Signposting and support

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What to do if a person discloses to you

The badges aren’t intended to prompt disclosures, but simply by wearing one, you may become the first person someone has ever felt confident enough to open up to about how they feel. For them, it might be one of the most important moments of their life, and how you respond to it is something they will remember.

We understand and appreciate that wearing a badge doesn’t mean you’ll have all the answers, and we aren’t expecting you to have them either, but most importantly you should be prepared to listen and signpost to relevant information.

What to do if you feel you need to escalate a conversation

Occasionally you may feel that a person’s disclosure means that they need more immediate support, or that they are at risk.

If you are specifically worried that there is an immediate or serious risk to the person’s physical or mental health, then you should escalate to the safeguarding team in line with normal organisational procedure. Information about this process is available on the intranet and via your line manager.

Resources

There are some great resources to find out more about gender and sexuality, most of them online.

Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay, written by a young adult author and former PSHE teacher, is a book that aims to ‘smash the myths and prejudices surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity’.

Stonewall have a great guide to ‘Coming out as a young person’, which gives lots of answers to questions young people often have when they are thinking about coming out, or are wondering if they are lesbian, gay or bi.

Young people working with Gendered Intelligence and the Department of Health have written ‘A guide for young trans people in the UK’. It has lots of useful information if you feel that your gender identity is different to the one you were assigned when you were born.

More information about gender identity can be found on NHS.uk and GIDS (The Gender Identity Development Service) website. GIDS is a highly specialised clinic that supports young people in relation to gender identity

Charities and LGBT+ groups

There are a number of very helpful charities, support services ans social groups that you can signpost people to: