Local, national, international news
TWEETING NEWS
1st June 2013
I will no longer be putting news up here but will be tweeting it instead.
THE TRUTH ABOUT GAYS AND MONEY
31st May 2013
Interesting article which comes ahead of the launch of research next week that looks into LGBTs and economic status.
LGB YOUNG ADULTS SMOKE MORE THAN HETEROSEXUALS
30th May 2013
This is the first nationally-representative study to address the relationship between tobacco use and sexual identity in the young adult population.
THREE BARRIERS TO HEATHLY LGBT YOUTH
30th May 2013
Article looks at three key issues which stand in the way of LGBT youth developing healthy lives, bullying, parental rejection and homelessness.
BITCH TO QUIT
30th May 2013
Targeting smoking cessation at sexual minority women.
SCIENCE PROVING SEXUAL ORIENTATION IS IN-BORN
30th May 2013
Results of study finds lack of serotonin in female mice makes them attracted to other female mice.
HELP FOR BULLIED LGBT STUDENTS
23rd May 2013
The Safe Schools Improvement Act in the USA is a zero-cost bill that would require schools to implement comprehensive
anti-bullying policies that address bullying and harassment and ensure the safety and wellbeing of all students.
Comprehensive anti-bullying policies are seen as more effective than curriculum interventions.
ENDING LGBT HOMELESSNESS IN THE USA
23rd May 2013
Article looks at a project with a three-tiered approach to ending homelessness amongst LGBT youth which includes promoting acceptance; targeted
family assessment; and affirming and competent care.
BIASED REPORTING OF HOMOPHOBIC HATE CRIMES IN THE USA - MULTI-OPPRESSION AT WORK
23rd May 2013
Article look at how the media reports homophobic hate crimes against white LGBTs but minimises them against BME LGBTs.
CHURCH OF SCOTLAND TO ALLOW ORDAINED MINISTERS IN SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS
20th May 2013
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has passed a motion to allow the ordination and appointment of ministers in
same-sex relationships.
BRITISH LGBTS HAVE POORER HEALTH
20th May 2013
The LGBT Public Health Outcome report, published today, shows LGBT people have worse health and have a harder time in the
healthcare system. One of the key recommendations is that sexual orientation and gender identity should be routinely
monitored in health and social care. Click here for a copy of the report.
JAN BRIDGET AWARD FOR MOST INSPIRING YOUTH WORKER
17th May 2013
Last night I had the privilege of awarding the Jan Bridget Award for Most Inspiring Youth Worker to Sam Cresswell.
Sam is an amazing young man who helped to set up Afternoon TEA, which is for trans young people or those questioning their gender. Sam
is a cracking peer educator. He is very competent and stays calm under pressure, a great role model. Sam gives his own time to
help run the Afternoon TEA group and also supports people through the Afternoon TEA Facebook group. Well done Sam.
ANTI-GAY BULLYING CONTRIBUTES TO SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR
17th May 2013
New research published on-line yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health found that those young people bullied
because they were perceived to be gay were more likely to have considered suicide in the previous year.
LESBIANS AND ALCOHOL RECOVERY
17th May 2013
An interesting insight into a lesbian's experience of being a member of an AA (alcoholics anonymous) group in the USA.
GAY AND LESBIAN PRISONERS REPORT HIGHER LEVELS OF SEXUAL VICTIMISATION
17th May 2013
A study from across the USA, "National Inmate Survey, 2011-12, has found that lesbian and gay inmates in prisons
reported higher rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization.
UK HAS BEST LEGAL SUPPORT FOR LGBTS IN EUROPE
17th May 2013
The UK has come top of countries in Europe for legal support for LGBTs followed by Belgium, Sweden, Spain and Portugal.
NOT YET GOOD ENOUGH
1st May 2013
Ofsted have published a report, Not yet good enough: personal, social, health and economic education in schools, which
identifies the need for both primary and secondary schools to tackle homophobic bullying and include sexuality within PSHE lessons.
The report says that many teachers do not have appropriate training to tackle these issues. This is an extract from the report:
"Pupils' understanding of diversity, prejudice and discrimination was not developed well enough in one in four primary schools and
one in eight secondary schools. Pupils had learnt about racism and sexism but not about other forms of discrimination, resulting
in their failure to appreciate the impact on others of derogatory language, particularly homophobic and disablist comments. It
was evident in responses to the online survey that schools are not doing enough to ensure that pupils have a good awareness and
understanding of all forms of diversity and discrimination. Almost two thirds of panellists had learnt about racism, just under
a half about faith discrimination but only one third had learned about homophobic behaviour and its impact. The north west
region showed the starkest contrast, with 88% claiming to have learnt about racism but only 14% about homophobia."
YOUTH CHANCES SURVEY CLOSES
20th April 2013
The national survey with LGBT young people (16-25) has now closed. Altogether the project received 9,773 completed surveys - the largest
ever survey of LGBT youth in England. The initial findings will be published in June 2013. Well done to Dan and his team at the
Metro Centre.
AUSTRALIA'S MAIN MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY CRITICISES RELIGIOUS HOMOPHOBIA
20th April 2013
Kate Carnell, the CEO of Beyondblue Australia's main mental health charity, has called upon
Christian leaders to take reponsibility for the damage they cause by rejecting LGBTI members and
encouraging 'conversion' therapy. Other mental health groups are also calling on Christian
leaders to do more to help reduce suicides amongst LGBTI people.
NEW ZEALAND MPS SING MAORI LOVE SONG AFTER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LAW PASSED
18th April 2013
This made me cry!
UN CHIEF BAN KI-MOON TO LEAD GLOBAL CAMPAIGN FOR GAY RIGHTS
18th April 2013
Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations tells governments around the world
that they have a 'legal duty' to protect gay and trans people and that 'culture, tradition
or religion' could not be used as an excuse for failing to do so.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND EATING DISORDERS IN TEENS
7th April 2013
Research with 24,000 high school students in the USA found that LGB young people were more
likely to develop negative eating patterns than their heterosexual peers.
CLUBS, DRUGS AND GAYS
31st March 2013
Article acknowledges levels of drug use amongst gay and bisexual men is on the rise and
health services are not meeting the need. Argues for preventive measures to get rid of
homophobic bullying and discrimination to reduce vulnerabilities.
PSYCHIATRY DEPARTMENT IN COLUMBIA LAUNCH LGBT HEALTH INITIATIVE
31st March 2013
Article looks at a new health initiative which aims to produce policy-relevant research,
develop medical and mental-health
services, promote outreach in local communities, and educate students and practitioners
on LGBT health.
US LAUNCH STUDY INTO WHY LESBIANS ARE OBESE
12th March 2013
One and a half million US dollars are being provided to find out why many
lesbians are obese whilst gay men are not.
HEALTH INEQUALITIES WORSE FOR LESBIANS
12th March 2013
New research, which looks at life expectancy between opposite-sex and same-sex married
couples in Denmark, concludes: the study provides a detailed account of living arrangements
and their associations with mortality over three decades, thus yielding accurate and
statistically powerful analyses of public health relevance to countries with marriage
and cohabitation patterns comparable to Denmark's. Of note, mortality among same-sex
married men has declined markedly since the mid-1990s and is now at or below that of
unmarried, divorced and widowed men, whereas same-sex married women emerge as the
group of women with highest and, in recent years, even further increasing mortality.
Possible reasons for the decreased mortality for gay men include better treatment of
HIV/AIDs. Possible reasons for the increased mortality for lesbians include suicide
and cancer (lesbians were at 60% increased risk of death from cancer than heterosexual
married women). The mortality rate for lesbians is almost 90% higher than for
heterosexual married women. The study is published in the
International Journal of Epidemiology, March 11, 2013.
CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY AND MENTAL HEALTH OF LGBS
7th March 2013
Looks at recent research which found lesbian, gay and bisexual people were more likely to
experience childhood advsity than heterosexuals and how this can impact on mental wellbeing.
RESPONDING TO THE HEALTH NEEDS OF LGBTS IN CHICAGO
7th March 2013
Article looks at how Chicago responds to the health needs of LGBTs. In particular, it identifies
Valeo, a psychiatric and substance misuse
service, which takes an overall health and wellness approach providing specific services
for LGBTs with substance misuse problems.
MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES AND SERVICE RESPONSES IN CALIFORNIA
6th March 2013
A newly published report on the findings of a survey of over 3,000 LGBTQ people in California
found: 75% had experienced stress or anxiety or depression directly related to their sexual
orientation or gender identity/expression; this went up to 89% for the trans respondents.
The statistics were also higher for youth, Native Americans and those who identified as
queer. 77% had sought mental health services (85% trans). Here are some of the main
concerns expressed about mental health services: Did not know how to help me with my
sexual orientation/gender identity concerns; my sexual orientation/gender identity became
the focus of my mental health treatment but that was not why I sought care; made negative
comments about my sexual orientation/gender identity; did not know how to help same-sex
couples; did not know how to help mixed-orientation couples.
CLOSETED GAY SOLDIERS MORE LIKELY TO ATTEMPT SUICIDE
6th March 2013
Research from the USA has found that LGB soldiers who were in the closet were more likely to
show signs of extreme stress, have anxiety disorders and take drugs than their heterosexual
comrades.
LGBT FOSTERING AND ADOPTION
6th March 2013
More than 30 events nationwide are happening this week to encourage LGBT people in Britain to consider fostering and adoption.
HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING A PROBLEM FOR LGBT TEACHERS
23rd February 2013
NASUWT Conference in Birmingham has heard how homophobic bullying is still a problem for LGBT teachers.
LGBT STUDENTS AND SPORT IN US SCHOOLS
23rd February 2013
The Experiences of LGBT Students in School Athletics is examined in a new GLSEN report.
Amongst other things, the research found that PE classes are unsafe environments for LGBT
young people.
PREVENTING SUICIDE AMONGST LGBTS IN AUSTRALIA
20th February 2013
Article identifies relevant research and asks what is being done to prevent suicide
amongst LGBT people in Australia.
BUILDING RESILIENCE
17th February 2013
Very good article about gay men and developing resilience to reduce vulnerabilities.
US NATIONWIDE STUDY ON PERCENTAGE OF LGBTS
16th February 2013
No surprises in that LGBT people are found in every state and there are more in states that are
LGBT friendly. Confirms previous research which found non-whites are more likely to identify
as LGBT. We know that many LGBTs move away from rural and small town areas to live in
urban areas that are more LGBT-friendly. We also know that being out increases the mental
well-being of LGBT people. This confirms for me that LGBT people living in rural and small
town areas are not only more vulnerable but also are unlikely to have services that meet their
needs. I would also like to see a comparison between the suicide rates of the different states
to see if there is any correlation: I would expect the rates to be higher in those conservative
states where there is less acceptance and where there are fewer LGBT people out.
RISE IN HIV LEVELS AMONGST GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
16th February 2013
New research has found that the rise in HIV amongst gay and bisexual men has been caused through
unsafe sex, i.e. not using condoms.
COMING OUT INTERIM FINDINGS FOR YOUTH CHANCES
15th February 2013
Based on a sample of 6,005 young people from up and down the country, Youth Chances has so
far found:
- The average age of respondents who identified as lesbian or gay, bisexual or questioning
said they first thought they were LGB was 13.6 years old.
- The average age they first told someone they were LGBQ was 15.8 years old.
- The great majority (80%) said they first person they told they were LGBQ
was a friend.
- Nearly 3 quarters (70%) said they needed emotional support from someone
when they came out.
The survey closes on March 21st so if you haven't completed it yet you need to do so before
this date.
THREE DAY CONFERENCE FOR EDUCATORS ON LGBTS IN SCHOOL IN SAN DIEGO
15th February 2013
A national, three day conference aimed at educators concerning LGBT youth will take place
in San Diego this weekend. Ellen DeGeneres mother will be honoured at the event.
ONE MILLION TEENS FOR LGBT RIGHTS
15th February 2013
Article about US campaign group 1MT4LGBT.
EXPERIENCES OF LGBT YOUTH IN SMALL TOWN AND RURAL SCHOOLS
15th February 2013
Sorry I missed this when it came out last December. It is a report by GLSEN.
GAY MINORITIES MORE VULNERABLE TO HIV
9th February 2013
New research has found that mental stress from poverty and discrimination can contribute to
HIV among gay men.
BISEXUAL YOUNG MAN KILLS HIMSELF
6th February 2013
Anthony Stubbs from Leyland aged 16 years was found hung in a woodland. Anthony had been
bullied at school for being bisexual.
GAY MARRIAGE PASSES FIRST STAGE (SECOND READING) IN HOUSE OF COMMONS
6th February 2013
When the government said they were introducing a bill that would allow same-sex couples to
marry in the same way as heterosexuals, I wasn't all that bothered. However, the vociferous
backlash from religious homophobes suggested to me that there was more to this than I
originally thought. As a result I made an Out4Marriage
video
and yesterday I was on BBC Radio Leeds arguing
the case for gay marriage. I also complained to the BBC for the biased coverage on Radio 4's
Today programme. Last night the first reading of the bill was passed by 400 to 175 votes.
There were lots of ignorant arguments from those who opposed the bill, but there were many
excellent speeches from those in favour, in particular from out gay MPs. I felt pride as I
watched the debate and tears came to my eyes. Of course, there are several more stages
before the bill can become law and we can expect a lot more right-wing religious propaganda.
My heart-felt sympathy goes out to LGBT Christians who heard the first words uttered by the
new Archbishop opposing gay marriage.
BULLYING: IT GETS BETTER AFTER SCHOOL
4th February 2013
Using data from the UK, researchers Robinson, Espelage and Rivers have provided evidence that
homophobic bullying reduces over time: it seems to be worse at age 13-14 when over half
of LGB young people surveyed had experienced it whereas less than 10% experienced it
when they were aged 18-19. The findings are published in Pediatrics, February 4th 2013.
The researchers conclude, "The findings suggest that addressing LGB victimization during
adolescence is critical to reducing LGB-heterosexual emotional distress disparities but
additional support may be necessary to fully eliminate these disparities."
GAY MARRIAGE BILL INTRODUCED IN COMMONS
25th January 2013
The coalition government have introduced the same sex marriage bill today. At first, like
many other LGBT people, I wasn't particularly bothered about whether or not we could get
married until I saw all the homophobes using their religion to attack us. Religion has
been used for centuries to oppress homosexuals; this bill, and the recent European Human
Rights rulings, reveal the extent to which some people will go to continue using their
religion as a 'right' to oppress us.
GAY YOUTH FACE CHALLENGES AFTER FOSTER CARE
19th January 2013
New research from the USA has found that lesbian, gay and bisexual young people face striking
discrepancies compared with experiences of heterosexual peers on leaving foster care.
EQUALITY CALIFORNIA PUBLISH FINDINGS OF MENTAL HEALTH PROVISION FOR LGBTQQS
17th January 2013
Equality California have published the results of a two-year study into the efficacy and
access to mental health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning
people across California. The report recommends appropriate data
collection, training for mental health workers to ensure they are culturally competent and
taking on board the diversity of the community, ensuring mental health services are safe
for LGBTQQs. Equality California are organising a series of meetings for the community
to discuss the findings, how to affect change within local communities, and feedback from
local community members on the recommendations contained in the report.
CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL WOMEN TO HAVE SMEAR TESTS
17th January 2013
Cervical Cancer Prevention Week will take place across Europe on 20 to 26 January. The Lesbian
and Gay Foundation have launched a campaign to make lesbian and bisexual women aware that
they are vulnerable and should have smears.
NEW LGBT HEALTH CENTRE TO OPEN IN BIRMINGHAM
17th January 2013
With funding from the Big Lottery and Birmingham City Council, a new health centre targeting
LGBT people will open in Birmingham at the end of January.
EUROPEAN RULINGS DO NOT PUT CHRISTIAN RIGHTS ABOVE GAY RIGHTS
16th January 2013
The European courts ruled on four cases claimed by Christians in the UK. They found that
in one instance, a BA worker, had the right to wear a small cross at work whilst the other
three claimants lost their cases: a health worker was not allowed to wear a crucifix as
this was deemed a health and safety issue; a Relate counsellor and a local authority registrar
could not let their 'Christian beliefs' allow them to discriminate in the workplace and in
provision of services.
THREE IN FIVE PEOPLE IN WALES SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE
15th January 2013
A survey by YouGov for Stonewall Cymru found the majority of Welsh people support gay
marriage and tackling homophobia. It also found that three in five young people have
witnessed homophobic bullying in school.
AUSTRALIAN LESBIANS: LINK BETWEEN DEPRESSION AND ALCOHOL MISUSE
15th January 2013
New research from the University of Melbourne has found lesbian, bisexual and transgender
women are two to three times more likely to experience anxiety and depression than
heterosexual women. The period before coming out is the most high risk time. Women who
have children are less likely to experience depression, suggesting child-bearing helps
build resilience.
INCLUDING LGBTS IN SEX EDUCATION
12th January 2013
Currently the government are undertaking a review of sex education in schools which provides
an excellent opportunity to be more inclusive about LGBT issues.
YOUTH CHANCES ALMOST AT HALF-WAY MARK
11th January 2013
I am delighted to report that the national LGBT youth survey, Youth Chances, has almost reached
7,500 completed surveys, which is half of the original target of 15,000! Well done Dan and the
team at Metro. Please encourage as many LGBT young people as possible to take part in this
ground-breaking study.
BULLYING IS CONTAGIOUS
11th January 2013
The results of research by Gabriele Pati conducted in Italy into homophobic bullying were
published last year in School Psychology Review. An overview of the findings is available
on the website GoodTherapy.org. The findings suggest that those who witness homophobic
bullying are more likely to engage in homophobic bullying.
MASSACHUSETTS COMMISSION ON LGBT YOUTH RE-ESTABLISHED
11th January 2013
The original Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian youth that was created in 1992 by
Governor William F. Weld in response to an epidemic of suicide among gay and lesbian youth.
The Commission was closed down for a while but on January 8th 2013 new commissioners were
sworn in. The purpose of the Commission is to recommend and advocate to all branches of
state government effective policies, programmess, and resources for LGBT youth to thrive.
HOMELESS LGBT YOUTH REPRESENT UP TO 40 PERCENT OF THOSE ON THE STREETS IN USA
11th January 2013
LGBT young people in the USA are still disproportionately represented amongst homeless youth.
QUEER YOUTH SEX WORKERS IN CANADA REMAIN AT RISK
11th January 2013
An article about support network re-established for LGBT sex workers, most of whom are
homeless youth, after funding taken away.
ACCEPTANCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN CHINA GOES BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS
6th January 2013
A new study shows that Chinese acceptance of homosexuality goes back many thousands of years.
CELIBATE GAY PRIESTS IN CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS ALLOWED TO BECOME BISHOPS
5th January 2013
The Church of England have announced that gay priests who are in civil partnerships will be
allowed to become bishops, as long as they are celibate.