The Invisible Minority Working with Sexual Minority Youth

1. The Invisible MinorityWorking with Sexual Minority Youth Judy Chiasson, PhD Los Angeles Unified School District BREAKING THE SILENCE Breaking the Silence: Empowering School Counselors & Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex (LGBTQI) Youth February 2010 Breaking the Silence

2. From sugar & spice Breaking the Silence

3. To not so nice.. Breaking the Silence

4. From loving home… to homeless Breaking the Silence

5. Harassment, Bullying & Intimidation Verbal Nonverbal Physical Emotional/social Cyber Hazing Breaking the Silence

6. 2005 National study of school bullying 65% of teens have been harassed or assaulted: • 39% due to physical appearance • 33% due to perceived sexual orientation Breaking the Silence

7. Bullied to death Jaheem Herrera April 16, 2009 Atlanta, GA 11-year old Jaheem hung himself in his bedroom. He had been the target of anti-gay harassment and bullying at school. Breaking the Silence

8. Bullied to death Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover April 9, 2009 Springfield, Massachusetts 11-year old Carl Johnson Walker-Hoover hung himself in his bedroom while his mother was downstairs cooking dinner. Carl was the target of anti-gay harassment by his peers. Breaking the Silence

9. Bullied to death Lawrence King February 12, 2008 Oxnard, California 14-year old Brandon McInerneyfatally shot 15-year old Larry because Larry asked Brandon to be his Valentine. Breaking the Silence

10. 2008 Hate Crimes, 748 in LA County Crimes based on sexual orientation & religion increased Breaking the Silence

11. Perpetrators of hate crimes by age Breaking the Silence

12. 2008 Hate Crimes, 7783 Nationally

13. Violent crimes by gender Breaking the Silence

14. Sexism affects men. Males are judged by their • Sexual conquest • Athletic ability • Money & power Sexism = Homophobia Breaking the Silence

15. Tough Guise Breaking the Silence

16. LGBTQ2IA.SGL.MSM&W • Lesbian • Gay • Bisexual • Transgender • Queer • Questioning • Intersex • Ally/Asexual • Fluid • Same Gender Loving - SGL • On the Down Low - DL • Men who have sex with men …and women • No label Breaking the Silence

17. The Invisible Population Breaking the Silence

18. How many are there? • 10.7% of students identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questionning • 1 in 2000 babies are born intersex • 16% of students have gay, lesbian, or transgender family members Breaking the Silence

19. How many are there? • 2.3 million people in LA County are or have LGBTQ family members (10 million x 23%) • California has the most gay and lesbian parents (US Census): • 14,000 in foster care • 65,000 through adoption Breaking the Silence

20. Over-identification • 92% experienced verbal abuse • 44% have been threatened with physical violence Breaking the Silence

21. Anti-gay comments at school • 97% from their peers • 53% from their teachers • 25.5 times per day or every 8 minutes Breaking the Silence

22. Anti-gay comments at home • 100% of LGB adults reported having heard significantly higher frequencies of anti-gay comments while growing up. • Gender-variant children are twice as likely to be abused by parents, compared to their siblings. • LGBT youth of color are more likely to experience physical violence perpetrated by a family member. Breaking the Silence

23. Does family matter? LGBT Youth from Rejecting Families are • 8.4 times more likely to attempt suicide • 5.9 times more likely to be depressed • 3.4 times more likely to use drugs • 3.4 times more likely to engage in unsafe sex • Latino males are most vulnerable to family rejection Caitlin Ryan, 2009 Breaking the Silence

24. Our challenge Understand, empathize and be compassionate about something that may be outside of our own experience. Breaking the Silence

25. Identity development model I’m here, I’m queer! Exploration & Celebration ConfusionWhy am I different? and btw.. I’m gay Integration It’s all good Unaware Denial I’m not gay, I just… I think I might be gay.. Oh no! Breaking the Silence

26. Identity development model I’m here, I’m queer! Exploration & Celebration ConfusionWhy am I different? and btw.. I’m gay Integration It’s all good Unaware Denial I’m not gay, I just… I think I might be gay.. Oh no! Breaking the Silence

27. Sex? Breaking the Silence

28. Romance? Breaking the Silence

29. Unexpected consequences Teenage lesbians are twice as likely to become pregnant and are four times as likely to have multiple pregnancies. Breaking the Silence

30. Unexpected consequences Non-gay youth who are targets of anti-gay bias demonstrate even greater levels of emotional distress and depression than do gay-identified youth. Breaking the Silence

31. We know that … We have a legal and moral obligation to protect our children. Breaking the Silence

32. California Protected Categories • Sexual orientation • Gender identity • Sex • Ethnic group identification • Race • Color • National origin • Religion • Mental or physical disability Breaking the Silence

33. Legal Considerations California Safety and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (AB537) • Added sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. • Specified deliberate indifference. • Removed the corporate shield. Breaking the Silence

34. So what do we do about it? Breaking the Silence

35. Sow seeds of Breaking the Silence

36. Collaborate with Educators Legislators Direct Service Provides

37. Do our job Make schools and homes safe places for all children. Breaking the Silence

38. Replace labels with faces LGBT is not a sandwich Breaking the Silence

39. Be visible: A-Z LGBT Alvin Ailey *John Amaechi* James BaldwinTallulah Bankhead * Leonard Bernstein * Caravaggio * Mary Cheney * Daniel Cho * Ellen DeGeneres * Malcolm Forbes * Elton John * Kate Hutton *Frida Kahlo * Larry King * Sheila Kuehl* Sir Ian McKellen* Father Mychal *Rudolf Nureyev * Bayard Rustin * Matthew Shepard* Andrew Sullivan * Sheryl Swoopes* Tchaikovsky * Brandon Teena *Virginia Uribe* Alice Walker * Pedro Zamora Breaking the Silence

40. Be a leader Do a careful analysis of your practices vs. your policies. Are they consistently followed? Are you proactive or reactive? How many of your students, teachers and administrators openly gay? Do your anti-discrimination policies for students and staff include sexual orientation & gender identity? Have you published guidelines on how to support GLBTQ topics, youth, staff and families? Who is the point person in your district who oversees compliance? Breaking the Silence

41. Be a leader Do your enrollment forms recognize same-sex parents? Does your curriculum address sexual orientation and gender identity in a positive affirming way? Are LGBTQ persons identified in your health, history, mathematics, science, literature, art, library, etc., books? Does your dress code specify gender-neutrality? What programs and services are in place to support LGBTQ youth? What kinds of trainings, professional developments, community & educational resources are offered to schools to address LGBTQ concerns? Breaking the Silence

42. Be an ally That’s so gay! • Intervene when you hear it. • Capture teachable moments • Harassment in the hallway Breaking the Silence

43. Become educated Breaking the Silence

44. Be an advocate Breaking the Silence

45. Be a teacher Breaking the Silence

46. Be a parent. Don’t stop loving your child. Breaking the Silence

47. Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged Breaking the Silence

48. Judy Chiasson, Ph.D. Coordinator Office of Human Relations, Diversity and Equity 213-241-5626 Judy.Chiasson@lausd.net Breaking the Silence