being young, gay and resilient

Whilst I was in Manchester last week I picked up a leaflet about the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (www.lgf.org.uk). I was horrified yet again by the statistics they gave as part of their, ‘are we really going to let this keep happening’ fundraising campaign. The facts as they appear on the leaflet are;

1 in 5 of us have tried to commit suicide
9 in 10 of us have been verbally abused
1 in 10 of us are HIV positive
4 in 5 of us have been bullied at school
3 in 5 of us have been beaten up
1 in 4 of us suffer from alcohol or drug addiction.

There is clearly no room for complacency in challenging homophobia. That said it is an interesting space that charities occupy to secure the support of the public and generate funds from statutory and non-statutory sources – it probably wouldn’t be too appealing to insert at the end of these statistics – ‘remarkable that we contribute so much to society given these facts’ or ‘what impressive emotional resilience we have’. For Brook this sometimes means we are required to focus on the negative outcomes of sex and sexuality how many young people get pregnant, or get a sexually transmitted infection.

It is even more important therefore that we remember most young people DO want to take responsibility for their sex and sexuality and for protecting their sexual health; that most do not get pregnant, and with the right support those that do and decide to proceed with the pregnancy go on to make very very good parents.

Helping turn the tide on STI rise amongst young people

Today the Health Protection Agency confirmed again that rates of sexually transmitted infection are still rising amongst young people. In all my conversations today i have reminded people that if we encourage more people to test, we will find out about more infections that were previously undiagnosed. Doubtless for a small minority this will be confirmation of the sexual immorality amongst the young. I do not agree - I think it is confirmation that we are not doing enough to support young people to make good decisions and choices that enable them to protect their physical and emotional health. As a country we have a collective responsibility to;

Work to change our unhelpful culture where sex is viewed negatively and sexually active young people are seen as out of control. We need to help young people feel confident about relationships and sex, and equip them with the skills to make good decisions so they can enjoy and take responsibility for their sexual health

Ensure sexual health services do not see continued disinvestment in ongoing efforts to balance the books. If this continues, we will see the consequences in increased teenage pregnancy and STI rates in a very short time

Commit to make Personal, Social and Health Education statutory in schools so every child learns about sex, relationships and sexuality wherever they live.
Currently too many receive little if any good sex education.

Invest in innovative community outreach programmes that reach out to the most vulnerable, building bridges between them and services and helping them take control of their sexual lives.

Lessons at the Fringe

I have just spent some time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We saw some fantastic stand up comedy, brilliant physical dance theatre and theatre (and of course we saw some not so fantastic). Two shows were moving - the first Stonewall, billed as one persons memory of the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969. Many of us know about the Stonewall riots and their central role in starting the gay liberation movement. Judging from the audience gasp, less of us realised that gay sexuality was finally legalised across the whole of the United States of America in 2003. And of course, it was only in 2000 that the age of consent was equalised here and let us not forget that young people who are perceived to be gay or lesbian are often teased and bullied in schools across the UK on a daily basis.

The second - a physical dance show, 'As a mother of a brown boy' was about the untimely death of a mixed race boy, killed whilst being chased by the police from a burglary scene in 2005. This superb theatre focused on the importance of identity and of feeling comfortable in our skin - an important development task for all of us, something we must help children and young people to do whatever their ethnicity, faith or beliefs, and at the heart of all good sexual health work.

If you are in Edinburgh this August, I recommend both of them.