Providing Appropriate Services for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People.
This document is mostly of historic interest. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) was merged into the current care regulator, the Care Quality Commission in 2010. It is included because three Regard members on the CSCI Experts by Experience Group helped in its preparation.
Downloads of the Briefing including in Easy Read are available at bottom of the post.
Quoting from the Briefing –
“There is increased recognition by government, and in society as a whole, that discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people needs to be tackled. In CSCI’s survey, 45% of LGB people using social care services said that they had faced discrimination whilst using services. However, only 9% of service providers in our sample said that they had carried out any specific work to promote equality for LGB people and only 2% had done so for transgender people.
In April 2007, LGB people obtained legal rights to challenge discrimination in service provision. LGB people using social care services have the same needs as other people. However, sometimes the way that these needs are met has to take account of the fact that they are lesbian, gay or bisexual people. If discrimination is not addressed, LGB people have less choice and control in their lives. As discrimination decreases, LGB people are likely to be more open and have higher expectations that social care services will meet their needs.
Transgender people do not yet have the same legal rights to equality in services, although legislation is planned. However, the same fundamental principles can be applied to the needs of transgender people using services, although some of the ways these principles are put into practice may be different.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people want:
- To feel safe and be free from discrimination, where services take seriously any discrimination, whether from people providing services, other people using services or from the wider community; and LGB people have choice in the way that this is handled.
- To be valued for who they are, where services provide an environment where LGB people know that they will be valued, have opportunities to ‘come out’ when they choose and receive a positive response from staff.
- Support to live the lives that they choose, where services enable people to have choice about their social life, leisure activities and relationships. For many people, this means support to have contact with other LGB people.
- To live a variety of lifestyles, where services recognise that not all LGB people are the same and understand the aspirations and needs of each individual, ensuring they have choice and control over the support they use.
In order to actively meet the needs of LGB people, service providers need to take specific steps in order to ensure that LGB people are not discriminated against and that they receive an equal service. These include:
- most importantly, creating an ethos in the service where LGB people are valued through positive leadership and action on the issues
- reviewing policies and procedures and assessment/admission processes to ensure that they do not discriminate
- providing training and support to staff on the issues
- positive action to make LGB people feel welcome and able to come out, for example through ensuring inclusion of LGB people in publicity materials
- ensuring that LGB people have a choice of which staff support them
- enabling LGB people to have contact with their communities and friends
- valuing LGB people’s relationships
- taking appropriate action when discrimination does happen
- listening to the views of LGB people and monitoring progress”.
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