Update: trans and non-binary talk/conversation; training funding bid

Equality elephant in the room: trans and non-binary identities

A new series of equality conversations/talks called ‘Equality elephant in the room’ is being coordinated by Equality Adviser Marije Davidson, Equality Champions Dr Liesl King, Andy Law and Steve Patterson, and YSJActive Instructor Martin Bond. The sessions are open to all staff, and are intended to be an accessible introduction to various equality and diversity topics, as well as a safe space in which to learn, ask questions and discuss the issues.

The first of these sessions will be on trans and non-binary identities and will be facilitated by Andy Law (LGBT Staff Network Secretary and York LGBT History Month Lead Coordinator) and Kit Heyam (University of Leeds PhD candidate and York LGBT History Month Outreach Coordinator). The session will cover gender versus sex, trans and non-binary identities and terminology, and provide practical tips and an overview of the challenges that remain.

No need to book – just turn up at 12:30 on Tuesday 12 May in DG/227. The session will last around 45 minutes.

York LGBT Forum awareness training

York LGBT Forum are applying for funding from the Aviva Community Fund for their LGBT awareness training that currently aims “to enhance and enrich the care provided for older LGBT people”, and is intended to be extended to other audiences (like school and council employees). They need people to vote for them in order to gain funding. Co-chair Kevin Sell shared the following plea.

The Older Persons Group of the York LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Forum has developed Free to be Me LGBT awareness training to deliver to the staff of Care and Residential homes.
When older LGBT people need care, they often fear (and may experience) discrimination from carers and other older people. LGBT people in care often retreat back into the closet for self-protection, becoming frightened and lonely, feeling unable to share a fundamental and deeply felt human need for intimacy and companionship with anyone. For an older person to come out in a care and residential setting can take enormous courage and is not without risk.

carehome.co.uk reported in Nov 2012 that a woman tried to commit suicide because she experienced discrimination in a care home because she was gay. “The other residents wouldn’t eat with her and they wouldn’t let her join in with any of the activities. The care home staff … didn’t do anything about it and she found they reduced the care they gave her.”

To help develop our Free to be Me training and to adapt it for other audiences, such as schools and council employees, we have applied to the Aviva Community Fund for £1000.
We need YOUR support please. Our bid for funding has been accepted by Aviva, but we need lots of votes, so that it can proceed to the judging stage where the final projects are selected to receive funding.
The link below will take you to our project entry on the Aviva Community Fund website. There you can see the description of our projects, photographs and a short video.

To vote you will be asked to register, which is a simple procedure.

Each person has ten votes, which you can spread among several projects, or give as many as you like (all ten if you wish) to our Free to be Me project.

We need as much support as we can muster, so please vote for our project (hopefully ten times) and help us to deliver our equality and diversity training to the widest possible audience.

York Amnesty Writers on Rights – The Case of Alan Turing

York Amnesty International have organised an event at which Alan Turing’s biographer Andrew Hodges will discuss the former’s “life and the enduring importance that his persecution as a gay man and death have for sexuality and human rights today”.

The event will take place 19:30-21:00 on Wednesday 10 June at Orillo Studios, 3 Apollo Street, York, YO10 5AP. Tickets are £5 on the door or £4 in advance from WeGotTickets.