Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Visibility in Public Services

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Conference
2009 National LGBT Conference
Date
29 July 2009
Decision
Carried as Amended

Conference is concerned regarding the lack of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) visibility within public services. Whenever we go into hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, dentists, walk-in centres, one stop shops and housing offices, we are bombarded with literature relating to the heterosexual and non-transgender community. Within this literature we very rarely see any reference to the LGBT community.

The LGBT community has existed for long enough in the shadows; this is constantly being perpetuated by society and the services we have a right to access.

The community and our public services are funded from our hard earned wages, and should reflect the diverse society that they serve, showing positive representations in the literature they provide.

Public services have a duty to promote the diversity of the society they serve and must be held accountable for how they do this. The use of positive images from within the LGBT community will go a long way towards removing myths, barriers and stereotypes.

Conference therefore asks the National LGBT Committee to work with the National Executive Council and all other appropriate structures to seek to develop ways of increasing LGBT visibility in public service-produced literature and marketing materials and to explore the benefits of other ways of encouraging all public services to provide appropriate and accessible services to LGBT people, such as kite mark schemes that can be displayed to show the LGBT community where appropriate services and support can be accessed.