Minutes:
A Youth Forum representative explained that the BYF were committing to actively better understand the issues affecting transgender young people and to liaise with the incoming members on creating an engagement plan which would set out how all future campaigns would actively seek to ensure that the voices of all young people were heard, including those of the transgender community.
He advised the Members of the Committee that the only Gender Identity Clinic in Northern Ireland, Brackenburn, had reached capacity in 2018 at which point it had stopped accepting new patients, and, whilst the clinic had recently resumed services, the wait times were reported to be in the region of 4-5 years.
He explained that high levels of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts were reported within the trans community and that the lack of access to appropriate healthcare was directly linked to suicide rates. He added that the current system was effectively denying a section of the community access to public services and support. He therefore called on the Council to actively involve the transgender community in research, consultations and proposals going forward.
A number of the Members of the Committee voiced their disappointment and frustration that, as health services were resuming post Covid-19, there appeared to be little progress at the Brackenburn Clinic, and agreed that this was an important priority. The Members discussed how best to support trans rights, and support the campaign for equality and equity in terms of public services. A Member also made reference to funding provided by Belfast City Council to the Belfast Trans Resource Centre during the pandemic in order to support counselling services.
Discussion took place regarding the need to eliminate ignorance through education, the need to understand others’ experience and to provide an accepting society. A Member referenced a Department of Education report which had reviewed the experience of trans young people in schools, suggesting that LGB&T young people had the support of their peers, but often it was teachers and school policies that acted as barriers to how they wished to represent, for example, through uniform policies and changing facilities.
The Members of the Committee discussed the detrimental impact that negative experiences could have on mental ill health and suicide amongst the trans community, and suggested that, whilst the Council did not have a role in wider health care issues, they did have a role to play in the visibility of public services and having a positive impact on communities.
The Community Development Officer added that one of the recommendations from within the Youth Forum’s ‘Any Use’ report into relationship and sexuality education (RSE) in Belfast, was that rather than schools selecting the topics that they wished to cover within RSE, that there would be a standardised approach requiring schools to cover certain topics to ensure that young people were aware, and were given the opportunity to discuss different aspects of RSE. Also, the report suggested that rather than bringing in external agencies, qualified teachers were used to deliver the programme, again to ensure standardisation of delivery.
A Member confirmed that he had written to the Education Minister regarding the ‘Any Use’ report, asking for its recommendations to be reviewed, and asking whether commitment would be forthcoming for common core RSE. He noted also that the issue had recently been raised in the Northern Ireland Assembly, as the topic had been raised within the recommendations of the Gillen review. He advised that he would provide an update to a future meeting once he received a response.
The Members of the Committee recommended that, in accordance with the Council decision of 4th May, the Chief Executive exercise her delegated authority to recommend that the Committee engage in a preliminary discussion with BYF members on how Belfast can work to become a more progressive and inclusive city for the Transgender community.