SOME people have begun to question the need for a yearly event like Pride to raise awareness of LGBTQ issues - we’ve achieved equality, they say. But things are far from perfect. Children and young people, as well as adults, experience discrimination, bullying and hate crimes.
For many children and young people, dealing with diversity issues and finding their own identity can be difficult. For some, struggling to understand their feelings and how they fit in can lead to self-harm, suicidal thoughts and low self-esteem. These factors can have a knock-on effect and even leave them vulnerable to sexual exploitation and poor educational achievement.
Barnardo’s works with a diverse cross-section of children, young people and families, providing a wide range of services to support LGBTQ young people. We understand their anxieties and act as their champions. We led the way in campaigning for LGBTQ fostering and adoption and have helped many children to thrive in loving, safe family environments. We developed free LGBTQ resources to help teachers.
While homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying and attacks still exist, while children and young people struggle with their gender identities or to understand how they fit into a heteronormative world, we will always need Pride.
Javed Khan
Chief Executive
Barnardo’s
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