Celebrating Diversity Training Session 3: 90 Minutes

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Celebrating Diversity TrainingSession 3 90
Minutes
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Writing Themselves InNational Data on Same-Sex
Attracted Young People
Study No of Young People SSAY
Hillier, Warr Haste (1996) 1200 rural students (Tas, vic and Qld) 11
Lindsay, Smith Rosenthal (1997) 3500 senior students (all States and Territories) 89
Hillier, Matthews Dempsey (1997) 850 homeless youth (Vic and Qld) 14
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Writing Themselves InNational Data on Same-Sex
Attracted Young People

• Homosexual hatred and fear displayed in rural
  focus groups and teacher interviews
• Over-representation in homeless sample
• Higher drug use (Lindsay et al 1997). SSAY are
  3-4 times more likely to report having injected
  drugs.
• Higher levels of STIs (Lindsay et al 1997)
  amongst sexually active SSAY. Boys 10 X and
  girls 4 X more likely to have STI.
• Retrospective studies with older groups
  anecdotal information reveal stories of abuse and
  links with suicide.

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
4
Writing Themselves InCharacteristics of the
respondents
Writing Themselves In Characteristics of the
respondents

• 750 same-sex attracted young people (no gender
  difference)
• aged 1421 years (average 18 years)
• from every State and Territory of Australia 
• 25 from non-metropolitan areas
• 87 were born in Australia, 65 of parents who
  had been born in Australia

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
5
Writing Themselves InCharacteristics of the
respondents

• half accessed the survey through the Internet
  half through the post
• one-fifth had never spoken to anyone about their
  sexuality
• 200 wrote stories about their lives

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
6
Writing Themselves InPersonal safety

• SSAY exposed to extreme levels of verbal/physical
  abuse
• 42 had been verbally abused
• 13 had been physically abused
• 69 of the abuse happened at school 47 in the
  street
• 10 abused by friends 3 abused by teachers
• 26 felt very safe at school, 14 feeling
  unsafe or very unsafe

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
7
Writing Themselves InEmotional well-being

• 40 were not feeling good about their sexual
  orientation
• 32 - great
• 28 - pretty good
• 30 - OK
• 7 - pretty bad
• 3 - really bad
• 18 had never spoken to anyone about their
  feelings and of those that had, 1/3 had
  experienced some type of rejection

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
8
Writing Themselves InSexual Attraction and
Identity

• Young women were far more likely than young men
  to be attracted to both sexes.
• Twice as many young men were only attracted to
  their own sex.
• Young men were more likely to identify as gay
  than bisexual
• Young women were more likely to identify as
  bisexual than lesbian

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
9
Writing Themselves InSexual experience

• 64 of SSAY are sexually active
• These young people are often having sex with
  both sexes.
• Protection levels are lower than those for
  other sex attracted youth

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
10
Writing Themselves InSexual Behaviour

• Young women were more likely than young men to
  be SSA yet only heterosexually active, although
  substantial numbers of young men were also
  heterosexually active
• Nearly 1/3 of SSA young women had had sex only
  with males in the past year

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
11
Writing Themselves InDrug Use

• 7 of young men and 14 of young women (SSAY)
  have injected drugs 15 once a week or more
• 33 had shared injecting equipment 15 weekly
• 5 drank alcohol daily 46 weekly
• 27 had used party drugs 7 weekly
• 8 had smoked dope daily 21 weekly
• 7 had used heroin

Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
12
Writing Themselves InSources of Information
Information Source Used Trusted
Mum 75 79
Books/magazines 73 30
Health education 63 63
Female friends 62 26
Pamphlets/posters 60 43
Television 52 8
Boyfriend/girlfriend 43 19
Dad 41 59
Teachers 26 49
Doctors 20 70
Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
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Writing Themselves InSources of Information
Hillier, L, Dempsey, D, Harrison, L, Beal, L,
Matthews, L Rosenthal DA 1998, Writing
Themselves In.
14
Writing Themselves In Again 6 Years OnThe 2nd
national report on the sexuality, health and
well-being of same-sex attracted young Australians

• Follow up to 1998 report, Writing Themselves
  In
• Purpose of Writing Themselves In Again was to
  explore the extent to which positive changes in
  support for SSAY in years following 1998 have
  made a difference
• 1749 respondents aged between 14 - 21

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Writing Themselves In AgainSexual attraction,
identity and behaviour

• In 2004 young women and men more likely to be
  attracted exclusively to the same sex and more
  likely to identify as gay, homosexual or lesbian
• In 2004, as in 1998, fewer young women likely to
  identify as gay, homosexual or lesbian than young
  men
• Overall a shift towards more positive feeling
  about sexuality - 76 feeling great or good in
  2004 compared with 60 in 1998
• SSAY people more likely to be sexually active
  earlier than heterosexual peers and more likely
  to be having sex in line with feelings of
  attraction than 1998 study
• Confirmed 1998 findings that assumptions
  shouldn't be made about sexual behaviours of SSAY

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Writing Themselves In AgainHomophobia and
discrimination

• 38 had experienced unfair treatment on the
  basis of their sexuality
• Work and school were more common sites of this
  discrimination
• 44 reported verbal abuse and 16 reported
  physical assault - figures largely unchanged from
  1998
• The most common site for abuse, as in 1998, was
  school.
• School remains the most dangerous place for SSA
  young people to be with 74 of abuse happening
  there
• Impact of abuse and discrimination
• Young people who had been abused fared worse on
  every indicator of health and wellbeing than
  those who had not
• Felt less safe at school, home, social occasions
  and sporting events
• More likely to self harm, report an STI and use
  a legal and illegal drugs
• Those who had been abused more likely to have
  sought support from individual or organisations
• More young people reported feeling safer in
  schools than 1998

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Writing Themselves In AgainAlcohol and drug use

• 2004 - use of all drugs was down on reported use
  in 1998
• Drug use still substantially higher than for
  heterosexual young people, i.e. double no. SSAY
  have injected drugs
• Significant relationship between experience of
  homophobic abuse and drug use

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Writing Themselves In AgainDisclosure and support

• More young people had disclosed their sexuality
  in 2004 than in 1998 (95 vs 82)
• Support for those who had disclosed had
  increased
• More young people disclosing to teachers and
  school welfare counsellors
• Friends remained most popular confidantes -
  followed by mothers
• Young people who are isolated and unsafe in day
  to day world can connect to world that is more
  supportive and accepting through the internet

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Writing Themselves In AgainMultiple layers of
identity

• SSAY Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
  Backgrounds (CALD)
• Less likely to have disclosed to parents and
  feel safe at home than anglo peers
• Religion
• Issue of young people being forced to choose
  between their sexuality and religion. In many
  cases the rejection of their sexuality and the
  embracing of their religion resulting in young
  people hating and harming themselves.
• Rural areas
• Less safe at social occassion than their urban
  peers
• More difficulty accessing information through
  gay media

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Writing Themselves In AgainThe way forward

• Preventable abuse is predisposing young people
  to health risks incl. self harm and suicide
• Schools, most importantly, need to address
  homophobia when it occurs - recognise it, name it
  and react with zero tolerance

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Suicide Prevention Australia
• National conference, Sydney, April 2001
• Study by Jonathan Nicholas and John Howard
• 528 young adults up to 30yrs (m21yrs)
• Heterosexual 94 males, 192 females
• SSA 123 males, 119 females
• Includes people from non-urban areas

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Suicide Attempts
• Gay male 20.8
• Heterosexual male 5.4
• Bisexual/undecided male 29.4
• Lesbian female 28
• Heterosexual female 8.3
• Bisexual/undecided female 34.9

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Lesbians first suicide attempts on average
• 1.9 years after becoming sexually interested in
  women,
• 0.2 years after self-identifying as SSA, and
• 0.8 years before another person found out they
  were lesbian,
• 2 years before they had their first samegender
  sexual experience

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Same-Sex Attracted Youth SuicideWhy are we still
talking about it?

• Gay males first suicide attempts on average
• 5.7 years after becoming sexually interested in
  men,
• 3.5 years after self-identifying as gay, and
• 0.4 years before another person found out they
  were gay,
• 0.3 years before they had their first
  same-gender sexual experience

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Disclosure to Professionals

• 22 had disclosed to a counsellor outside school
  (5/8 were supportive)
• 13 to a special teacher (3/5 supportive)
• 12 to a youth worker (2/3 supportive)
• 11 to doctors (2/3 supportive)
• 6 to a student welfare or school counsellor
  (2/3 supportive)

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Coming Out to Parents

• 72 had not told their mothers
• 84 had not told their fathers
• Generally it was slightly more likely that
  mothers would be more supportive then fathers
• Reactions ranged from ignoring or discounting
  the information, through passive acceptance,
  tears, screaming, rejection and ejection from the
  family home
• No parents celebrated the revelation

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What is a whole school approach?

• 1. Policy development
• 2. Professional development and training
• 3. Inclusive curriculum frameworks
• 4. Student support and welfare
• 5. The broader school community

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Policies frameworks for schools

• Framework for Student Support Services
• National Safe Schools Framework
• Talking Sexual Health
• The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act
• Codes of Conduct
• Health Promoting Schools
• MindMatters

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Responding to homophobia at school Developed by
Felicity Martin, SSA Project Worker, Nillumbik
Community Health Centre, 2003

• N name the problem
• A refer to the agreement ie our ground
  rules/policies say no put downs
• C give consequences If you use a put-down
  again you will have to follow disciplinary
  procedures

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Responding to comments aimed at people

• 1. Im not sitting next to her shes so gay.
• I dont want to hear you putting people down
• A persons sexual orientation is none of your
  business.
• Go away and do some research for me about the
  word gay
• This is regarded as harassment - go and read
  the policy on bullying, harassment and
  homophobia
• 2. Hes a poofta. (A student explaining why
  they were aggressive towards another student.)
• What has their sexuality got to do with the
  situation?
• How do you know the person is gay? (Be aware of
  personal attacks)
• This is regarded as harassment - go and read
  the policy on bullying, harassment and
  homophobia
• 3. We hate Ms Sing shes such a big lezzo.
• What do you mean by that?

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Responding to comments aimed at objects

• 1. Im not sitting at that desk - its gay.
• What do you mean its gay? questioning the
  response.
• How can you tell if its happy or sad by looking
  at it have you been talking to it?
• I didnt know a desk could have a sexual
  orientation.
• Is it a boy desk that likes other boy desks or a
  girl desk that likes girl desks?
• We accept both gay and heterosexual desks in
  this classroom
• All desks are celibate here (in a catholic or
  religious school)
• Youre using a term to discriminate against
  people
• 2. This movie is so gay.
• Does it have a gay or lesbian theme?
• Whats a better word to explain what you mean?
• So are you saying you like it or you dont like
  it?
• What do you mean by gay in an emotional
  sense?

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Responding to comments aimed at objects

• 3. Were not getting in that car Fords are
  gay.
• Are all Fords gay? Falcons, Utes? Fords come
  in all shapes and sizes.
• If you were a Ford how would you feel?
• So you would prefer a Volvo?
• How can you tell?
• So youd prefer to walk? Look what youre
  missing out on.
• I really dont like it when you talk like that.
• How would you feel if everything I didnt like I
  called het?
• Its got a steering wheel so it swings both
  ways.

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Creating SSAY friendly environmentsCreated by
Felicity Martin, Nillumbik Banyule SSAY Support
Project

• Modelling inclusiveness of all students,
  including those of different cultures, religions
  and sexual orientation, will say so much to a
  young person.
• Assume at least 10 of people are SSA
• Respond to homophobic abuse in the same way
  youd respond to racism or sexism
• Display posters and brochures in pastoral care
  and welfare areas
• Buy books and videos for the school library
• Make every classroom a SEXISM, RACISM,
  HOMOPHOBIAFREE ZONE
• Include different family structures in any
  discussions on family and community
• Organise a whole school review of your
  anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies
• Ensure that school computers allow internet
  access to sites discussing SSA issues
• Be openly supportive towards, and a resource
  for, SSA young people in your school.
• Advertise the local SSAY social support group
• Display rainbow stickers around the school.

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Some points to remember

• Silence
• Same sex attracted (SSA) young people attend
  your school
• For most of these students their experience is
  likely to be challenging
• There are options for supporting SSA students
  and addressing homophobia at your school

Adapted from information by Daniel Witthaus,
Pride and Prejudice program.