QBits

Scotland ‘can do better’ in fight against trans hate

Scottish Human Rights Commission launches National Action Plan to tackle ‘high levels’ of transphobia

30 October 2012| By Matthew Jenkin

Scottish Human Rights Commission in Edinburgh launches National Action Plan to tackle 'high levels' of transphobia

Transgender people are ‘disproportionately’ discriminated against in Scotland, a human rights group claims.

A new study by the Scottish Human Rights Comission reveals that while the country has made progress in a number of areas, ‘it can do better’.

‘While there is some evidence that Scotland has become more open and accepting there remains a distinct gap between perception and reality,’ the Getting It Right? report states.

The Commission added: ‘Attitudes towards gay and lesbian people have improved but there remain high levels of discriminatory attitudes towards, among others, transgender people and gypsy/travellers.

‘Likewise, disabled people appear to face a disproportionately high level of prejudice.’

The treatment of trans domestic abuse victims was one issue in particular which was highlighted by the report.

The group has today (30 October) launched a consultation to draw up a national action plan to tackle transphobia and ‘fill the gaps’ in human rights protection in Scotland.

Professor Alan Miller, chair of the Commission, said: ‘What we’ve found in this study is that while Scotland has made notable progress in a number of areas, it can do better.

‘Crucially the research has shown that while there are some good high level policies and strong legislation, the realisation of human rights doesn’t always happen in peoples day to day lives.

‘More needs to be done to ensure that human rights are consistently upheld in areas like housing, healthcare, social care, education, and in the justice system.

‘There is much more that could be done to bring Scotland up to internationally recognized standards of enjoyment of human rights.’

Getting it Right? is the result of a three year research project, highlighting both the ‘gaps’ and ‘good practices’ in Scotland’s human rights practices.

Several other countries already have National Action Plans for human rights including Demark, Australia, New Zealand and Finland.

Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has endorsed the Scottish consulation.

She said: ‘National Action Plans can bring clarity to states in identifying the steps they must take to improve the promotion and protection of human rights, especially for the most vulnerable people.

‘I am pleased to welcome the initiative taken by the Scottish Human Rights Commission to carry out this broad consultation.’

Youth face gay hate and bullying in Scottish schools

A new report highlights that a majority of LGBT youth face bullying and anti-gay hate in Scotland’s education system

19 September 2012| By Dan Littauer

Ancient Edinburgh wishes to be seen as the capital of a modern country but LGBT Youth Scotland research reveals widespread homophobia and transphobia in its education system

A new report published today by LGBT Youth Scotland and launched at the Scottish Learning Festival portrays a worrying situation for many Scottish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people in education.

A majority of LGBT respondents (69 percent) said they had experienced homophobic or biphobic bullying in school with the number still high at 25% in college and 14% at university.

The survey entitled ‘Life in Scotland for LGBT Young People: Education Report’ had 350 respondents aged 13-25 answering a range of questions about their experiences of being LGBT in educational establishments.

The report also asked young people how they felt educational establishments could combat bullying and a range of recommendations are presented in the report.

The report stated that ‘teachers don’t do much about people being called dykes or poofs. They only intervened if there was an actual physical assault. More direct approaches need to be taken to ensure LGBT students are treated fairly in schools and that their sexuality/gender expression shouldn’t affect their education.’

Another important feature of the report is its inclusion of transgender young people and their experiences. 77% of transgender respondents had experienced bullying based on perceived gender identity or sexual orientation in school (69% in College and 38% in University) and 42% of those had left education as a result of that bullying.

One respondent, for example, recounted: ‘I dropped out of the first university I went to due to homophobic bullying – it was a very small minded place full of very sheltered private school individuals. However, I have never experienced anything at my current university. I think it goes to show that the background of the students and the type of place have a massive impact.’

A further worrying statistic is that 33% of those who had experienced homophobic or biphobic bullying in education felt that discrimination had negatively affected their employment opportunities.

Chief Executive of LGBT Youth Scotland, Fergus McMillan said, ‘The launch of our research today at the Scottish Learning Festival is an appeal to all teachers, youth workers and other adults working with young people, to act now to challenge bullying based on prejudice.

‘We’re not yet getting it right for young people who experience discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity at school, college and in the wider community.’

LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Scotland.

Speaking with GSN, Colin Macfarlane, Director of Stonewall Scotland welcomed the report saying: ‘This report backs up what we found in our School Report. Too many young Scots face a daily gauntlet of terror in our playgrounds and in our classrooms simply because of who they are.

‘Stonewall Scotland works with schools across Scotland to ensure we equip teachers and young people with the confidence to tackle homophobia. Things are slowly getting better but much work still needs to be done.’

New protocol puts more power in the hands of Scottish trans people

Way to go Scotland!

Q.

by Jennie Kermode
18 July 2012, 5:40pm

The new protocol should make accessing treatment easier for trans people

A new protocol issued this week by the Scottish Government is set to revolutionise the way trans people are served by the health system.

Under the new rules, treatment will be faster and more flexible, with guaranteed minimum standards of care. It will also be easier for trans people to take charge of the direction of their treatment.

Based on guidelines set by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) , the protocol is much more patient-focused than the previous system. Scottish trans people will now be able to approach gender clinics directly instead of having to go through their GPs, avoiding a recognised problem with some GPs being poorly trained and uncooperative in relation to trans issues.

Trans people accessing Scottish gender identity clinics should now find it much easier to be prescribed hormones. Except where significant physical or mental health risks are identified, anyone over the age of 16 who has experienced persistent gender dysphoria will be eligible for hormone treatment.

Crucially, this can start before the 12 months of ‘real life experience’ required before surgery, so many trans people will find themselves more confident about their ability to blend in during what can be a very difficult period. Hormones will also be available to those who are transgender but not transsexual, or who do not intend to undergo genital surgery for personal or medical reasons.

Young people under 16 will be eligible for assessment in gender clinics and, if deemed mature enough, may be able to consent to their own treatment. Unfortunately, Scotland still lacks the expert staff needed to care for young trans people so they would probably be referred to clinics in London. It is understood that efforts are being made to remedy this situations as families often struggle with the expense and the added emotional strain of regular travel.

The new protocol is significant in the emphasis it places on what are often considered secondary procedures. Early top surgery is recommended for trans men to reduce the risk of health problems associated with wearing binders. For trans women, early facial hair removal is now considered essential and is recognised as making real life experience safer. Everyone going through the process of transition is recognised as having a right to counselling and psychotherapy, for their families as well as for themselves, though this is intended to be patient-centred and not – apart from key assessments – obligatory.

Several different organisations contributed their expertise to designing the protocol, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland working alongside NHS bodies. Trans people themselves were also active in shaping it, participating in the process via focus groups.

The protocol has been welcomed by the Scottish Transgender Alliance, which describes it as an important step forward. Some concerns remain regarding how it will work in practice, especially in relation to the timely provision of service in a sector that is already under-resourced.

Scotland: Schools research shows gay students facing homophobia

Hardly surprising results from Scotland but important research that needs to continue to be done around the world if we are ever to ameliorate the bullying and homophobia in schools.

Q.

by Dan Littauer
9 July 2012, 3:40pm

A quarter of the young gay Scots interviewed had attempted suicide (Photo: Seth Sawyers)

New research carried out by the University of Cambridge for Stonewall Scotland’s School Report Scotland 2012 has found that 52 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils in Scottish secondary schools experience homophobic bullying.

The findings are specific to the 158 lesbian, gay and bisexual young Scots who took part in a national survey of 1,614 young people.

The research also found that a quarter (26 per cent) of gay young Scots have attempted to take their own life, and more than half (54 per cent) deliberately harm themselves.

The School Report Scotland 2012 reveals that almost all gay young people (99 per cent) hear homophobic language – like ‘That’s so gay’ and ‘You’re so gay’, while 97 per cent of gay pupils hear other insulting homophobic remarks, such as ‘poof’ or ‘lezza’.

Glen, a seventeen year old secondary school student in Scotland was quoted in the research stating: ‘Every day of my secondary school experience I have had some sort of verbal abuse because of my sexuality.’

Less than a third (31 per cent) of lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils say their school responds quickly to homophobic bullying behaviour when it occurs and less than three in five (57 per cent) lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils in Scotland report that their schools say homophobic bullying is wrong.

Leah, a 16 year old secondary school student, provides an illustration of the violent bullying young gays and lesbians Scots face: ‘I was walking along the street one day with my friend. A boy came at me shouting abuse. He pulled out a knife and was getting everyone to encourage him to hurt me.

‘Luckily I had a friend with me and she pushed him away and we both got away physically safe, but mentally very scarred. Following that, the boys on the way to and from school threw things at me, threatened me, and tried to set fire to the school bus seat I was sitting on. It’s still going on.’

The research also shows that despite the repeal of Section 28 in Scotland over twelve years ago, many schools do not inform or teach about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender issues; almost half (48 per cent) of LGBT pupils in Scotland are never taught anything about this subject.

Stonewall Scotland Director, Colin Macfarlane stated: ‘The mark of a society is how it treats its young people and so it’s unacceptable that over half of gay young Scots face a daily nightmare of homophobic bullying, and deeply worrying that many schools and teachers still fail to challenge it effectively.

‘At a time when policy makers look for ways to boost attainment and raise aspiration it is deeply disturbing that half of lesbian, gay and bisexual young Scots say they don’t feel that they are achieving their best at school.

‘We won’t rest until every single gay young person in this country can walk through their school gates every morning without fear of being bullied just because of the way they were born.’