Celebrating Diversity Training Full Day Session

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Celebrating Diversity TrainingFull Day Session
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Homophobia

• The fear and hatred of those who love and
  sexually desire those of the same sex.1
• Homophobia - which has some of its roots in
  sexism - includes prejudice, discrimination,
  harassment, and acts of violence brought on by
  fear and hatred.1
• Homophobia compromises human integrity by
  promoting learned hatred and sanctioning the use
  of violence and discrimination

• Miller and Mahamati, 1994
• STEP Manual, Victorian Child and Adolescent
  Mental Health Promotion Officers

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Homophobia

• Like other forms of discrimination and prejudice,
  homophobia can be expressed in a way that is
• Overt - violence, discriminatory laws
• OR
• Covert - assuming everyone is heterosexual
  (heterosexism), gay jokes, social exclusion,
  etc

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Heterosexism

• The belief in the inherent superiority of one
  pattern of loving and thereby its right to
  dominance.1
• Sets of assumptions that empower heterosexual
  persons, especially heterosexual white males, and
  exclude openly homosexual persons from social,
  religious, and political power. It is a system of
  coercion that demands heterosexuality in return
  for first class citizenship.2
• Prejudice or discrimination against gay people,
  analogous to racism the assumption of
  heterosexual superiority (liberation as a
  movement of ideas).

• Audre Lorde
• Virginia Mollenkott

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Levels of Homophobia

• Personal or Internalised Homophobia
• Interpersonal Homophobia
• Institutional Homophobia
• Cultural Homophobia

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The Sexual Trichotomy
Sexual Identity how we self-identify and/or
publicly identify
Sexual Orientation who we are attracted to
Sexual Behaviour the sexual contacts we have
Department of Education, Employment and Training,
Victoria 2001, Catching On Teaching and Learning
Activities
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The FBI Model???????

• Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service of WA Inc
  Clearing The Way, p.58.

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Sexuality can be fluid
Homosexuality
Heterosexuality

• You may like men, but sleep with women where do
  you sit on this continuum?

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Definitions

• It is important to note that definitions cant
  always adequately encompass how individual people
  really feel and live their lives, or the breadth
  of diversity. Definitions are also far removed
  from the joy of meeting real people. 1

How people identify is very contested, therefore
it is really important to use language and words
young people use for themselves. 1
Sexual Orientation and Sexuality The nature of a
persons basic emotional and sexual attraction to
other people.
1. Samantha McGuffie, KYS, 2004
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Definitions

• Heterosexual
• People whose sexual and emotional feelings are
  primarily for the opposite sex. Also known as
  straight.
• Homosexual
• People whose sexual and emotional feelings are
  primarily for the same sex. Those who feel this
  way often identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.
• Gay
• People whose sexual and emotional feelings are
  primarily for the same sex. In Australia this can
  mean men or women, although it tends to be used
  mainly for men.
• Lesbian
• Women whose sexual and emotional feelings are
  primarily for women.

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Definitions

• Bisexual or Bi
• Those whose sexual and emotional feelings are for
  both women and men. 
• Same Sex Attracted/ Same Sex Attracted Young
  people (SSAY)
• Those who are attracted to people of their own
  sex. The term has been used in the context of
  young people whose sense of sexual identity is
  not fixed, but who experience sexual feelings
  toward people of their own sex.
• Intersex
• A biological condition where a person is born
  with physical characteristics and/or sex
  chromosomes that are not exclusively male or
  female. An earlier term for intersex was
  hermaphrodite.
• Queer
• An umbrella term that includes a range of
  non-heterosexual gender and sexual identities.

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Definitions

• Transgender or Trans
• Umbrella term for people whose gender identity is
  different from the sex assigned to them at birth
  and/or whose gender expression is non
  stereotypical.
• Transsexual
• Individuals who are born anatomically male or
  female but have a profound identification with
  the opposite gender assigned to them at birth.
  Transsexuals usually seek hormone therapy and
  often surgery to bring their body in line with
  their gender identity.

Some trans people feel bi-gendered or
neither-gendered, challenging the idea that
there can only be two genders.
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Definitions

• Sexual Identity
• How people see themselves and present themselves
  to others.
• Sexual Behaviour
• What a person does sexually. Doesnt always match
  identity or orientation.
• Gender expression
• An individuals characteristics and behaviours
  such as appearance, dress, mannerisms, speech
  patterns and social interactions.
• Gender Identity
• A persons internal, deeply felt sense of being
  either male, female, something other, or in
  between. Everyone has a gender identity.

GLBTIAbbreviation for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
Transgender and Intersex.
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Population

• How many young people in Australia have a
  non-heterosexual attraction?

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5
10
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In Australian around 8-11 of young people have a
non-heterosexual attraction1
That is around 2 students in every class of 20.
1. Lindsay et al. 1997 cited in Hillier et al.,
2005 Op. cit.
2. AIHW, 2007, Young Australians their Health
and Wellbeing, Australian Institute of Health and
Wellbeing
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Writing Themselves InNational Data on Same-Sex
Attracted Young People, 1998
1. Hillier, Warr Haste (1996) 2. Lindsay,
Smith Rosenthal (1997) 3. Hillier, Matthews
Dempsey (1997)
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Writing Themselves InNational Data on Same-Sex
Attracted Young People, 1998

• Homosexual hatred and fear displayed in rural
  focus groups and teacher interviews 1
• Over-representation of SSAY in homeless sample 1
• Higher drug use SSAY are 3-4 times more likely
  to report having injected drugs 2
• Higher levels of STIs amongst sexually active
  SSAY. Boys 10 times and girls 4 times more
  likely to have STI 2
• Retrospective studies with older groups
  anecdotal information reveal stories of abuse
  and links with suicide

• Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
  Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
  Themselves In.
• Lindsay et al 1997

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Writing Themselves InCharacteristics of the
respondents
Writing Themselves In Characteristics of the
respondents

• 750 same-sex attracted young people aged 1421
  years from every State and Territory of
  Australia.
• 25 from non-metropolitan areas
• 87 were born in Australia, 65 of parents who
  had been born in Australia
• 50 accessed the survey through the Internet and
  50 through the post
• One-fifth had never spoken to anyone about their
  sexuality
• 200 wrote stories about their lives

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
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Writing Themselves InSources used by SSAY for
information
Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
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Writing Themselves InSources of Information
Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
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Writing Themselves In Again 6 Years OnThe 2nd
national report on the sexuality, health and
well-being of same-sex attracted young Australians

• This study followed up Writing Themselves In to
  explore the positive changes since 1998
• 1749 respondents aged between 14 - 21

1. Hillier et al., 2005a, Writing themselves in
again, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health
and Society, LaTrobe University, Melbourne
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Writing Themselves In AgainSexual attraction,
identity and behaviour

• Young people more likely to be attracted
  exclusively to the same sex and identify as gay,
  homosexual or lesbian than in 1998
• Young women still less likely than men to
  identify as gay, homosexual or lesbian
• Increase in positive feeling about sexuality -
  76 feeling great or good in 2004 compared with
  60 in 1998
• SSAY people more likely to be sexually active
  earlier than heterosexual peers
• SSAY more likely to be having sex in line with
  feelings of attraction than 1998 study, therefore
  assumptions should not be made about SSAY sexual
  behaviours

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Writing Themselves In AgainSexual attraction,
identity and behaviour

• Young women were more likely than young men to be
  SSA yet only heterosexually active

• 47 with only women
• 27 with both sexes and
• 5 with only the opposite sex

Who are lesbians having sex with?

• 17 with only women
• 37 with both sexes and
• 17 with only the opposite sex

Who are bisexual women having sex with?

• 70 with only men
• 10 with both sexes and
• 1 with only the opposite sex

Who are gay men having sex with?
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Writing Themselves In AgainWhat age did these
young people realise their sexuality?
30 before puberty 30 during puberty 10 always
knew1
If a third of students realise their SSA before
puberty, when should we be discussing SSA issues
in schools?
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Writing Themselves In AgainHomophobia and
discrimination

• Work and school were more common sites of this
  discrimination
• 44 reported verbal abuse and 16 reported
  physical assault (same as 1998)
• The most common site for abuse, was school - 74
  of abuse happened there.
• Impact on young people who had been abused
• Fared worse on every indicator of health and
  wellbeing
• Felt less safe at school, home, social occasions
  and sporting events
• More likely to self harm, report an STI and use
  a legal and illegal drugs
• More likely to have sought support from
  individual or organisations

Discrimination is against the law Victorian
Equal Opportunity and Human rights Commission
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Writing Themselves In AgainAlcohol and drug use

• 2004 - use of all drugs was down on reported use
  in 1998
• Drug use still substantially higher than for
  heterosexual young people (i.e. double no.
  SSAY have injected drugs)
• Significant relationship between experience of
  homophobic abuse and drug use

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Writing Themselves In AgainDisclosure and support

• More young people had disclosed their sexuality
  in 2004 than in 1998 (95 vs 82)
• Support for those who had disclosed had
  increased
• More young people are disclosing to teachers and
  school welfare counsellors
• Friends remained most popular confidantes -
  followed by mothers
• Young people feel isolated and unsafe can
  connect supportive and accepting world through
  the internet

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Writing Themselves In AgainMultiple layers of
identity

• SSAY Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
  Backgrounds (CALD)
• Less likely to have disclosed to parents and
  feel safe at home than anglo peers
• Religion
• Young people being forced to choose - sexuality
  or religion.
• In many cases the rejection of their sexuality
  and the embracing of their religion
  resulting in young people hating and harming
  themselves.
• SSAY with a disability
• Dual discrimination between and within the two
  groups
• Generalised feeling of people with disabilities
  being asexual
• Very little research in this area

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Writing Themselves In AgainMultiple layers of
identity

• Rural areas
• Feel less safe at social occasion than their
  urban peers
• Lack of appropriate services, SSA safe-sex
  information, confidentiality and support and
  accessing information through gay media
• Those migrating to urban areas at risk due to
  lack of knowledge of new environment (eg. drugs,
  alcohol, available services)

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Writing Themselves In AgainThe way forward

• Preventable abuse is predisposing young people
  to health risks including self harm and suicide
• Schools, most importantly, need to address
  homophobia when it occurs - recognise it, name it
  and react with zero tolerance

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Suicide Prevention Australia
• National conference, Sydney, April 2001
• Study by Jonathan Nicholas and John Howard(not
  the former Prime Minister, another Mr Howard )

• 528 young adults up to 30yrs (m21yrs)
• Heterosexual 94 males, 192 females
• SSA 123 males, 119 females
• Includes people from non-urban areas

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Suicide Attempts
• Bisexual/undecided female 34.9
• Bisexual/undecided male 29.4
• Lesbian female 28
• Gay male 20.8
• Heterosexual female 8.3
• Heterosexual male 5.4

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Lesbians first suicide attempts on average
• 1.9 years after becoming sexually interested in
  women,
• 0.2 years after self-identifying as SSA, and
• 0.8 years before another person found out they
  were lesbian,
• 2 years before they had their first samegender
  sexual experience

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Gay males first suicide attempts on average
• 5.7 years after becoming sexually interested in
  men,
• 3.5 years after self-identifying as gay, and
• 0.4 years before another person found out they
  were gay,
• 0.3 years before they had their first
  same-gender sexual experience

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Research into PracticeLook at the handout, how
can you apply this research in your work?
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Disclosure to Professionals

• 22 had disclosed to a counsellor outside school
  (63 were supportive)
• 13 to a special teacher (60 supportive)
• 12 to a youth worker (67 supportive)
• 11 to doctors (67 supportive)

• 6 to a student welfare or school counsellor
  (67 supportive)

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Coming Out to Parents

• 72 had not told their mothers
• 84 had not told their fathers
• Generally it was slightly more likely that
  mothers would be more supportive then fathers
• Reactions ranged from
• Ignoring or discounting the information
• Passive acceptance
• Tears
• Screaming
• Rejection and ejection from the family home
• No parents celebrated the revelation

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Coming OutVivienne Cass (1995)
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Coming OutVivienne Cass (1995)
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Coming Out - Summary Vivienne Cass (1995)
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Coming out information

• Why do young people need to come out?
• It can be a vulnerable time
• What is important to say?
• What not say to a student?
• Some questions for a young person to consider
  when coming out

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Coming Out
SSA young people need to think through the issues
and the potential impact of disclosing their
sexuality. Some questions you could ask to
assess the safety and readiness of a SSA young
person in coming out
Do you think your friends would accept your
sexuality?
Can you sit down with your parents and talk
openly about your sexuality?
Should you ask one of your siblings or a close
friend to break the news?
After considering all this would it be safer
not to reveal your sexuality (and possibly your
relationship)?
Should you tell just one parent and not the other?
What alternative financial resources are
available to you if your family asks you to leave
home?
What is happening at home at present? Are there
other issues of concern that your parents are
dealing with?
Have you considered your motives before telling
your parents?
Should you let your parents know about your
sexuality by dropping hints, or simply by
introducing your partner and letting them draw
their own conclusions?
Should you tell them in a letter?
In case theres a negative response, are you sure
there are supportive friends/people for you to
depend on?
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How to support a SSA young person

• Respond in a positive way.
• Provide accurate information eg. 10 of young
  people are attracted to people of the same
  sex.
• Advise the young person of resources that exist
• Talk to the young person about organisations
  that can provide support
• If you dont have any of this information
  yourself, offer to get it for them without
  disclosing the students name to anyone (unless
  there is suicide risk).
• Carefully discuss how the young person is
  feeling about themselves and who else would be
  safe to talk to
• Discuss the young persons thoughts about coming
  out to others never encourage them to come
  out they need to assess what the
  consequences may be.

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Strategies for supporting SSAY

• 1. Listen, hear and understand the needs of a
  SSA young person
• 2. Assess the young persons level of risk
  factors (including suicide risk)
• Never assume you know the sexual orientation of
  anyone
• Use inclusive language thats gender neutral
• 5. Positively affirm the young persons
  identity
• 6. Ensure student confidentiality
• 7. Discuss the young persons thoughts about
  coming out including readiness for, and awareness
  of the risks associated with coming out.
• 8. Assess the level of support available to the
  young person
• 9. Know about resources and where to refer
• 10. Keep yourself informed

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Creating SSAY friendly environmentsCreated by
Felicity Martin, Nillumbik Banyule SSAY Support
Project

• Modelling inclusiveness of all students,
  including those of different cultures, religions
  and sexual orientation, will say so much to a
  young person.
• Assume at least 10 of people are SSA
• Respond to homophobic abuse in the same way
  youd respond to racism or sexism
• Display posters and brochures in pastoral care
  and welfare areas
• Buy books and videos for the school library
• Make every classroom a SEXISM, RACISM,
  HOMOPHOBIAFREE ZONE
• Include different family structures in any
  discussions on family and community
• Organise a whole school review of your
  anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies
• Ensure that school computers allow internet
  access to sites discussing SSA issues
• Be openly supportive towards, and a resource
  for, SSA young people in your school.
• Advertise the local SSAY social support group
• Display rainbow stickers around the school.

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Stepping it up - Video
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Policies frameworks for schools

• Framework for Student Support Services
• National Safe Schools Framework
• Talking Sexual Health
• The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act
• Codes of Conduct
• Health Promoting Schools
• MindMatters

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What is a whole school approach?

• 1. Policy development
• 2. Professional development and training
• 3. Inclusive curriculum frameworks
• 4. Student support and welfare
• 5. The broader school community

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Responding to homophobia at school

• N name the problem
• A refer to the agreement' ie our ground
  rules/policies say no put downs
• C give consequences If you use a put-down
  again you will have to follow disciplinary
  procedures

Developed by Felicity Martin, SSA Project Worker,
Nillumbik Community Health Centre, 2003
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Responding to comments aimed at people

• 1. Im not sitting next to her shes so gay.
• I dont want to hear you putting people down
• A persons sexual orientation is none of your
  business.
• Go away and do some research for me about the
  word gay
• This is regarded as harassment - go and read
  the policy on bullying, harassment and
  homophobia
• 2. Hes a poofta. (A student explaining why
  they were aggressive towards another student.)
• What has their sexuality got to do with the
  situation?
• How do you know the person is gay? (Be aware of
  personal attacks)
• This is regarded as harassment - go and read
  the policy on bullying, harassment and
  homophobia
• 3. We hate Ms Sing shes such a big lezzo.
• What do you mean by that?

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Responding to comments aimed at objects

• 1. Im not sitting at that desk - its gay.
• What do you mean its gay? questioning the
  response.
• How can you tell if its happy or sad by looking
  at it have you been talking to it?
• I didnt know a desk could have a sexual
  orientation.
• Is it a boy desk that likes other boy desks or a
  girl desk that likes girl desks?
• We accept both gay and heterosexual desks in
  this classroom
• All desks are celibate here (in a catholic or
  religious school)
• Youre using a term to discriminate against
  people
• 2. This movie is so gay.
• Does it have a gay or lesbian theme?
• Whats a better word to explain what you mean?
• So are you saying you like it or you dont like
  it?
• What do you mean by gay in an emotional
  sense?

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Responding to comments aimed at objects

• 3. Were not getting in that car Fords are
  gay.
• Are all Fords gay? Falcons, Utes? Fords come
  in all shapes and sizes.
• If you were a Ford how would you feel?
• So you would prefer a Volvo?
• How can you tell?
• So youd prefer to walk? Look what youre
  missing out on.
• I really dont like it when you talk like that.
• How would you feel if everything I didnt like I
  called het?
• Its got a steering wheel so it swings both
  ways.

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Some points to remember

• Silence
• Same sex attracted (SSA) young people attend
  your school
• For most of these students their experience
  is likely to be challenging
• There are options for supporting SSA students
  and addressing homophobia at your school

Adapted from information by Daniel Witthaus,
Pride and Prejudice program.