1. ‘learning with’ LGBT youth: promoting cultural competence through participatory approaches
Nerilee Ceatha SWTL
National Research Office
6th National Child Protection and Welfare Conference 27/10/2017

2. voice of the child

3. promoting participation

4. where to and why?
“The Agency shall…ensure consideration is given to the views of children”
Section 9(3)
CFA Act (2013)

5. seldom-heard children
in care
ethnic minority backgrounds
LGBT
with disabilities
early school leavers
young offenders

7. minority stress
“LGB people are at higher risk of mental disorder, suicidal ideation…and deliberate self-harm than heterosexual people” (King et al 2008: 1)
Levels of suicidality for those identifying as transgender “would translate to an alarmingly high rate” (Haas et al, 2010: 27)
“LGBT people are at a heightened risk of psychological distress because of the stresses created by stigmatisation, marginalisation and discrimination” (HSE, 2009: 24)

9. challenging the focus
“Scientists and clinicians alike have actually repathologised homosexuality by portraying gay teenagers as exceptionally vulnerable individuals leading high-risk lives”
(emphasis in original, Savin-Williams, 2005: 183)
Researchers note the portrayals LGBT youth of “them as victims-in-need-of-tolerance-and-inclusion” (Talburt et al, 2004: 4)
This “fails to illuminate the diversity and multi-facetedness of the experience of LGBT-identified youth or their capacity for agency, pleasure and creativity” (Bryan and Mayock, 2012: 13)

10. diversity

11. barriers to participation

12. structural stigma

13. learning from SW practice
commitment to relationship building
participation promoted
engagement promoted

14. cultural competence

15. participatory research

16. research process

17. when asked, LGBT youth: have opinions participate with interest
give valuable insight into their lives

18. LGBTI+ Youth Strategy established by Minister for Children in 2016
part of current programme for government
underpinned by Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures

19. ‘learning with’ LGBT y/p
practice wisdom informs research
research informs practice
transformative social work is promoted

20. thank you! nerilee.ceatha@tusla.ie
Ceatha, N. and Ratcliffe, T. (In press).Child in Care Reviews and the Role of Foster Carers in Promoting the Voice of the Child. Foster. Dublin: Irish Foster Carer Association
Ceatha, N. (2017). Conducting Insider Ethnography in Under-Researched Communities: The Roles of Researcher and Gatekeepers. SAGE Research Method Cases
Ceatha, N. (2016). Mastering wellness: LGBT people’s understanding of well-being through interest sharing. Journal of Research in Nursing, 21(3) 199–209
Ceatha, N. (2015). Group Action. Gay Community News. Dublin: National Lesbian & Gay Federation Ltd, March