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Tag: Galop

All the latest breaking news on Galop. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Galop.

  • Charity launches a forum for LGBT+ survivors of domestic abuse

    Charity launches a forum for LGBT+ survivors of domestic abuse

    Galop has launched a Domestic Abuse Survivor’s Forum as part of its National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline Service.

    The Forum, which will go live on Thursday, December 10th, 2020, is a safe, anonymous, online space for LGBT+ people who have been affected by domestic abuse. The forum will allow users to share their experiences, support one another and receive information and support from the team at the National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline. 

    According to the charity the forum will introduce peer-to-peer support for its users.

    Historically, domestic violence services have demonstrated how vital peer support spaces are for survivors of abuse. There are very few spaces where LGBT+ people can come together and share their experiences with abuse and receive support from those with the lived experience of being LGBT+. The LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Survivors Forum will provide this safe space for LGBT+ people to support one another.  

    How does the forum work and how are users kept safe? 

    The forum is accessible to all LGBT+ survivors of domestic abuse so that they can read valuable information about abuse even if they do not feel ready to register and post themselves. In order to keep every user of the forum anonymous, all posts are moderated before they are made visible on the forum. This includes checks for identifying information (which is then edited out), abusive or harmful behaviour, and on the welfare of the poster. 

    The helpline team moderators can see the e-mails of users, so we can reach out to anyone if we’re concerned about their welfare or their behaviour on the forum. Our central focus is ensuring the forum is always safe and supportive for everyone that uses it, and at every stage of design and development, the needs of domestic abuse survivors and their safety have been key. 

    If someone wants to register, they can click ‘Join’ at the top of the forum, enter some demographic information that helps us understand who is accessing the forum, and register with an e-mail address and username. This is then checked by the team to ensure they can’t be identified from the username. The user is then sent a confirmation link, which takes them to set their password. This means no user is ever e-mailed their login details.  

    We’d welcome all our partners and other agencies that work with LGBT+ and/or domestic abuse survivors to promote the forum to their clients and service users, or to other organisations who can share this with LGBT+ survivors of domestic abuse. 

  • More and more young people think that being LGBT+ is “immoral”

    More and more young people think that being LGBT+ is “immoral”

    (C) BIGSTOCK

    If you think that future generations of people might be the answer to the inequalities faced by the LGBT+ community, statistics from Galop‘s latest research is sober reading.

    According to Galop, the UK’s leading charity against violence towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, found that 1 in four people aged 18-24 said that being LGBT+ was “immoral or against their beliefs”.

    That statistic becomes more concerning when you consider that, 41 per cent of the age group said that they strongly agreed (12%), agreed (16%) or were ambivalent (13%) with the idea gay or trans went against their beliefs or that being LGBT+ was in some way immoral.

    Just over half of the respondents aged 18 to 24, said that they disagreed with the statement “Being LGBT+ is immoral or against my beliefs”.

    What about the next age group up?

    Valencia
    CREDIT: TheGayUK

    The age group 25 to 35 didn’t fair much better with 40 per cent saying that strongly agreed (9%), agreed (12%) or were ambivalent (19%) with the idea that being LGBT+ was against their belief.

    This is in stark contrast to the widely quoted statistic from a YouGov survey that found 49 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds, when asked to plot their sexuality on a scale said that they were not 100 per cent heterosexual.

    Nik Noone, Galop’s Chief Executive said, Recorded anti-LGBT+ hate crime has doubled in the last three years. This is reflected in the escalating scale, severity and complexity of hate crime cases we are supporting at Galop. 

    Our ambition is that this report gives insight into the scale of prejudice still faced by our community. More importantly, we hope its findings and recommendations will act as a springboard for action. 

  • One in 10 people in the UK think that gay people can be cured

    One in 10 people in the UK think that gay people can be cured

    jossuetrejo_oficial / Pixabay

    Startling findings reveal that 10 per cent of the UK’s population think that gay cures could work on LGBT+ people.

    Despite many people understanding that LGBT+ are born that way, around 1 in 10 people in the UK, still think that homosexuality or being transgender can be cured according to findings recorded by Galop, the UK’s largest anti-violence charity for LGBT+ people.

    This is coupled with the horrifying revelation that around 20 per cent of people (one in five) said that being LGBT+ was immoral or went against their beliefs.

    The findings were analysed from a representative sample of just over 1,600 people.

    Does conversion therapy actually work?

    There are a number of therapists and organisations in the UK and in the USA that make the claim that conversion therapy can help LGB people to become heterosexual. However, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, there is no evidence that such change is possible.

    Does gay conversion therapy actually work?

    Nick Antjoule, Galop’s Head of Hate Crime Services said, At Galop we’ve seen a stark increase in the severity and scale of anti-LGBT violence and abuse over the past few years. This appears to be a symptom of emergent anti-LGBT attitudes and social division across society. The fact that anti-LGBT hate crime figures are rising so much faster than race, faith and disability hate crime should be a wake-up call for policy makers. We urge action now to address this problem before it escalates further. 
     
    Our research shows the journey toward LGBT+ equality is far from over. Despite most people in this UK poll voicing support for LGBT+ people; a significant proportion still think we are dangerous, immoral or that we can be ‘cured’. 

    Younger people hold more negative views about LGBT+ people rather than the older generation.

    Antijoule continued, “It offers a sobering reminder that progress achieved in recent decades can easily be reversed.

    “Young people polled tended to hold more negative views toward LGBT+ people than other age groups. This alarming finding warns of a generational pivot ahead and a bumpy road for those of us committed to challenging anti-LGBT violence and abuse. 

  • Government Offers New Online Tool To Deal With Online Anti-Gay Abuse

    A new website tackling online abuse aimed at women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is launched today.

    • Internet site aims to help people struggling with online abuse.
    • Women and Equalities Minister says the site is proof that the government is determined to tackle discrimination.

    A government funded, but created by Galop site is aimed at stopping online abuse was launched today with a view to help wipe out online trolling.

    Charities with a combined 161 years of experience in anti-violence work collaborated to provide answers for people struggling with online abuse. The news comes after it was announced in October 2014, that internet trolls could face up to two years behind bars for their crimes.

    The website aims to provide advice for anyone who is falling victim to online abuse. It aims to “empower people facing sexist, homophobic, biphobic or transphobic abuse online.”

    Nik Noone, Galop’s CEO said:
    “Evidence suggests that over one million people in the UK face online abuse each year. Whilst online abuse can affect anyone, women and LGBT people often experience abuse as a result of their sex, gender identity or sexual orientation.

    “We’ve all seen a growing number of high profile examples of online abuse in the news. Our casework here at Galop also evidences an increasing trend, the impact of which can have far reaching consequences. This project is about ensuring that protection from harassment and abuse against women and LGBT people in the real world exists in the online world too.”

    Women and Equalities Minister Nicky Morgan, who voted in opposition to the same-sex marriage bill in 2013, said:

    “This new site will provide practical advice for women and LGB&T people on how to recognise abuse, what steps to take to report it and how to get offensive content removed. It is another sign of our determination to tackle discrimination in all its forms and to creating a fairer society for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”