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AUSTERITY AND THE
IMPACT ON LGBT PEOPLE
'YOUNG PEOPLE’S
VOICE' WIN SECTOR
STAR AWARD
BRIGHTON DJS HEAD
UP NEW FRIDAY NIGHTS
ON GAYDIO RADIO
Report identifies cuts to health and housing services are
pushing LGBT people to the margins of society.
) Young People’s Voice
(YPV), the LGBT youth
campaigning and engagement
project at Allsorts, has won
the Outstanding Volunteering
Contribution for Young
People category at the Sector
Stars Community and
Voluntary Sector Awards 2013.
) Local DJs Jonesy and lil Alex have
taken up residency on Gaydio every Friday
night between 8–10pm. The station’s
relaunch of Friday nights is the latest in a
series of changes to both the image and
sound of Gaydio over the past year. Jonesy
and lil Alex are renowned for their unique
'party house' sound, blending anthemic
samples with body shaking basslines and
beats alongside the latest trends in house
music.
Jonesy and lil Alex (aka Steve Jones and
Alex Ryan) have been DJing around
Brighton and the South of England for the
last six years. Jonesy is no stranger to music
or radio, having hosted the lunchtime show
on Juice 107.2 for several years and more
recently founding Brighton's biggest music
festival, Shakedown. He is also now
Promotions Manager and resident DJ at the
South Coast's number one LGBT club,
Revenge.
Carola Towle, UNISON National Officer, said: “It is very
worrying that LGBT people are being hit so hard. We can’t be
turning back the clock to a time when people were frightened to
come out. It seems anti-LGBT discrimination is regaining a hold
in society. The growing sense of isolation among LGBT workers
is another real concern. And we are in a situation where young
people are being kicked out from home and have to sofa-surf,
live in squats or be homeless.
The data also reveals that the closure of specialised health services could trigger a
rise in the number of undiagnosed sexual infections as some participants admitted
they would be reluctant to use general health services. Some expressed a fear in
the rise of unsafe and risky sexual behaviour and were worried fewer people would
be tested for HIV. This was particularly true for people of minority ethnic
background, whose communities may not accept homosexuality.
There is also a growing perception of feeling ‘less safe’ in the streets and more
vulnerable to discrimination. The cut or loss to initiatives that help LGBT people
report hate crimes meant some raised concerns that LGBT discrimination was
‘creeping back into society’. The police cuts on equality and diversity advisors for
example made this feeling worse.
Some participants described an increasing sense of isolation due to a perceived
rise of homophobia. LGBT people said they felt gradually disconnected from
public services and less engaged with their local community. Others felt
marginalised, but described a feeling of guilt for asking for their needs to be met
when there are other groups needing support.
Similarly to other groups, LGBT people talked about earning less from zero-hour
contracts, having their pay frozen for years, struggling to meet basic costs such as
household bills, travel costs, making them more likely to use payday loans and
food banks. One participant said he: "had gone without medication on occasion
because cost has become prohibitively high".
EAST SUSSEX HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST MEETS
WITH HASTINGS & ROTHER TRANS* GROUP
) East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust recently
met with the trans* group from Hastings & Rother
Rainbow Alliance (HRRA) to discuss their views on
healthcare. Concerns raised included changing
gender on health records, recognising trans*
peoples' needs within care, and single-sex accommodation. These points will be
responded to formally by the Trust with a plan to improve services in the New
Year. HRRA supports the LGB&T communities of Hastings and Rother.
For more information about HRRA, view: www.hr Ʉ