Category Archives: News

The Network in partnership with the national organisation of our Patron, Lindsay England, is very pleased to provide in regard to IDAHOBIT 2020, the following importand news and survey:

JBG? – HOMOPHOBIA, BIPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA  IN SPORT SURVEY.

Violence, Harassment and repression of LGBT+ people still exists globally.

Annually on May17th, IDAHOBIT- International Day Against Homophobia Biphobia and Transphobia is a co-ordinated International grass roots community date to raise awareness around LGBT+ visibility and inclusion, alongside encouraging society to take action against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

For this year’s IDAHOBIT theme of ‘Breaking The Silence’ JUST A BALL GAME? (JBG?) in partnership with LGBT Dorset Equality Network, have released a survey:  https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/justaballgame/ looking at homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in sport.

It is hoped that whatever the outcomes, and/or differences found to our survey results (and therefore hard evidence collated for use) a decade ago, we can implement the findings to engage in dialog with the policy makers, NGB’s, the media, employers and general public to take action against any discrimination, persecution or hate crime which LGBT+ people face.

Despite advancement over recent years with some athletes ‘coming out’ sports are still very much an area of perceived male, masculine dominance and achievement. Along with the breaking down of these stereotypes and challenging sexism and misogyny there is also a need to try and eradicate to a minimum all forms of discrimination.

Our survey is anonymous, it will take you around 5 minutes to sign into and complete and will be available to fill out until 11^th July 2020.

We have allocated inclusive questions for both LGBT+ people and those who identify as heterosexual to answer to try and establish a balanced overview of what is relevant to all in 2020.

Survey link: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/justaballgame

Contact for further information: 07788474754.

Founder-Lindsay England

info@justaballgame.co.uk  

The LGB&T Dorset Equality Network from the onset of the Covid 19 national and international emergency been for the pan-Dorset area and beyond, including national level in a number of areas, been taking action to protect and support our LGBT+ community members, especially those community members belonging to some of our LGBT+ sub-communities especially vulnerable to the impacts from safety and safeguarding, to hate crime and prejudice, and to healthcare.

Please bookmark this page as we will be adding some specific guidance here for both community members, and for statutory sector from NHS (in conjunction with the NHS Equality & Health Inequalities Team) to local authorities, to police constabularies, the prison service, and beyond.

To give context to this guidance please see the information below from the United Nations High Commission, kindly provided from Nepal’s LGBT community through our links with the latter:

COVID-19 AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTI PEOPLE. WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON LGBTI PEOPLE?

Health and mental health: from hospital settings and seeking NHS care Covid 19 poses particularly clear additional impacts for LGBT community members with a healthcare system that still carries a reputation for in all too many cases for community members, especially those coming out as LGB or Trans, being less than welcoming/helpful, professional if you are LGB or T or have a healthcare related need, to come Out as LGB or T.

Further to providing them with specific information, we are looking to the Dorset area NHS and Public Health to provide Covid 19 and the LGBT+ communities specific support on LGBT specific healthcare and staying safe Covid 19 minimising information through an LGBT+ specific healthcare information capaign, as Dorset CCG and Public Health Dorset are aware, further to information and guidance provided through our direct relationship with NHS England’s Equality & Health Inequalities Team.

Safety, crime/Anti-Social Behaviour / Hate Crime: these include due to self-isolation particularly severe changes for community members in terms of vulnerability to bullying and/or abuse. Housing/Accomodation settings have always been particularly problematic to potentially or actually, dangerous.

The areas of gravest concern for our LGBT and LGBTQ communities in regard to to Covid 19 self-isolation are in particular but not limited to in terms of public service organisations heightened attention and supportive intervention at this time:

Housing/accomodation setting, particularly in regard to communal living settings and housing associations where LGBT people commonly can find friction points with neighbours, fellow residents who hold ant-LGBT views and express these through anti-LGBT hate crime

We are looking to see Domestic Violence victims organisations, local authorities, and police teams support dedicated LGBT community outreach on safety and whistleblowing, as the ratio of DV and Domestic Abuse is disproportionately high in the gay and lesbian community due to impacts of prejudice

Coming Out during the current Covid 19 lockdown: Coming Out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or Trans is at the best of times a matter of courage in the face of adversity and even dangers. In the context of social isolation our LGB&T community members seeking or needing to Come Out as LGB or T, safety issues are considerably exacerbated.

For those LGBT community members Coming Out or feeling they need to Come Out: in the lockdown context this very important right and ability crucial to psychological and emotional wellbeing, especially for younger community members, has been removed. Instead feelings of entrapment where families are not-accepting of LGBT members and have a record of anti-LGBT conduct up to and including abusive behaviour, are greatly amplified. Some 25% of young homeless people are LGBT community members and their homelessness relating to family rejection or bullying, and wont of being able to have supportive trusted friends and support signposting

These are the main areas the LGB&T Dorset Equality Network is supporting our community with in regard to ensuring that the types of risk and concern that the UN report has highlighted to support our community members. This support involves specific guidance to statutory sector agencies and organisations, to enable them to adapt their services to ensure that in these exceptional and extreme times, they can save LGB&T lives, and support our community members in positions of particular considerably deepened vulnerability.

We take the postion that that Covid 19 has provided a sudden and very powerful ‘stress test’ on the credibility and the effectiveness of LGB&T related inclusion and anti-Hate Crime policies and related services delivery. We are there to support our Community, and we are there to support Service providers!

The Network is very pleased to update that Dorset FA has signed up to the Ask for Clive initiative as a supporting organisation, further to our representation on the importance of Ask for Clive, and of the Dorset county FA joining. We wish to thank Mr Andy Mercer and the Board, Chair and CEO of Dorset FA for embracing the exceptional opportunity that becoming one of the first county FAs (potentially the first) to join AfC offers for this county FA and for LGBT community members and LGBT community members who play or follow football.

We are delighted to provide this dedicated LGBT+ outreach Covid 19 related statement from Dorset Police, further to LGB&T Dorset Equality Network request:

Message from Superintendent Gavin Dudfield and Kaz Duke-Glover, Dorset Police’s Legitimacy Manager

During this unprecedented time, we want to reach out to members of Dorset’s LGBT+ community.

This is not just as members of Dorset Police but also on behalf of Prejudice Free Dorset, which includes our Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill and his office.

We understand this is a challenging time for all our communities in Dorset, but we do not underestimate the impact it is having on yourselves. We recognise the additional concerns you may have in relation to COVID-19 and we are here to support you, both from a policing perspective but also in terms of tackling prejudice and discrimination.

Dorset LGB&T Equality Network has contacted us to ensure we understand the additional concerns of our LGBT+ community members.

The policing response to COVID-19 is clear – Dorset Police is providing business as usual. Yes, we have been given additional powers in line with the Government restrictions, but our priority is to ensure you are keeping yourself and others safe by staying at home and only making essential journeys in line with the government guidance. 

We continue to police with consent. We want to engage with you, encourage and educate you to ensure we can keep as many people safe as possible, so we can support the NHS and save lives. We will always engage before taking any enforcement action.

Dorset Police’s website has a regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions section and we would encourage you to visit this page and make sure you understand the guidance.

COVID-19 may not discriminate, but sadly people still do. We recognise that members of our LGBT+ communities may receive increased prejudice during this time and we reiterate the importance of reporting. Dorset Police takes a robust approach to dealing with hate crime and we encourage you to report all hate crimes and incidents.  You can report directly via our online reporting form, but of course always call 999 in an emergency. 

If you do not want to report directly to Dorset Police, there are a number of third party reporting centres who can report on your behalf and provide you with support. This includes Dorset LGB&T Equality Network, Bourne Free and the Intercom Trust. A full list including links can be found on Dorset Police’s hate crime page.

We continue to work with our partners, to ensure all our community members stay safe and follow government advice.

We provide (6th April) the following updates on actions we have undertaken in support to the particular impacts of Covid 19 on the health, safety, and stautory sector support to community members across Dorset and beyond:

Having worked closely with HMPPS (Her Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service) in the Dorset arwa and South West, we are very pleased to update that guidance we have provided at the request of HMPPS Avon & South Dorset, is being utilised to inform Covid 19 related policy and services by HMPPS in Avon and South Dorset (including The Verne and HMP & YOI Portland), and that HMPPS greatly appreciates the Network’s guidance and support regarding the particular impacts Covid 19 has for those in custody.

We have in recent days alerted Dorset Police and the Office of the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner (DPCC) to the policing dimension impacts of Covid 19: we have received formal communication back from Dorset Police regarding the issues and needs involved that we have represented, backed by national level research and local Dorset consultation. The Network is delighted that the guidance we have provided is being included in the strategic response (and we believe and hope, operational level response) of Dorset Police, to initiate in the coming days an important LGBT community supportive response to Covid 19 in regard to particular impacts it has unique to our community.

The Network has communicated with the leaders of both BCP Council and Dorset Council on the ASB (Anti Social Behaviour) and safety and safeguarding impacts of Covid 19, that are particular to our LGBT community.

Finally, in regard to the direct healthcare impacts of Covid 19, partly through our direct connection with the Equality & Health Inequalities Team of NHS England, we are developing information resources to support strategy and operational level implementation of both Dorset CCG (NHS) and Public Health Dorset in regard to the medical and public health support needs of our community across Dorset & BCP.

We will keep you updated on all of the above in the coming days. Concluding this important update with a very important alert on those considering or needing in earnest to come out as LGB or T in ‘lockdown’ circumstances (if their families are anti-LGBT), via Pink News, from the Albert Kennedy Trust:

The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), a charity that cares for the LGBT+ homeless, has warned young people to “think hard” before coming out at this time.

LGBT charity tells young people to ‘hit pause’ on coming out while in lockdown with parents:

The advice comes as LGBT+ helplines see a surge in calls from people who are stuck self-isolating with abusive family and partners.

“If you’re a young person and you’re thinking of coming out, press pause on that until you get support,” Tim Sigsworth, AKT’s CEO, told Sky News.

He expressed concern for how families may react to their child coming out in this particularly stressful time, and warned of the dangers of being made homeless during the pandemic.

“You can’t predict at these completely unprecedented times how your parents will react. They, like you, are under a lot of stress and they may not react in a positive way.

“We’re all being told to self-isolate, so being on the streets, it has to be the most dangerous place for a vulnerable young person at the moment,” he said.

Councils were asked to house all rough sleepers after the UK went into lockdown, but that can be hard when individuals start showing symptoms of the virus.

Research by AKT last year found that a quarter of UK adults would feel “ashamed” to have an LGBT+ child.

“We had a young person very early on in the crisis who was staying in a hostel, but then started to show symptoms and the hostel asked them to leave,” Sigsworth said.

“They had nowhere to stay and no family; their family had rejected them. They had no work, no options other than the street.”

More than one in ten wouldn’t want their child to bring home a same-sex partner, while one in five would worry about how family members would respond to them having an LGBT+ child.

With the pandemic cutting off alternative options, the situation has significantly worsened for many.

Last month the UK-based LGBT Foundation received its highest number of weekly calls to its helpline since the beginning of the year, more than double the number received in the same period last year.

Link: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/04/05/albert-kennedy-trust-coming-out-hit-pause-coronavirus-lockdown-parents/

This makes grim reading, but is an important ‘stress test’ for the statutory sector, especially local authorities and to some extent police and healthcare organisations (GPs and GP ‘clusters’, Public Health Dorset, Dorset CCG and the pan-Dorset NHS foundation trusts), regarding solidity of their policies and related operational level and public communication strategies for those members of our community coming Out as LGB or T in adverse family circumstances. The Network is as all of the organisations and bodies referred to above, leading across the pan-Dorset area to support our most vulnerable LGBT & LGBTQ community members, and the statutory and private sectors in regard to effective delivery at the time of Covid 19 of both the latter.

Please watch this space for more updates!

The Network at the time of the national Covid 19 emergency wishes to alert all LGBT+ community members and public service organisations and local authorities to the following risks and issues that affect generally or sub-groups of our LGBT+ community are particularly susceptible to in comparison to the broader general public:

LGBTQ people are vulnerable because of three specific factors.

• “The LGBTQ+ population uses tobacco at rates that are 50 percent higher than the general population,” it states. “COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that has proven particularly harmful to smokers.”
• LGBTQ people are also at risk because our community has higher rates of HIV and cancer, “which means a greater number of us may have compromised immune systems, leaving us more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections.”
• 3. The third and final factor in LGBTQ people being more vulnerable is because we “continue to experience discrimination, unwelcoming attitudes, and lack of understanding from providers and staff in many health care settings.     “As a result, many are reluctant to seek medical care except in situations that feel urgent – and perhaps not even then.”

Source – Gay Times:  https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/community/133402/lgbtq-people-are-more-vulnerable-to-coronavirus-for-three-reasons/

Please watch this space for more information including action representations the Network is making to Public Health Dorset, Dorset NHS CCG, and in regard to aspects of point 3, Dorset Police, the Office of the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner (DPCC) and local authorities.  In all of these our community working with these state organisations can make a difference in the fight against Covid 19 and also anti-LGBT prejudice & hate crime, and for LGBT+ inclusion and welfare!

Stay safe, self-isolate, and social distance to save lives and help our NHS and public services to help us all!!

The Network is very Proud to announce the launch of the ‘Need to Know – Immigration UK‘ website information resource in conjunction with our national/main partner organisation ‘Just a Ball Game?‘ whose support on this multiorganisation supported badly needed information resource is greatly appreciated. The resource ‘lifts the lid’ on the mechanics of bullying and brutality at the heart of the Hostile Environment, and its source, its implementers and protectors — in Whitehall.

You can view the resource at http://needtoknow-immigrationuk.com/

Today in conjunction with the e-resource launch we are delighted to share the following article from Immigration News UK: https://immigrationnews.co.uk/the-hostile-environment-whitehall-britains-darkest-chapter-a-need-to-know-guide/

A formal launch in London will be taking place for the associated e-book (both resource and e-book being compiled and created by Alan Mercel-Sanca, Network lead and principal initiator) later in March, with March 19th the advised date — PLEASE WATCH THIS SPACE for more information!

The resource is a nationally and internationally important initiative that involves and unites both BAME and LGBT communities on the very serious issues of targeting and abuses of power and process that the Hostile Environment current UK Immigration operational level implementing organisations/agencies (especially the Home Office & Immigration Tribumnal) have been responsible for. Groundbreaking in bringing our LGBT and BAME communities together in an exceptional way, through a shared often horrific experience of many years duration through the latter, the resource has a dedicated LGBT section, and beyond this the broader information resource highlights LGBT experiences along with our BAME communities ones.

The Network has made a representation to the leader of Bournemouth Christchurch Poole (BCP) Council and the council’s equality portfolio holder on the extraordinary decision of BCP officials to LEAVE OUT of a very important housing/accomodation ‘selective licensing’ consultation, despite awareness of in particular the safety and safeguarding issues and needs of lesbian and [male] gay community members that had been represented, sadly, unsuccessfully [from the then Bournemouth Council’s side] to the Bournemouth area former council up to its then Equality Lead level.

Formal apology and communication of appreciation from the Council Leader to the Network:

We are delighted to share that our intervention was greatly appreciated by the Leader of BCP Council who along with a senior official of the Council, has communicated with us to express their gratitude for drawing this serious error to the attention of the Council Leader & Equality Portfolio holder.

A formal apology for the LGB ommission on the paper version of the consultation form has been made by BCP Council, and the electronic version of the later flagged up as containing the LGB section, so important to community members, landlords, and those with interest in LGBT safety and safeguarding and inclusion. We have been invited to hold a meeting with senior council officials to build on the work accomplished through the combined alert & representation of the Network, and corresponding apology and action by the Council.

The Network is very pleased to share that its lead, Alan Mercel-Sanca in conjunction with Bournemouth & Poole College’s Lloyd Perry, Head of Student Support was the main feature on BBC Radio Solent’s the ‘Early Late Show’ this evening (16th December, 8 – 8:30pm): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06lspzr. Alan and Lloyd taking questions from Early Late Show host, Stephanie Newenhouse on BPC & Network collaborative support on Ask for Clive initiative introduced at the college by the Network.

The Network is really Proud of the college’s enthusiastic embracing of AfC; the student and teacher/lecturer outreach great impacts of the introduction of AfC in key locations across both BPC (Bournemouth and Poole) campuses was detailed from Lloyd’s side, whilst on the Network’s side Alan explained about the St Alban’s (Hertfordshire) private sector (bars and clubs) origin of AfC and its dynamics (a response to very real safety and feeling welcome in social venue needs that until AfC advent had been remaining all too often, despite public sector best efforts (some good, but much bad in our Dorset area and nationally), unmet.

In the broadcast the Network shared about its national level work with Lindsay England (Just a Ball Game? founder) and on counteracting the anti-LGBT dimension of the Home Office & Immigration Tribunal de-facto persecution of LGBT community members (international and UK).

We provide this alert to community members and fellow LGBT & LGBT allies in regard to suspicious perceived homophobic discriminatory phone calls. The Network received such a call today, and wishes to alert community members and other community supportive organisations and groups. The particulars indicate a religious fundamentalist and/or political entrenched anti-LGBT perspective and approach. The caller may contact you to ask ‘are you a Homosexual group’! They will say they have found from a recently bereaved friend that they have ‘much high quality Homosexual material’ and don’t know what to do with it, and therefore ‘I made an internet search on Homosexual groups and found your number’ hoping I could provide you with the material.

An offer was made to provide our contact email so the individual could give all particulars on his request: who he was, where based, what the nature of his purpose of contacting was, etc. This invitation to provide an email to the Network, that we made, was Not taken up, nor was there interest from the unknown contactee in taking down the Network contact email address that we sought to provide.

The individual who did not provide or offer his name, then proceeded to say that the material was clearly ‘high quality homosexual porn,’ and included a blow-up doll! This we found highly offensive and made very clear that the contact made on such a basis by the contactee was unwelcome, unwholesome. Said contactee continued ‘it is such a pity that such good quality material [including the doll] should not be given to [homosexual] people, and would otherwise need to be thrown away.’

The Network has very great experience in the nuances of the still all too endemic forms of never directly stated but very real homophobic indirect hate and hate crime which causes still so many community members extreme distress on a daily basis. We as do most (particularly independent orientated organisations and groups) know exactly the type of tactic that was being attempted, and we are actively considering taking the particulars to the Police for this reason.

The Network regards such a contact as more than suspicious and that it demonstrated (somwhat cowardly as is the way nowadays with most homophobes) unstated homophobic motivation of the clearest kinds. Only hard-core homophobes particularly in religious faiths (and within UK immigration services and some judges within the related Immigration Tribunal) contexts use the perjorative term ‘homosexuals’ now: it belonged to the ugly pre-1967 era and is associated with the horrific tale of the de-facto manslaughter of the British patriot and national hero Alan Turing under state/systemic anti-LGBT persecution.

We ask community members and fellow LGBT equality and inclusion values supporting groups and organisations to be alert in case they are contacted too!

We also politely wish to communicate to those charged with counteracting or prosecuting anti-LGBT hate crimes. And this term understandably includes what community members regard as unambiguously clear contempt in direct AND indirect forms against who they are (sexual orientation or gender identity) — such as here the vicious rationale (used in almost all cultures and nations across the globe that have systemic anti-LGBT perspectives and statutory powers that are used often by the most violent to torture and kill LGBT people — that they take note that the incident detailed in this news item reminds that it is indirect prejudice and discrimination that is the main, and very serious continuing, means of those who actually cannot due to the Law, openly express what is in their hearts and minds regarding non-acceptance of those who are different to themselves.