LGBTQ+ History Month

We've been celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month at Network by teaching some of the young people about the different sexualities and gender identities that a lot of young people are beginning to talk about and identify as. We think that the more knowledge the young people have, the less likely they'll be to fall into harmful stereotypes and use language that they might not fully understand the impact of. It also means that if they or their friends ever identified as LGBTQ+ they'd be able to use terms and language to talk about it confidently and know that Network is a safe and accepting space for all. 

We've also discussed how different cultures and countries have had LGBTQ+ identities within them for centuries and how their terms and explanations differ from the Western ones we're used to, as well as discussed LGBTQ+ treatment over the years and how terms and definitions have shifted throughout time. The older young people we have in our sessions were quite engaged with this work as it isn't something that is commonly covered in schools or previous sessions and gave them a new perspective to think about. 

We've also recently added an extra session to our DA Awareness training at Venn and HYA around LGBTQ+ awareness and relationships.