Highland Charity Secures Funding For A Voice For Gender-diverse Young People In Highland

4th September 2023

Inspiring Young Voices, a well-established local charity has secured funding for 12 months to develop a unique collective voice for trans/non-binary young people up to the age of 25 years living in the Highlands.

The Inclusion Worker will work alongside the young people from Inspire Highland, Inspiring Young Voices' youth-led participation project, to expand their youth-led collective voice for LGBTQ+ young people in Highland, particularity those who identify as trans/non-binary.

This role will give Highland LGBTQ+ young people a voice and enabling them to be actively involved in decisions that affect their lives, to speak out about their rights and to campaign for change.

Emma Thomas, Inspiring Young Voices Participation Lead, explained, "Due to the specialist nature of this role (which we think may be the first of its kind in Scotland), this exciting new post requires an individual who identifies as trans/non-binary and who understands the culture* and complexities of being part of the gender non-conforming/diverse community. We are also very keen to encourage applications from young people."

*Gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common gender identities.

Chase, 21 years old, trans-male:
"Growing up identify as someone who is trans/non-binary in the Highlands you don't know anyone else because of the stigma surrounding this specific group and our identity.

It is very scary to coming out in the Highlands as trans/non-binary and growing up hearing all the slurs especially in the context of women's safety; trans women are women."

Erin, 18 years and non-binary, continued, "Our voices aren't heard much, and we still face a lot of judgement for being gender diverse. There needs to be more awareness and education in Highland that we exist and that we are not dangerous. We should be allowed to be who we are and not fear comments from the public and even violence."

Chase explained why this specialist new job role was so important:
"The current stigmatisation in the media of the trans/non-binary community is almost demonising us and our identities, so to have a job role that is targeting at enabling us to speak out and have our voices heard is vital. The Inspire Highland Inclusion Worker will allow us to feel safe and accepted within a group setting, with the hope of being able to live our lives in the wider community safely and with choice."

Inspire Highland
Inspire Highland is a group of Highland young people with diverse experiences and disabilities, who come together to speak out, campaign and raise awareness of issues affecting their lives.

https://www.facebook.com/InspireHighland/

Inspire highland is part of the wider organisation of Inspiring Young Voices, a Scottish charity set up in 2000 (Scottish Charity No. SCO49417).

Inspiring Young Voices’ key aim is to champion the rights, participation and inclusion of marginalised children and young people up to the age of 25 years and promote the active participation of children and young people with additional support needs in the development of policy and the evaluation of service provision. 

Inspire Highland Inclusion Worker
The Inclusion Worker will work alongside the young people from Inspire Highland (Inspiring Young Voices’ youth-led participation project) to give Highland LGBTQ+ young people a voice, enabling them to be actively involved in decisions that affect their lives, to speak out about their rights and to campaign for change, and:

Reach out and build connections and relationships with LGBTQ+ young people in Highland, 12 - 25 years old.

Find out the key issues affecting trans/non-binary young people.
Provide a safe and supportive space to enable LGBTQ+ young people to speak out.

Report and Statistics: Attitudes towards trans/non-binary young people -
One in five LGBT people (20 per cent) have experienced a hate crime or incident due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the last 12 months.
Almost half of trans people (48 per cent) have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months.

https://www.stonewallscotland.org.uk/lgbt-scotland-hate-crime-and-discrimination

https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_in_britain_-_trans_report_final.pdf

https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/news/exclusive-mermaids-research-into-newspaper-coverage-on-trans-issues/