School of Social and Political Science

Description

The cumulative body of evidence illuminating the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary and queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) people in later life provides a base for identifying the insights, knowledge, understanding and skills for the social care workforce to help them work affirmatively, inclusively and effectively with individuals from gender and sexually diverse communities. Research has documented significant health inequalities yet a low uptake of service due to a legacy of stigma from LGBTQ+ histories and the anticipation or actual experience of discriminatory attitudes within social care. There is a lot to learn from LGBTQ+ people about their ageing experiences, their activism, and resilience and support networks and how to tackle the different forms of discrimination that LGBTQ+ people face and how this intersects with other identities in their ageing experiences.

Professor Hafford-Letchfield will be sharing how these issues have informed the development of the National Learning Framework for LGBTQ+ Ageing by Skills for Care, England which was co-produced and informed by a review of the research evidence from the UK and its message for social care practice. The framework covers 19 topics across 4 domains mapped to learning outcomes and a rich source of learning materials that can be used in practice and academic education settings to support workforce development. Participants will be guided to the structure and content of the framework and be invited to engage with some of the areas to consider how it can support their own equality and diversity practice within care and education.

Link to the framework.

Link to learning resources.

This seminar will be conducted in person and online via Zoom.

 There will be a 20 minutes approx. discussion following the seminar. Attendees should note that this event may be recorded.

About Our Speaker

Professor Trish Hafford-Letchfield is Head of the Social Work Department at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Trish is a nurse and social worker with research interest in the experiences of ageing in marginalised communities.

Most of her research is co-produced with people with lived experience. Prior to joining Strathclyde, Trish was Professor of Social Care at Middlesex University, London. Her doctorate studies were in educational gerontology exploring the role of lifelong learning in care services. Trish is a strong advocate and activist for LGBTQ+ rights and a founder member of the international LGBTQI social work network. She has over 150 publications including 20 key books covering a range of topics on leadership and organisational development, feminism, sexual and gender identities, social work supervision and critical gerontology.

More recently Trish has been researching suicide thought and behaviour in later life. Two recent books are ‘Rethinking Feminist Theories for Social Work Practice’ with Christine Cocker published by Palgrave in 2022 and ‘Trans and Gender Diverse Ageing in Care Contexts’ which will be published by Policy Press in June 2024.