Everyone In: Minority Ethnic LGBT Scotland
Everyone In is a groundbreaking research project focussing on our knowledge and understanding of minority ethnic people who may identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. This project is being done in partnership with BEMIS (Black and Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure in Scotland).
Do you want to make life better for minority ethnic LGBT people?
EveryoneIN (a partnership project between Equality Network and Black and Minority Infrastructure in Scotland) is looking for people who are interested in promoting equality for minority ethnic LGBT (ME/LGBT) people. You do not have to be from a minority ethnic background, identify as LGBT or have any previous activism experience. You just need to want to make a change!
What can you do?
Students: You can support black and minority ethnic and LGBT student groups to work together more so that ME/LGBT people can better access all student groups.
Religious People: you can work with your group and leaders to debate and discuss how to best support ME/LGBT people in your community in ways that are sensitive to your cultural and religious beliefs.
Voluntary Sector Workers: you can promote the development of inclusive policies and practices within your organisation and develop contacts with other organisations in different equality sectors.
Public Sector Workers: You can highlight the need to look at multiple discrimination and complex needs in your policies and practices.
Everyone: You can support a truly inclusive approach to equality work by talking to public bodies and other services about the need to look at multiple discrimination and complex needs.
ME/LGBT people: You can tell organisations and groups about what it is like for you to access services and what they can do to make like easier for you and other ME/LGBT people. And you do not need to out yourself to do this!
What can we do to help you make real changes?
We are offering one-to-one mentoring and support. We will meet with you at a time and place best for you to talk about what you want to do and how we can best help you do that. We will also link you in with existing networks and organisations that are already working on equality for ME/LGBT people in Scotland. We can also support you to attend meetings or meet with the people that you want to work with to make real changes.
For more information or to sign up please contact:
Sam Rankin
sam@equality-network.org
0774 704 0355
Together we can make real changes for ME/LGBT people!
Equality Network & BEMIS Roundtable Discussion, February 2009
As part of this work, the Equality Network and BEMIS hosted a roundtable discussion in Glasgow on 5th February 2009. The event attracted a wide variety of representatives from equality organisations, public bodies and individuals.
EveryoneIN research report, June 2009
In July 2009, EveryoneIn published their research report and a research summary:
This report was the product of a ten month research project, developed jointly by the Equality Network in partnership with Black and Ethnic Minorities Infrastructure in Scotland (BEMIS). This was made possible through funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The project was developed with the aid of a multi-agency steering group.The time and effort that everyone has put into this research will now provide us all with a firmer foundation from which to ensure that everyone is INcluded better in Scotland.
About EveryoneIN
People are complicated. The ways in which we define ourselves are complex. Our physical characteristics, histories, influences, behaviours, cultures and sub-cultures are all exceptionally intricate narratives that we use to identify ourselves. We are all constantly defining and redefining different aspects of ourselves: genders, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and more. Doing this means we can talk about who we think we are, create legislation, and target services. But while we can make use of these categories, we also shy away from the notion of being categorised for discrimination.
But focusing on this intersection of two equality strands can be a way to consider all of the equality strands: as the intersection both influences and emphasises the interplay between all of the equality strands. This is a first step to increasing our knowledge and capacity to better address the needs of all our diverse peoples.
This first Everyone In event proved a great opportunity for people to get together and discuss the concerns and issues faced by ME/LGBT people in Scotland, and the need to celebrate the diversity of all our communities. The event focused on two main questions:
- What do we want to see changed in Scotland to better meet the needs of minority ethnic people who may identify themselves as LGBT?
- What can we do to facilitate these changes?
The discussions highlighted a wide variety of key points including:
- the need to ensure that Home Office and immigration policies and services take everyone’s needs into account
- Engagement with Minority ethnic people who may identify as LGBT around what their experiences and needs are
- More and better communication between Race and LGBT organisations to ensure that nobody is left out
- Training of staff members of public and charity organisations so that the diversity of all communities is acknowledged
- Both Race and LGBT focused research and events should acknowledge and include the diversity of all communities
Feedback from participants highlighted how important the event was to the ME/LGBT people who attended.
“I loved hearing other people's stories that were so similar to mine it was scary. It reaffirmed that I'm not alone and I'm not a freak. It was so great to meet other people.”
This roundtable event was also important for the organisations that attended, not only as a rare chance to network across both the race and LGBT sectors, but also to increase awareness and knowledge in an area that has often been ignored in the past.
The Equality Network and BEMIS were praised by both the Scottish Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission for pioneering this work.
A more detailed report on the points raised at the event will be included in the project research report. Both a PDF and a printed version of this document will be available latter this year. To receive these or for more information on the project please contact Samantha Rankin (sam@equality-network.org) or Tim Cowen (timc@equality-network.org).