Project number: 2021-1-HR01-KA220-YOU-000029385
Dates: 1-11-2021 until 1-5-2024
Duration: 30 months (CURRENT)
Partners from: Croatia, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Slovakia
Description:
“LGBTIQ Youth affirmative mental health approaches” is a Key Action 2 project which aims to
strengthen capacities of partner organisations in the field, to create a network of EU community of practices, to upskill youth workers and mental health professionals from the field and exchange good practices through the development of innovative project results based on the concept of Body oriented mental health as a tool for working with LGBTIQ youth mental health in Europe. As stated in the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020- 2025 “Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and sex characteristic can also have a significant impact on LGBTIQ people’s physical, mental and sexual health and their well ‑ being. EU research has demonstrated significant health inequalities between the LGBTIQ community and the population as a whole. In addition, LGBTIQ people are often reluctant to seek healthcare, because they have experienced or fear hostile reactions from health professionals and still struggle to access quality and affordable medication and care, including community and social care. Those who have disabilities, are elderly, migrants, or come from ethnic or religious minority backgrounds are particularly vulnerable to discrimination. The COVID-19 crisis has increased this vulnerability”. Recent research also shows that even when greater social acceptance and support for equal rights is present, it has not always translated into clear improvements in LGBTIQ people’s lives. In a 2019 survey, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and sex characteristics was increasing in the EU: 43% of LGBT people declared that they felt discriminated against in 2019, as compared to 37% in 2012. In addition, it is highlighted in the The European Union Youth Strategy 2019 – 2027 “A significant and increasing number of young people across Europe are expressing their concern at the prevalence of mental health issues such as high stress, anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses amongst their peers. Young people cite the immense societal pressures they face today and express a need for better youth mental health provision”. Therefore, one of the main targets on the EU level is to provide all professionals working with young people as well as family and friends with quality mental health first aid training approach to mental health, not to mention therapeutic perspective that has been on rise in the last couple of years, and especially nowadays having in mind global pandemic. Namely, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other self -identified queer (LGBTQ) youth have higher rates of mental health issues than people in the general population. This could be due to neglect, lack of support, discrimination, trauma, abuse, etc that could potentially lead to poor mental health, suicide, substance abuse, anti-social behaviour, at risk sexual encounters, depression, stress, anxiety etc. To tackle some of these issues and to create a support network, community of practices and peer support networks we would like to explore body-oriented approaches in working with LGBTIQ youth mental health that could potentially lead to regaining strength, power, self-esteem, and self-acceptance within this cohort. We would like to explore what is out there within the EU context, how we could collaborate, grow together, learn from each other and of course to create resources that capture all these practices at one place. Alongside building an international community of practices and sharing knowledge it would be of advantage to capture case studies of the work that partners have been implementing so far.
Therefore, project resources or intellectual outputs developed will be presented as a Guidebook and series of educational/tool presenting videos that would be disseminated across EU and available for use for the organisations interested in LGBTIQ youth mental health.