Sexual Orientation

 

Sexual Orientation

Suffolk LGB&T Staff Network - for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender staff

LGB&T people are not only employed in the council but engage with the Council as representatives from other organisations. They are also most likely to interact with the Council as service users.  Often, sexual identity may not be felt to be relevant to the use of a particular Council service. However, many Council services are very important to LGB&T people as a community of interest.  How these services are provided and how sensitive they are to their needs can have a huge bearing on the quality of life to many LGB&T people.

Human Resources
The HR pages provide information about your contractual rights at work, including access to benefits and what to do if you feel you are being unfairly treated at work.  You can also contact the HR Helpdesk via email or by phone on 08456 053000.

Local groups and information

Suffolk LGBT Survey 2009 - find out more on the SCC website.  This was a wide ranging survey of over 250 LGB&T people in Suffolk.
LGBT Suffolk Police Link Group

Suffolk Gay & Lesbian Helpline
Suffolk Gay Pubs
Embrace  - Regional LGBT network
Outreach Youth - a Suffolk LGBT Youth Group
Ipswich Like Minds Group - An Ipswich support group for LGBT people affected by mental health issues.

Stonewall Workplace Guides

The Workplace Guides are full of useful information to inform you about LGBT issues in the workplace.

Bisexual People in the Workplace (PDF, 268Kb) - an introduction to the issues
Bullying (PDF, 284Kb) - how to identify and deal with homophobic workplace bullying
Career Development Guide (PDF, 268Kb) - for LGBT employees
The Double-Glazed Glass Celing (PDF, 1.6Mb) - barriers at work for lesbians and bisexual women
Monitoring (PDF, 198Kb) - why monitor sexual orientation?
Network Groups (PDF, 140Kb) - guidance that helped us to establish our LGBT staff network
Prescription For Change (PDF, 2Mb) - health issues for lesbians and bisexual women
Religion & Sexual Orientation (PDF, 371Kb) - dealing with tensions in the workplace
Tackling Homophobia In Schools (PDF, 92Kb) - practical guidance for teachers and governors
Teachers' Report 2009 (PDF, 264Kb) - data and statistics about homophobic bullying in schools

Beyond Tolerance - report from Equality and Human Rights Commission

Over the past 18 months the Equality and Human Rights Commission have carried out extensive research into the experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Britain today.

They have just published  a suite of publications detailing their findings.  The main  'Beyond Tolerance' paper reports on what needs to be done to tackle the damaging  discrimination and disadvantage faced and where organisations need to focus to address the changes required.

The key themes in 'Beyond Tolerance' are:

  • What is the situation today?  Summary of legislative and social achievements
  • Beyond Tolerance – often LGB people are tolerated as long as sexual orientation is a private matter
  • Collecting the data is crucial – little concerted effort to collect data
  • So why is there reluctance to monitor sexual orientation?  The vicious circle effect to the non-collection of data and action
  • Making LGBT collection the norm – the same principles should apply to the collection and use of information on sexual orientation, as other diversity strands
  • What needs to happen? – The role of the Commission in making sexual orientation a public matter

The report then summarises research on the following areas:

  • Employment
  • Education
  • Hate crimes and hate incidents
  • Access to healthcare
  • What the Commission will do

There are  further more specific and detailed reports which look at:

  • Sexual Orientation Explored: a study of identity and attraction, behaviour and attitudes in 2009
  • Estimating the Size and Composition of the LGB Population in Britain
  • Homophobic Hate Crimes and Incidents
  • The Experience of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Staff and Students in Higher Education
  • Moving Forward:  Putting Sexual Orientation in the Public Domain
  • Sexual Orientation Research Review 2009

National and international organisations and information

Stonewall - Equality and justice for Lesbians, Gay Men and Bisexuals
Health With Pride - a new NHS website with health information specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, written by LGBT professionals for the LGBT community
Press for Change - Campaigning for respect and equality for transgender people
Information on LGBT History month
Schools Out - an organisation working for young people
Human Rights Campaign - a US website about LGBT Human Rights