LGBT Age celebrates Scottish Government funding
“The work of LGBT Age is so vital, both in providing services and advocating of behalf of older LGBT people. It has the power to change lives.”
The Scottish Government has announced three-year funding to LGBT Health’s groundbreaking LGBT Age project which works with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people over 50. The new funding comes from the Equality Unit’s Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund and will enable us to continue to deliver social activities and support to individuals in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as to raise awareness of the experiences and needs of LGBT people as they age.
Older LGBT people have a lot of issues in common with other older people – but in addition to this they are also often dealing with a wide range of challenges relating specifically to their LGBT identity. Social isolation particularly affects older LGBT people, as they are significantly more likely to have diminished support networks when compared to the general older population as they are more likely to live alone, to be single as they age and have no children; they are also more likely to have little contact with their biological family. For those without close family, support from friends, and the creation of ‘families of choice’ is very important; however not all older LGBT people have had the opportunity to build up or retain those supportive networks.
Some older LGBT people may be facing challenges such as coming to terms with their sexual orientation or gender identity later in life, ageing with HIV or coping with the loss of a same sex partner.
Yet when they need support older LGBT people can find they have nowhere to turn to, as they are often unsure of their welcome and fear negative attitudes, ignorance and lesser treatment from services and peers in mainstream groups and services for older people.
“I feel that older LGBT people are more isolated, and have been more isolated during their lives due to social stigma and a general lack of acceptance than their younger counterparts have. The commercial scene is geared to younger people where older people are not always made to be part of the group. LGBT Age gives me the opportunity to mix with my peer group and I feel less like an outsider. I value the fact that here I don’t need to explain anything about my circumstances, I don’t need to hide, as no-one is judging us.”
The gay commercial scene of bars and clubs, which may once have been a place where individuals connected with their community and encountered acceptance and support, is largely youth-oriented and becomes less appealing. This means that as they age LGBT people often feel increasingly disconnected from the wider LGBT community.
The LGBT Age Project counter these negative social attitudes through a project that is affirmative of LGBT identities and of ageing. The project provides support and social events that enable individuals to make friends, strengthen their support networks and create an age-positive sense of LGBT community.
LGBT Health and Wellbeing Chief Executive, Maruska Greenwood said,“This award is fantastic news. It means we can continue to provide vital support for older LGBT people in Edinburgh and Glasgow. This is the generation that had to fight hard for equality, yet now older LGBT people find they are often overlooked. Having lived a great part of their life in much less liberal times, individuals are understandably frequently reluctant to use support services as they fear not feeling welcome or accepted. We know the LGBT Age Project makes a real difference to individuals, providing them with one-to-one support, information and safe and a welcoming social space where they can be themselves without that fear of prejudice or discrimination.
Through LGBT Age we will also continue to provide a vital voice for older LGBT people to enable them to tell their stories and ensure that older people’s services become more inclusive and responsive to their needs.”
Ends Notes for Editors
Background on the issues
The living and family situations of older LGBT people often differ significantly from non-LGBT older people. Research shows that older LGBT people have significantly diminished support networks when compared to the general older population due to being:
- more likely to live alone
- more likely to be single as they age
- significantly more likely to have no children to call upon in times of need.
As the Scottish LGBT Equality Report (Equality Network, 2015) found, although significant legal and social advances have been made, minority sexual orientation and gender identity continue to be coupled with severe disadvantage. Ignorance, negative attitudes and stereotypes around LGBT identities are still prevalent and individuals often face discrimination and rejection (or fear of rejection) by family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and service providers.
The findings from the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2015 (Scottish Government, 2016) study of public attitudes to discrimination positively shows a reduction in discriminatory attitudes towards LGBT people, but significant levels of prejudice still persevere:
- Lesbian and gay people: 18% of people indicated they believe same sex relationships are ‘always’ or ‘mostly wrong’, with older people more likely to hold discriminatory attitudes.
- Transgender people: 32% of people indicated they would be unhappy about a close relative marrying someone who has undergone gender reassignment; 39% indicated they would be unhappy about a close relative marrying someone who cross-dresses in public.
LGBT people consistently indicate an increased sense of vulnerability and significantly higher levels of concern around general ageing issues such as health, mobility, independence, housing and care needs, often due to expectations around discrimination. Not having children, or close bonds with biological family, creates more intense anxieties about the future. Opportunities to access formal community groups and social networks diminish, as generic groups for older people can exclude older LGBT people, whilst activities targeted at gay people are too focused on younger age groups.
The diminished personal support networks of older LGBT people means an increased reliance on external services. Yet many have experienced discrimination in health and social care services in the past, thus fear of discrimination and fear of disclosure act as significant barriers and mean older LGBT people are five times less likely than non-LGBT older people to access services for older people.
Background on the organisation
LGBT Health and Wellbeing promotes the health, wellbeing and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Scotland. The organisation provides a range of programmes and services in Glasgow and Edinburgh and currently works with around 4,000 people per year, including 1,000 individuals receiving one-to-one support though our national helpline, mental health and support programmes.
Contact details
Maruska Greenwood, Chief Executive LGBT Health and Wellbeing 9 Howe Street, Edinburgh EH3 6TE Tel: 0131 523 1106
Maruska Greenwood
LGBT Health and Wellbeing