On-Line Training Programme
Level One: Developing awareness of issues
It is best to attend a GALYIC one-day training course for Level One as interaction with other participants helps significantly to raise awareness. However, we outline below the one-day training programme which you can work your way through on-line; more would be gained if a group of you did this together.It is recommended that you work for an hour at the most and then take a break or come back to the programme later. There is too much information to digest all at once. We have found that, if at all possible, spreading the training out over several sessions will achieve the best results.
Identifying Current Knowledge(15 minutes)
At the start of the training participants are invited to complete a Training Needs Assessment questionnaire. This acts as an introduction to the training and enables participants to acknowledge their level of training/awareness prior to the course. You may wish to return to this after you have completed Level One and the evaluation form to see how far you have travelled.Whilst participants are arriving and completing the questionnaire, a powerpoint of Famous LGBT people throughout history is being shown.
Level One is divided into seven sections. The following gives a brief outline of each section, please read this first and then click on underlined heading to access powerpoint presentation.
1. Homophobia within a Single Equality Framework (30 minutes)
Homophobia and Heterosexism are defined and related to other equality strands.
Participants are asked to think about what oppression, privilege and unearned privilege means, then complete a 'heterosexual privilege' questionnaire. You might want to download and print this off now.
Oppressed and privileged groups are identified then two diagrams are used to explain first, the 'external' effects of oppression comparing privileged and oppressed groups, and second, the 'internal' effects of oppression on both groups, as well as the effects on provision of services.
The first session is completed with an exercise in which participants are asked to work in pairs to share their own experiences of both being the victim of oppression and belonging to a privileged group.
2. Homophobia: Where does it come from?(15 minutes)
Participants are reminded that we could have similar lists for other oppressed groups and then asked where these ideas come from: we are not born with these thoughts. What are the six main institutions that create and perpetuate homophobia? A few examples are then shared relating to religion, medicine, law, media, education and the family.
[Extra exercise: Working in small groups, do a similar exercise looking at other groups who have historically been oppressed. In other words, begin by making a list of all the words/phrases you know that are used to describe people who belong to that group, then, using this as a trigger, identify examples of how the six institutions have historically oppressed women, black and minority ethnic people, disabled people, poor people, old/young people, religious groups...]
Jen and Family3. Homophobia: Effects on Homosexuals(40 minutes)
Throughout the training there are analogies with other oppressed groups. We begin this section by showing a series
of short extracts from Adopted: The Movie and point out the similarities between being a young LGBT person and
being adopted into a different race family.
Adopted children and racism
An Adoptee talks about racism
We highlight the experiences of growing up LGBT and the effects of homophobia and heterosexism on LGBT young people, followed by a list of mediating factors.We then move onto identity development and, utillising Friend's models for older LGBs, outline the stereotypical option, passing option, and optimal affirmation model.
A five-minute dvd which GALYIC made for the Department of Health entitled Sixteen is then shown as an example of intervention. This section is concluded by looking at some of the on-going effects of minority stress. [Extra exercise: Discuss in groups how oppression affects the identity development of people who belong to other oppressed groups. What might be the effects of multi-oppression?]4. Homophobia: Effects on Heterosexuals(20 minutes)
The fourth section of the training looks at the effects of homophobia on heterosexuals.We point out that whilst homosexuals internalise negative messages about being homosexual, heterosexuals internalise positive messages about being heterosexual.
Several polls regarding attitudes towards homosexuals are examined, then we identify those people who are more likely to be homophobic.
Beliefs affect behaviour so we examine the behaviour of people without power whose homophobia is manifest in homophobic hate incidents; the next group we look at is those who are in positions of power and how they can use their positions to stop progress; whilst the third group, family, often express their homophobia with emotional and physical abuse.
A poll which shows what influences people's attitudes is looked at then the fourth session concludes with an exercise: 'Personal Homophobia' questionnaire.
[Extra exercise: Discuss in groups how the same system affects the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours with regard to gender, class, race and ethnicity, disability, age, religiousity; in particular, how it might affect people who are uneducated and powerless; people with power; and how families respond.]Wakey, Wakey(10 minutes)
After lunch people are often drowsy, so to wake participants up we often play a music quiz. Participants are asked to name the singer and the title of the song (there is a brief stop between songs). At the end of the quiz participants are asked what all the performers have in common? Answer: they are all LGBT except Diana Ross!5. Homophobia: Effects on Services(15 minutes)
Participants are reminded of the diagram used at the start of the training which shows how oppressed groups are more likely to need services but that services are more likely to meet the needs of privileged groups. Research findings, mainly from the USA, are used to show how Homophobia is manifest in services (heterosexism). A series of research projects, all concerned with substance misuse treatment services, highight how ignorance, heterosexual bias, fear of being open, condemnation, etc., makes services inaccessible to LGB people. Other research suggests that for some services, in particular substance misuse services, there is a need to specifically target LGB people. Whilst many services in Britain say they welcome LGB people, in reality only a handful have specialist services which meet their needs. Other research has shown that there has been little training on the issues facing LGB people in Britain. Very few services know how many LGB people access their service: There is a subliminal 'DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL' policy going on in most services. In 2002 only 7% of LGB people accessed substance misuse treatment services, despite substance misuse being a major problem within LGB communities. The section concludes by suggesting there is a need for both specialist provision as well as other, mainstream services being accessible. [Click here for a power point presentation which includes research into how mental health services repond to the needs of LGB people. Extra exercise: in groups discuss how services respond to the needs of other minority and traditionally oppressed groups. What lessons have been learnt? Can these be applied to all equality strands?]6. Meeting Legal Requirements(60 minutes)
To show what people want from services, a brief video What do LGBT people want from the NHS? is shown. Anti-discrimination laws are highlighted, such as The Employment Act (2003). Part one of Pride not Prejudice is shown, a dvd which explains about the Act in relation to sexual orientation. Goods and Services (2007) Equality Act (2010), in particular Public Sector Equality Duty which comes into force in April 2011. Participants are reminded of the key needs of LGB young people then, utilising three sections of the Public Sector Equality Duty, participants are asked to work in small groups to identify what has already been done and what needs to be done to make their service compliant with legal requirements. They must identify a key person responsible for the different tasks and include a timescale. Action plans are then fed back to the main group and discussed. Individuals are identified to take responsibility for feeding the action plans back to management. The final slide gives five simple steps to making sure it works. Participants are told about the various resources available on the GALYIC website with lots of links to other resources. This section is concluded by playing a brief dvd developed by the Learning and Skills Council about tackling homophobic bullying. [Extra exercise: There has been a duty on public services with regard to race, disability and gender for several years. How did your service respond to this? Are there any lessons to be learnt? Can these be applied to all equality strands?]7. Evaluation(10 minutes)
Participants are asked to complete an Evaluation Form before taking it in turn to give a positive point from the training and something that could have been better. These are written up on the flip-chart. After the training is completed, the initial Traning Needs Assessment (TNA) surveys are analysed and the results, along with an analysis of the evaluation forms, are presented to the organsiation. You might want to take this opportunity to revisit your TNA survey and see how far you have travelled on the awareness journey.| Feedback from various training events.
""Good levels of interaction, good information sharing session." "Fantastic, thank you. Loved the use of media, music, film.""Very enjoyable, easy going pace. Interesting materials used - video, music." "BIG Thanks - I really enjoyed this." "Some of the most informative training I've been on for a while. Also very thought provoking. Excellent - thank you." |