who they are. We need to invest in places for them to go and to have someone to talk to. Let’s have an entitlement for all young LGBT people to good quality youth provision that meets their needs. We need a better trained and supported workforce. The Government’s youth green paper and ten year youth strategy does not mention support for young LGBT people – an oversight that must be addressed. Government action on legal protection is welcome but we also need the practical support to make it a reality.