This article is from page 9 of the 2011-06-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
YOUTHWORKERS have warned that a “high degree of homophobia” still exists in Clare ahead of a meeting to address issues of relevance to gay and lesbian young people in Ennis next week. Hosted by Clare Youth Service (CYS) and County Clare VEC, the event is primarily aimed at parents, young people aged 16 to 25 and those working with young people and families. The meeting will be held at the Temple Gate Hotel on Thursday, June 16 at 8.30pm.
The keynote speaker is Dominic Hannigan TD. The Meath East polltopper, one of two openly gay TDs in the current Dáil, will share the platform with a young person who will talk about their experience of growing up gay in Clare, the parent of a young gay person who will share their story and a CYS youth worker who will outline developments to make mainstream youth provision more welcoming of diversity. There will also be an input from Siobhan Maguire, LGBT Rights Officer with the Union of Students in Ireland (USI).
Brian McManus, CYS youthworker, said the event is the outcome of a series of seminars and focus group meetings that have taken place in Clare over the past year. He said the main issues raised through the meetings involved the availability of information to young gay people and their parents, and the “high degree of homophobic bullying, not just among teenagers but in society”.
Mr McManus explained that young people are often subjected to bullying and physical intimidation “because they are perceived to be gay”. He said, “It ranges from people feeling discomfort, depending on their resilience, to people leaving their own area because they can’t really cope with the problem.” He explained that there had been some instances of suicide “driven by bullying”. He said the CYS had carried out a number of awareness campaigns over the past 12 months aimed at fighting negative attitudes to gay and lesbian people.
Seamus Bane, youth officer with Clare VEC, said he hoped the meeting would help challenge prejudices and stigmas attached to gay and lesbian people. He said while he had not personally come across instances of homophobic bullying, he said there had been reports of “harassment, bullying and physical intimidation”.
He added that there was still a “culture of antipathy towards difference” and that young people were, in some cases, afraid of being “victimised” because of their sexual orientation.
Mr Bane said the work carried out through the Clare Social Inclusion Strategy 2010-12 is helping to challenge old prejudices. But, he added, “It’s hardly surprising, I suppose, that in a small mainly rural community, rapid change can’t be expected. It’s going to be incremental.”