As progress marches on, young LGBT+ people need help to avoid being left behind

LGBT+ History Month is a powerful time, when we look back and celebrate the progress that has been made. When we think about progress for LGBT+ people in the UK, several landmark moments come to mind; legal gender recognition for the trans members of our community, the legalisation of same-sex marriage, expanding access to adoption for LGBT+ families. But these moments all have one thing in common: they impact LGBT+ adults. 

This month isn’t just about celebrating, it’s about looking to the past to ensure we don’t make the same mistakes, and for LGBT+ children and young people, significant mistakes are still being made. 

• Our history is way queerer than you think – here’s why that matters
• I should have spent school preparing for the future. Instead I spent it fighting to be included
• I’m gay and a West Ham fan – this is how football has changed for people like me

Most of us will remember the term “that’s so gay” being thrown around at school, or “lesbian” used as an insult in the playground. Those of us who are LGBT+ will also remember how this language compounded fear and shame about who we were. 

But language like this isn’t LGBT+ history, it’s happening now. Recent research from Just Like Us showed that 78% of primary school pupils have heard homophobic language, in many cases fuelled by social media. LGBT+ school pupils are twice as likely to face bullying, and even children who are not LGBT+ but have LGBT+ families are facing stigma and discrimination. 

We also know that many LGBT+ young people face difficulties at home. A third of LGBT+ young people are still not confident that their parents will accept them, and 46% of LGBT+ young adults are estranged from at least one family member.

Changes in law have given LGBT+ adults more choices, but LGBT+ children cannot choose which school to go to, nor which family they are a part of, all the while watching as global political and media narratives question their very existence. 

Believing that the world is becoming more inclusive, that things are better now and that progress is inevitable, does nothing to change the reality faced by young people. LGBT+ children and young people need active allyship from the adults around them. 

At Just Like Us, we provide schools with the tools they need to create safe and supportive environments for all pupils, including inclusive resources, support in setting up Pride groups in their school communities, and talks from LGBT+ young adults who can provide vital representation. 

This week we released our first ever guide for parents. We know that the majority of straight parents consider themselves to be supportive of LGBT+ people. But the LGBT+ young people we work with are clear: if parents and carers don’t discuss LGBT+ topics at home in an open, consistent and positive way, LGBT+ young people will be left scared to be themselves. Where there is silence, there is shame. 

If parents are able to make their allyship absolutely clear, their children – whether or not they are LGBT+ – will be armed with the knowledge that who they are is valid and that difference is something to be celebrated. The power of that knowledge cannot be overstated, and will carry them through to adulthood.

So, this LGBT+ History Month, by all means celebrate how far we’ve come. But also remember that children and young people need our help to avoid being left behind as progress marches on. 

Laura Mackay is the chief executive of Just Like Us, a LGBT+ young people’s charity working across the UK.

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