IGLYO on... Research - June 2009

no. 10

on...

Research

International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Youth and Student Organisation

IGLYO (aisbl) Rue de la Charité 17, B-1012 Brussels, Belgium e-mail: info@iglyo.com web: www.iglyo.com

Project Coordinator: Nanna Moe Editor: Bruno Selun Contributors: Judit Takács, Gesa Böckermann, Laura Leprince and Corwin Warnery, Robert Mizzi, Ann Kristin Fagerlund and Monika Grzywnowicz, Irina Nita Proofreading: Claire Anderson Layout Editor: Laura Varzgalyte Design: Laura Varzgalyte (www.coroflot.com/laura-va) Printer: UAB INV (www.flexus.lt)

© 2009 IGLYO. Reproduction permitted, provided that appropriate reference is made to the source. his newsletter is published with the support T of the European Youth Fundation and the European Commission. The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission or of the Council of Europe. They are not liable for any use that may be made of this information.

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This issue gives a good idea of what LGBTQ youth activism has to say about research, and vice-versa. It includes the confessions of a scholar-activist; examples of medical and social research with and for LGBTQ young people; an eye-opening national survey of young trans people; innovative ways to gather LGBTQ-related research; and proof that intergovernmental institutions, too, recognise the central role of research.

There remains, however, the problem of bias: as LGBTQ young people and researchers, we are more likely to see in others the issues we know only too well. But I agree with Judit Takács when she writes that we might as well confess and break down barriers between research and agendas for change.

IGLYO is indebted to hard-working authors and inspiring activists for their voluntary contributions. Our sincere thanks go to Judit Takács, Robert Mizzi, Irina Nita, Laura Leprince and Corwin Warnery, Ann Kristin Fagerlund and

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Monika Grzywnowicz, and Gesa Böckermann. Many thanks as well to colleagues Nanna Moe, Lucy Nowottnick, Claire Anderson and Bogdan Istrate for their kind editorial help.

Bruno Selun IGLYO Board Member and editor of this issue of IGLYO on...

For more resources, links and contacts, visit us on www.iglyo.com.

Editorial

Dedicating an issue of IGLYO on... to research was not an obvious choice. Yet it is a field that shapes our activism more and more, whether it be by advancing knowledge of the social condition of LGBTQ young people, alerting policymakers to crucial and often invisible issues, improving medical conditions related to diseases such as HIV and AIDS, or setting European standards against discrimination. The field of LGBTQ studies—including youth research—is expanding, and rightly so: there is a significant amount of work to be done, and the social inclusion and well-being of many is at stake.

Contents IGLYO and research: Strong claims need strong facts! 4 A researcher’s confession on LGBT youth activism and research 6 How does research need and benefit from the LGBTQ movement? 8 Transgender Youth Survey, France 2009 10 Participatory Action Research: More than just scratching the surface 12 ansoD - a research breaking norms 13 SIALON: HIV and syphilis prevalance among young MSM in South-Eastern Europe 14

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Bruno has been in the Board of IGLYO since 2006. He currently works on education issues, internal development and non-formal training. He is finishing his Masters in London, UK, where he studies educational policy-making and works as a part-time researcher in education.

IGLYO and research: Strong claims need strong facts!

By Bruno Selun

One of the most exciting and innovative projects IGLYO has ever worked on was the report Social exclusion of young LGBT people in Europe, jointly published with ILGA-Europe in 2006. Dr Judit Takács (whose prose is also featured in this IGLYO on...), worked with a steering team to analyse the results of a European survey on the social exclusion of LGBT young people in Europe. The results, available on IGLYO’s website, were a first in the European region—and we believe this was the first global instance of research carried out by and about LGBT youth across several countries.

IGLYO has two crucial missions. On the one hand, we seek to empower organisations working for lesbian, trans, queer, bisexual and gay young people via events, trainings and international networking. Yet, another equally crucial mission is to take those organisations’ concerns up to European policymakers, and lobby for their inclusion in mainstream policies, and hopefully their inclusion in legal developments.

This is where the report became our best paper ally: in our mission to speak out with and for LGBTQ youth and students, freshly established insights into 4

the social reality of Europe gave credit to our claims, opening up doors, ears, and opportunities.

I will be neither original nor innovative when writing that research strengthens activism. This process of movement maturation already played a role in Black liberation and anti-racism movements, feminisms, anti-xenophobia and antiSemitism work. That the research gets done and serves a liberating purpose is already a positive and powerful fact; but that it is done by the oppressed, by LGBTQ young people themselves, becomes when the genuine empowerment occurs. Genuinely powerful research consists of young people speaking for themselves, instead of having others do it for them—and often to them.

Yet research with LGBTQ youth is not all that easy to carry out. Socially excluded young people may not be easily forthcoming with their (sometimes troubling) personal experiences. It is no easy task to explore personal realms, and this is truer as the personal reality in question gets more intimate—for instance one’s gender identity and sexual orientation. This delicate process can be made easier when carried out by peers, which is likely to yield a better quality of data if the young person responding recognises that the researcher (or the IGLYO on...

researching group) has gone through similar issues, and therefore will share their concerns and agenda for change.

Scientifically established knowledge— be it social, natural, medical, political or philosophical—is the golden standard of ‘truth’ (whatever that may be), and an argumental ‘Holy Grail’. In addition to serving the social arguments of disadvantaged groups, it also advances the state of knowledge on a particular issue. Scholarly communities around the world are well-organised and productive, but all too often closed, hard to access without degrees, and unfriendly to outsiders, much like fortresses. For this reason, enabling research capacity outside of academia ought to be a priority for funders and institutions, and carrying out research ought to become more important for movements and networks of the socially excluded. Advancing knowledge becomes important not only for its own sake, but for the benefit of socially just agendas.

And in particular, LGBTQ youth research at the international level has been proven useful in a variety of contexts. National organisations can compare their situations with others, offering a welcome perspective on social realities for better or for worse; international solidarity can be better targeted at countries that need it most, and that have the most in common; good practice can be publicised, and so can poor practice so that one’s failures serve others’ successes. The higher our ambitions are, the stronger our claims must be. And strong claims for social justice require strong evidence, and strong research to back them up.

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Judit holds a Ph.D. in Sociology. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Sociology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and teaches sociology and gender studies courses at the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. She has been conducting research on LGBT issues since 1992.

A researcher’s confession on LGBT youth activism and research

By Judit Takács

I believe that one of the main tools of preventing discrimination is awarenessraising. A basic ingredient of awareness-raising is the accumulation of information and knowledge about LGBT issues in form of reports, providing a map of problems, and research studies attempting to analyse the causes and consequences of the issues at stake.

Reports can play a very important role in recognising problems and identifying contexts, while social scientific research studies can play an important role in the diagnostic process that can inform decision makers, not just on the existence of the problem, but also on its content as well as the indications of its possible solutions.

I believe that the report on the Social Exclusion of LGBT Youth in Europe we prepared in 2006 with the ILGA-Europe – IGLYO research team has served as a means of mobilisation on the cognitive, emotional and practical level, by increasing young LGBT people’s ability to implement change towards increasing their social inclusion. Our study emphasised the effects of the discrimination that young European LGBT people encounter in their family, at school and in their community, on their ability to manage the transition from school to work, and to become autonomous adults and active citizens.

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I believe that one of the basic problems of conducting research on LGBT youth can derive from social invisibility. Coming out of invisibility is a very critical process for most LGBT people, involving risks of being excluded from the ‘normal functioning’ of heteronormative society. The adolescent years are especially challenging for LGBT youth because of their increased emotional and economic dependency on others at home and at school. In contrast with other, for example, ethnic minority youth who generally do not face problems of racism and religious intolerance within their own families, “for gays and lesbians abuse often begins at home”.1 LGBT people often experience homophobia and transphobia within their own family due to the unappreciative perception of what it is to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. This may hinder young people being open about their LGBT identification, and may cause them to begin living a double life.

I believe that LGBT youth activism greatly contributes towards helping an increasing number of young people to avoid leading a double life. And, instead of learning camouflage strategies to conceal themselves, they can concentrate on expressing and representing their own interests in society.

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I believe that any kind of social science research is validated by the quality of its data gathering, and a basic concern of social scientific epistemology stems from the need to interpret the relationship of the (researcher) self and the researched other. LGBTQ youth activism can play an important role in keeping researchers’ reflexivity in shape by holding researchers to account for their actions and asking critical questions about whether knowledge gained in the course of research can be used to decrease the social inequalities and injustices of the examined field, and whether researchers have not become a means of oppression themselves.

Finally, I believe in research practices combined with the politics of solidarity.

Thus research on LGBTQ youth must actively involve young LGBTQ people themselves, implying that it is not only research on them but also research conducted for them and together with them. In this context, LGBTQ youth activism has a significant potential to help shape political agendas. Here one can interpose by asking about the line between service and scholarship…

Well, being critically present can allegedly save researchers from being transformed into political activists. But why not just blur these lines, and confess?

Nardi, Peter M. – Ralph Bolton.1998. ‘Gay-Bashing: Violence and Aggression Against Gay Men and Lesbians’. In Social Perspectives in Lesbian and Gay Studies, Ed. by P.M. Nardi, 412-433.

London: Routledge.

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Gesa is is Policy Officer in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Her responsibilities include discrimination on the ground of age and sexual orientation, as well as multiple discrimination.

How does research need and benefit from the LGBTQ movement?

By Gesa Böckermann

The EU Member States have committed themselves on political and legal levels to equal treatment and the fight against discrimination.

Data is needed to assess what impact this commitment is having on people’s lives.

In its Communication entitled “Nondiscrimination and equal opportunities: A renewed commitment”1 adopted in July 2008, the European Commission highlighted that there still is considerable demand, not currently satisfied at EU or national level, for data on all grounds of discrimination. Available data varies considerably with the ground of discrimination concerned, those relating to gender, disability and age being more readily available than those relating to religion, racial/ethnic origin or sexual orientation. Available data also varies considerably from one Member State to another, depending on traditions and history, making data comparison very difficult to achieve.

The collection of objective and reliable data is pivotal for the understanding and protection of rights of LGBT people. However, the recently published report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights on homophobia and discrimination on grounds of 8

sexual orientation2 highlights that there is a significant lack of both academic research and other data on homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in many Member States and at the EU level. The report suggests that many LGBT people adopt a strategy of invisibility due to, among other things, the fear of homophobia, transphobia and discrimination. According to the report, multiple discrimination appears to be one of the areas profoundly under-researched in all EU Member States.

There can however be no doubt that multiple discrimination exists. Persons can be subjected to discrimination on more than one ground. Individuals can belong to several disadvantaged groups at the same time, and potentially suffer specific forms of discrimination. The study “Tackling Multiple Discrimination – practices, policies and laws”3 carried out for the European Commission by the Danish Institute for Human Rights in 2007 concluded that those at the intersection of gender and race are particularly vulnerable to multiple discrimination. Other intersectional groups highlighted were disabled women, disabled LGBT people, elderly LGBT people, young LGBT people and older disabled people. The study explained the IGLYO on...

fact that certain intersectional groups remain largely invisible by the lack of data for these groups and argued that victims are reluctant to bring forward claims of discrimination either because of a lack of awareness of their rights, or because it does not seem ‘worth the trouble’.

A lack of data lowers incentives to recognise multiple discrimination and to find effective mechanisms to combat it. It renders invisible the situation of people with intersectional identities thus perpetuating the assumption that discrimination does not occur. Furthermore it creates an obstacle to developing adequate responses to multiple discrimination.

The European Commission is working with all actors concerned in order to make further progress in increasing availability and improving comparability of data, with a focus on the area of multiple discrimination.

NGOs such as ILGA-Europe and IGLYO have an important role to play in monitoring and influencing the development of policy and law as they are uniquely well-placed to bring grass roots knowledge of the problems of LGBT people and consideration of possible solutions to the attention of the authorities. Good monitoring of the effects of laws and policies on vulnerable groups by NGOs, including by undertaking research and collecting data, can lead to relevant and reliable information and is a prerequisite for effective lobbying. NGOs can also try to get relevant authorities to take up issues such as the need for data disaggregated by sexual orientation and work with authorities when the opportunity arises. Awareness-raising in that sense should target policy-makers, equality bodies, statistical offices as well as LGBT people themselves who would need to be willing to express themselves freely when interviewed for surveys.

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COM (2008) 420

“Homophobia and Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the EU Member States: Part II - The Social Situation” http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/home/pub_cr_ homophobia_p2_0309_en.htm 2

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738 &langId=en&pubId=51&furtherPubs=yes 3

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Laura is 43, and has been a French LGBT activist since 2007 heading the Gender Identity commission of Homosexualités & Socialisme (HES).

Laura authored a study report on transgender families in 2008.

Corwin is 22, is a Movie Director Assistant and a member of the Trans working group of the French Youth LGBT Movement, MAG.

Transgender Youth Survey, France 2009

By Laura Leprince and Corwin Warnery

Two French LGBTQ organisations, HES (Homosexualités & Socialisme, member of ILGA-Europe) and MAG (Youth LGBT Movement, member of IGLYO) conducted a survey in early 2009 among the transgender youth population.

The French political context triggered this action for more visibility. Indeed, public opinion in France has been debating bioethics on a national scale since early 2009. Gender identity is still not on the governmental agenda; instead, the emphasis is laid on surrogate motherhood, non-anonymous gamete donation and wider accessibility to Assisted Medical Procreation.

Meanwhile, the French Ministry of Health is about to take significant decisions to change the standards of care for transgender people. These decisions will restrict the access to care despite the announcement – made on May 16th 2009, one day before IDAHO – asserting that transsexuality will be declassified from the list of mental illness.

Therefore it became urgent to raise awareness on transgender issues, to 10

change conservative visions and bring forward testimonies from a new generation of transgender persons still ignored today. Among them are young educated people, teenagers, students who have greater self-determination while still facing many societal difficulties.

To make this survey, an online questionnaire was prepared by Female To Male (FTM) and Male To Female (MTF) trans youngsters from MAG in October 2008. The decision was taken to restrict the survey to 16 to 26 year-olds. The questions cover personal history (family structure, education, life at home), medical treatments, transphobia at school, transphobia within close relations and family, sexuality, inner feelings, attitude to suicide, relationships, and projects.

An extensive use of Internet promotion (Facebook, transgender forums…) has contributed to the success of the questionnaire; more than 100 recorded answers were received in less than five months.

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The first fact we notice is that twice as many FTMs as MTFs have answered, and the clear majority of MTF trans respondents were over 20. The detailed data survey analysis suggests that it is harder and takes longer for MTFs to come out and start transitioning.

The main tragic results concern the amount of suicide attempts (34%). Both FTMs and MTFs are concerned, and the attempts all take place before comingout and transitioning.

It reveals that the young transgender population is exposed to the same level of suicide as young homosexuals with a widely acknowledged percentage of 25%. This situation cannot be ignored any longer.

Going deeper in the inner feeling analysis, we can see (see table below) that the self representation of trans identity evolves from negative feelings and suffering under the age of 20 to much more positive ones as they grow up.

The survey shows that gender identity is mainly consciously acknowledged during early childhood, and fully owned during adolescence thanks to the Internet (91%) and cultural sources (audiovisual 56%).

As far as transphobia is concerned, going into the intimacy of the family and closed relations shows contrasting situations. Most of the time, families offer a safe space for young transgender people, but in 20% of cases, teens have to face various forms of rejection which can go as far as finding themselves ostracised from their family circle. When it comes to transphobia at school, we discovered that most transgender pupils and students deal with the situation by either hiding or postponing comingout in order to protect themselves. Only 13% have managed to be open about their new gender identity with their schoolmates. 18% of MTFs get rejected, and 24% of them suffer from insults.

Coming out doesn’t seem to help, as suffering from insults evolves from 14% to 27% after coming out.

What would you qualify your trans identity as?

16 to 20 years old

20 to 26 years old

Suffering

80%

46%

An illness/disability

20%

17%

A disadvantage in my social life

51%

41%

A path to fulfillment

11%

24%

A fully-owned identity

20%

26%

Something that nourishes me & my life

23%

35%

More results are available online in the full report: www.hes-france.org/IMG/pdf/PreliminaryReportYoungTransSurvey2009.pdf

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Robert is the founder of Queer Peace International, Canada. He is also a Ph.D. candidate at York University’s Faculty of Education in Toronto. He is the editor of a new book, “Breaking Free: Sexual Diversity and Change in Emerging Nations” (2008).

Participatory Action Research: More than just scratching the surface!

By Robert Mizzi

Starting off any research project can be a challenging task because there are many ways to collect information on the different issues that affect young people’s lives. One method that may be useful is called participatory action research (PAR).

Instead of collecting research by entering a particular situation, collecting data and then leaving, PAR involves everyone reflecting on the culture, history, economy, society and other contexts that shape human lives. PAR is about research participants doing research, action, and re-research on a specific topic.

I had the privilege to conduct PAR with other LGBT youth while working in Kosovo. We were curious as to how open Kosovar physicians would be towards LGBT youth issues. We began by researching with other LGBT youth about the challenges they faced. We then moved to action, where we shared our preliminary findings with a small number of physicians, and discussed connections to Kosovar contexts. We shared specific situations where physicians could be helpful, such as maintaining confidentiality with their patients, being attentive to risky behaviours, and respectfully approaching LGBT youth.

We learned that this small group was 12

interested in LGBT youth issues, and realised that homophobia was a significant problem in the medical profession. After we finished our discussions, we moved to the re-research phase where the Kosovar LGBT youth worked together with the physicians to explore how other physicians felt towards LGBT youth issues.

Using PAR as a research method opens up a rich context for learning. For example, in our project, what was most exciting was how the topic of ‘LGBT youth issues’ created a broader discussion about ‘LGBT issues’. In Kosovo, there are few chances to respectfully discuss LGBT issues among professionals, and, as a result of using PAR, broader questions surrounding what LGBT citizens experience in Kosovo emerged from researching LGBT youth issues. In short, using PAR as a research method has the capability to advance LGBT activism around human rights because helpful conversations, under the umbrella of research, are able to take shape.

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Ann Kristin is the vice president of ANSO and is working for SFQ, the Swedish Federation of LGBTQ Student Organizations.

She has a broad experience in LGBTQ activism and has a special interest in organizational development, and in the intersection between culture, gender and sexuality.

Monika is the president of ANSO. She works as a youth trainer focusing on diversity, equality, inclusion, participation of young people, quality of higher education, heteronormativity, gender and transgender. She is interested in anti-oppressive pedagogy and international LGBTQ activism.

ansoD – a research breaking norms

By Ann Kristin Fagerlund and Monika Grzywnowicz

In the spring of 2006 ANSO, the Association of Nordic LGBTQ Student Organisations, started a long-term projects called ansoD: a research project aiming at collecting student academic theses from various levels, from bachelors to doctorates, focusing on LGBTQ, feminist, gender and queer issues, amongst others. The main goals of this unique project are to provide visibility and promote research, which often is neglected and not given enough attention. ANSO would also like to connect young LGBTQ people and academia, empowering and strengthening relationships between the organisations that are involved. The project includes partners from the Nordic, Polish and Baltic LGBTQ student organisations, and planned future expansion is to include activists from outside ANSO’s member organisations.

The project is organised in the form of an online database, divided according to different categories and themes, depending on the academic discipline they originate from. The disciplines vary from biology to gender studies, to education, to philosophy, to political science and many more. The variety of Research

disciplines included shows a wide range and diversity of academic research being done on LGBTQ, gender and feminist issues, and also proves that those topics are not only limited to gender studies students.

Most of the collected theses are in English; however, there are also papers in languages of all ANSO’s member organisations, followed by English abstracts. Before publishing, all materials are revised by a database team in order to ensure the quality of publications.

Along with the theses, the authors’ contact information and academic affiliation are published in order to facilitate further communication.

The ansoD is an ongoing project, and the database is under construction. The opening date will soon be announced at ANSO’s website (http://www.anso.dk).

If you are interested in submitting your theses or articles to ansoD, please contact us at database@anso.dk.

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Irina is a geologist who ended up fighting for gay rights.

In the last six years, she has been doing this within ACCEPT, still the only Romanian organisation that promotes and protects LGBT rights.

SIALON: HIV and syphilis prevalence among young MSM in South-Eastern Europe

By Irina Nita

SIALON is a European Commissionfunded project aiming to obtain reliable and valid information on HIV and syphilis prevalence, risky behavior and cultural factors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Eastern and Southern Europe, using a new testing method based on saliva samples.

The project was initiated by the Veneto Region and CRRPS (the health promotion centre of Veneto, Italy). Besides Italy, the project takes place concurrently in Czech Republic, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. In each country a gay organisation works together with a medical institution to achieve the project objectives. In Romania, ACCEPT (an organisation aiming to promote and protect the rights of LGBT people) works in close cooperation with the Institute for Infectious Diseases Prof. Dr. Matei BalĹ&#x;, the institution that coordinates the national HIV/AIDS programme.

What do we do in Romania?

Collect saliva samples from 400 MSM who frequent gay cruising areas of 4 main cities (Bucuresti, Brasov, Cluj, Constanta); An overwhelming majority are between the ages of 20 and 27;

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Collect sexual behaviour information through auto-applied questionnaires filled in by the same 400 MSM who gave saliva samples; Get in-depth understanding on sexual behavioural aspects as well as the determinants of MSM access to voluntary counselling and testing services. This is done via interviews with MSM, aiming to collect qualitative data to explain the data already collected.

The entire process is completely anonymous, but the questionnaires on sexual behaviour can still be correlated with saliva samples via the use of unique barcodes. Data is collected during outreach actions in local gay bars, as these are the only public places frequented by MSM that are available during the cold season.

Data assessment All samples and questionnaires collected from all participating countries are sent to Italy, in order to be analysed together. Later on, during the project, laboratory technicians from all partner countries will be trained to perform oral fluid tests for syphilis and HIV for onsite epidemiological surveillance.

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Results The SIALON study will end in April 2010.

By then, we should have the first factual data on HIV and syphilis prevalence in MSM frequenting public gay community locations, which should be one of the major outcomes of this project. So far in Romania, we only have estimative figures stating that less than 5% of registered HIV infections have been transmitted through homosexual sex.

However, most of the Romanian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people continue to be closeted. For example, in Romania we have no openly gay politician, and there are less than ten gay and gay friendly bars for an entire population of over 20 million people. Under these circumstances, it is to be expected that cases of HIV positive MSM are probably under-reported, people rightly fearing institutionalised stigma and discrimination.

The breakthrough in this study is highly impactful on MSM youth. A first clear advantage is the use of a non-invasive testing technique, which allows for more young people to be voluntarily tested without fear of a needle or physical mark. And last but not least, we believe the impact on MSM youth communities will be significant, as a great majority of respondents were between the ages of 20 and 27.

Moreover, we will have the possibility to integrate the results from both the behavioural and serological surveys, which will give us the grounds for future prevention campaigns, adapted to the real needs of MSM. Correlations will also be possible between similar situations in all project countries. The results will be made available to counselling and testing services and epidemiological centres. Based on these results, we will be able to identify actual MSM needs related to sexually transmitted infections, and the gaps in prevention strategies.

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