Safeguarding LGBTQ+ children and young people
All children and young people have the right to be protected and kept safe from abuse and neglect.
LGBTQ+ children and young people face the same risks as all children and young people, but they are at greater risk of some types of abuse. For example, they might experience homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying or hate crime. They might also be more vulnerable to or at greater risk of sexual abuse, online abuse or sexual exploitation (Barnardo’s and Fox, 2016; McGeeney et al, 2017; Xu and Zheng, 2014).
What does LGBTQ+ stand for?
LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning and more. This term covers a broad range of people who have different lived experiences and may be at different stages in exploring their identity. It includes people who are asexual or have differences in sex development (sometimes known as being intersex).
There are a wide variety of terms people might use to describe their sexuality (who they feel attracted to) or their gender identity (their personal, internal perception of their own gender). For example, someone who has a different gender identity from the sex that was registered at their birth might identify as trans or transgender. Other people whose gender identity doesn’t sit comfortably with ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ might identify as non-binary, agender, gender fluid or genderqueer (Government Equalities Office, 2018).
Children and young people might identify as LGBTQ+ in more than one way, for example they could be gay and transgender. Children who are LGBTQ+ might also have other characteristics that mean they face additional challenges or need extra support, for example being in care, being disabled or being from a Black, Asian or minoritised ethnic group.
Adults who work with LGBTQ+ children and young people need to understand the challenges they might experience and know what action to take to support and help keep them safe.
Link to
learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection/lgbtq-children-young-people#skip-to-content
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