Raising awareness about gender and sexual identity
At Safe and Sound we understand the importance of gender and sexual identity. We believe that being properly educated about these topics at an early age can reduce years of confusion, social isolation and emotional difficulties. June is Pride Month, which we think is the perfect opportunity to share a little about the LGBTQ+ education sessions that we offer.
We work with schools around Derby to raise awareness about gender and sexual identity, helping many young people learn more about these important topics.
We have delivered over 10 sessions just this year to SEND (special educational needs and disability) schools and parents in Derbyshire. Some of the subjects we explore are:
- What is gender and sexual identity?
- How identities are unique to everyone
- How varied identities can be
- Why identity can be confusing
- How you can acknowledge others’ identities
- Understanding and exploring your own identity
LGBTQ+ education can reduce mental health problems
It has been proven that simply providing LGBTQ+ education to young people can be instrumental in reducing mental health problems caused by identity confusion. Demonstrating that there are people who understand, care and listen contributes to reducing the longer-term vulnerabilities to exploitation that come alongside these concerns.
We have received excellent feedback from these sessions. Young people have told us that it has helped them understand a great deal more about what identity can mean to them, and has shown them that there are people who understand and care about them.
*LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and more. This term covers a broad range of people who have different lived experiences and may be at different stages in exploring their identity. It includes people who are asexual or have differences in sex development (sometimes known as being intersex).
For more information about Safe and Sound Derby and how to support their work, please visit www.safeandsoundgroup.org.uk