Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697751346805.pdf (Ireland)
BeLonG To Youth Service Opening Statement to the Oireachtas Sub – Committee on Mental Health, on the supports available for LGBTI+ communities in Ireland and the demands you envisage arising after we exit the Covid – 19 lockdowns.

Monday 31st May 2021.

Moninne Griffith, CEO, Sinead Keane, Communications & Advocacy Manager, BeLonG To Youth Services.
1 Good Morning My name is Moninne Griffith, I am CEO of BeLonG To Youth Services, Ireland’s national organisation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Non- Binary (LGBT+) young people aged 14- 23.

I am joined this morning by my colleague Sinead Keane, Communications and Advocacy manager.

BeLonG To has been supporting young LGBTI+ people since we opened our doors in 2003 in Dublin.
Today we provide specialist youth services in Dublin including peer support groups, one to one support, in-house counselling with our partners in Pieta (all online since March 2020).

We also support a National Network of over 50 LGBTI+ youth groups throughout Ireland.

Our work supports LGBTI+ young people around Ireland with where they are at, many of whom are in crisis or experiencing mental health challenges.
We also work to improve systems, structures and spaces in Ireland to make them safe, supportive and welcoming, so that we as a society can reduce the harm done to young people in our schools, our communities and our homes.

I have included examples of our advocacy work, campaigns, awareness raising, education and training work at the end of this document.

Last year BeLonG To asked young LGBTI+ people how their were getting on during lockdown.
We published the results of the survey in a short report called Life in Lockdown1.

The findings were stark.

93% of LGBTI+ young people said that they were struggling with anxiety, stress or depression during COVID-19.

This was in comparison to 53% of the general youth population named in the Young Social Innovators Covid-19 Youth ‘Check In’ Survey 2020.
1 LGBTI-Life-in-Lockdown-Key-Findings.pdf (belongto.org) 2 Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research such as the 2016 LGBTIreland report2 highlighted the mental health struggles experienced by LGBTI+ young people in Ireland with the group being twice more likely to self- harm, three times more like to experience suicide ideation and four times more likely to experience anxiety and depression compared to their non- LGBTI+ friends.
This reality, despite the great strides we have made as a country in terms of LGBTI+ inclusion over the past decade, has been compounded since the COVID-19 pandemic began as LGBTI+ young people are experiencing a loss of access to the spaces and supports which they relied on for their wellbeing.

Key findings of that survey carried our last May, revealed that: • 55% of LGBTI+ young people are struggling with suicide ideation.

• 45% of LGBTI+ young people are struggling with self-harm.
• 60% of LGBTI+ young people are experiencing loneliness.

Some 42% of respondents said they were not fully accepted in their home environments due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, with 53% of LGBTI+ young people surveyed indicating their home environment is not a good place to be during COVID-19 restrictions.
Anonymous responses to the LGBTI+ Life in Lockdown Survey include: • "Sometimes I think being dead is better than having to deal with online school, criticism from the person I live with, and the fear of the virus."

• "Right now, my depression is worse than it’s ever been, and really that's saying something.
I've had days where I couldn't even get out of bed, because of a numbness and lack of motivation" 2 LGBT-Ireland-Full-Reportpdf.pdf (belongto.org) 3 • "I have not made any attempts at my life while in isolation, but it has worried me how much these thoughts have reappeared.

It had been over a year since I last had this level of depression and it is hard to feel like things have gone backwards.

• "I feel like I have to sit and dwell on my thoughts a lot more and it gets to me a lot sometimes.
My mental health has plummeted during lockdown."

• They know I am gay, but we do not speak about it.

They make comments without thinking and never make any effort to be accepting or ask me about my personal life."

• “My sister harasses me and calls me slurs to her friends.

I just want quarantine to be done so I don’t have to hear her justify homophobia."

We are fearful that the devastating mental health impact of COVID-19 on the lives of LGBTI+ youth will live long beyond the virus.
Many LGBTI+ young people experience ongoing mental health challenges and as the results of our survey show, these have been exacerbated by COVID-19.

LGBTI+ young people do not stop experiencing crises during pandemics.

Many feel isolated from their support networks who love and accept them for who they are.

Some are experiencing emotional and physical abuse.

They feel alone, scared and anxious.

Now more than ever, LGBTI+ young people need access to a wide range of support and life-saving resources.
We have rapidly responded to meet the needs of LGBTI+ young people during COVID-19 through the provision of digital youth work, online youth groups and online training for the youth work and education sector.

Through this work, we are letting LGBTI+ young people across Ireland know that there is a safe space for them to come together, to be who they are and to receive support.

But we cannot do this alone.


We need continued funding and support for the LGBTI+ youth sector to combat these serious mental health challenges.

4 In addition to Covid-19, over the past 18 months, we have seen the devasting impact of external challenges on the LGBTI+ youth population of Ireland.

There was a notable rise in transphobia and far-right narratives that attempted to undermine the rights and even the existence of trans people.
Incidences of hate-speech targeting the LGBTI+ community are growing, particularly across social media platforms, as we witness the rise of the far-right both online and offline across Ireland.

In the first 3 months of this year, demand for our support services continues to grow – from young people, parents, teachers and others working with young people3.
As was the case last year, some young people for a variety of reasons including lack of privacy, not being out at home, or zoom fatigue prefer one to one support instead of joining one of the digital peer support youth groups.

The most common presenting issue for young people was Mental Health issues, followed by Education/School/Employment Issues and then coming out.

To date there have been 1290 individualised one to one interventions with young people.
This is an increase of 64% compared with the same period last year, just before the first COVID wave.

We are currently collating and analysing the data from our second iteration of the BeLonG To Youth Services LGBTI+ Life in Lockdown survey.

This survey was conducted online from April 29th-May 10th, 2021, to assess the impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on LGBTI+ young people in the Ireland.

We will share this data with the Committee members as soon as it is ready to be published.
3 BeLonG To Youth Services, Holistic Outcome Measure and Engagement System Report January – March 2021 5 What do we need now?
• Access to appropriate mental health supports o Increase investment in counselling services for LGBTI+ young people and those who support them - for example the life- saving service being provided to LGBTI+ young people free of charge by Pieta, the COVID related counselling being provided to frontline workers impacted by COVID by MyMind.org, the upcoming pilot with young LGBTI+ people and MyMind.org.
o Provide mental health care workers with training and support to meet the specific needs of LGBTI+ young people – for example the training that BeLonG To and Jigsaw provide and the Trans specific training that TENI provides to healthcare workers.

o Amend the Mental Health Act to allow young people under 18 access to mental health services.
o Ensure that the services recommended in the HSE’s Final Report of the Steering Committee on the Development of HSE Transgender Identity Services, February 2020 are fully implemented in 2021. o Re-run the LGBTIreland research to assess the current mental health and well-being of LGBTI+ people post-marriage equality and compare the findings to the LGBTIreland Report 2016.
The study will repeat and compare the public opinion survey of the general Irish population with regards to their perceptions, thoughts and attitudes regarding LGBTI+ people.

This follow up study will provide an evidence base informed by rigorous scholarship and will assess the progress of LGBTI+ people’s mental health outcomes since 2016; the development of the general public’s perceptions of LGBTI+ people and will explore resilience among the LGBTI+ population.
6 • Safe Spaces For LGBTI+ Youth - At BeLonG To we have innovatively and rapidly responded to meet the needs of LGBTI+ young people during COVID-19 through the provision of digital youth work and online groups.

In 2020 we saw demand for our frontline support services soar in 2020 by 113%4.

This was made possible because of Government support such as the TWSS scheme, additional once off funding from NOSP and DCEDIY and the generosity and flexibility of funders across the public and private sectors.
o Ensure continued funding for LGBTI+ youth work to combat loneliness, isolation and mental health challenges.

o Make outdoor spaces available for youth work over the Summer months until it is safe to move back indoors.

o Invest in LGBTI+ community events to help replace experiences of isolation with connection and community.
o Reduce the harm done to LGBTI+ young people that negatively impacts on their mental and physical wellbeing by: Increasing investment in evidence based programmes and training to help create schools5, youth services, sports clubs that are safe, supportive and welcoming for young LGBTI+ people (for example BeLonG To’s Safe and Supportive Schools and Services and our free online training for LGBTI+ youth services and teachers) 73% of LGBTI+ students do not feel safe in Irish post primary schools.
- Increase investment in evidenced based programmes that address online and offline bullying (for example BeLonGTo’s Stand Up) 4 BeLonG-To-2020-Annual-Report-Screen.pdf (belongto.org) 5 Belong-To-Youth-Servces-School-Climate-Report_2021.pdf (belongto.org) 7 - introduce robust legislation to combat hate crime, hate incidents and hate speech offline and online and ensure that the necessary funding is made available for the successful implementation of same [for example the upcoming Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2021, The Online Safety Bill 2021, The Digital Services Act (EU)] 8 About the LGBTI+ Life in Lockdown Survey 2020 Conducted by BeLonG To Youth Services, The LGBTI+ Lives in Lockdown survey was conducted online from May 1st-10th 2020 to assess the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on LGBTI+ youth in the Republic of Ireland.
To obtain a representative national sample of LGBTI+ young people, we conducted outreach through national, regional and local organisations that provide services to or advocate on behalf of LGBTI+ youth, liaised with our partners, our network of parents/guardians, professionals and young people via digital media.

The survey consisted of 22 questions and was hosted on the verified survey site GetFeedback.

The survey was anonymous for the safety and comfort of LGBTI+ young people.
Some 519 young people started the survey, however the final sample consisted of a total of 294 LGBTI+ young people between the ages of 14 and 23 years.

Participants were from all 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland.

We captured where individuals were living at this time via county selection which is represented via a provincial breakdown: 4% of young people who completed the survey are living in Ulster, 8% in Connacht, 67% in Leinster and 21% in Munster.
9 Notes on The Mental Health Act, 2001 The review of The Mental Health Act, 2001 (the Act) is critical to advance and protect the rights of the individual in Ireland.

The Act in its current iteration conflicts with the rights-based & partnership approach to treatment which is regarded internationally as best practice.

The Act lacks a person-centred approach and is disempowering and presents individuals with a lack of autonomy on admission and in the context of treatment.
It is paternalistic in its interpretation of service users and in comparison to international standards the legislation is outdated and does not adequately protect the rights of individuals.

Additionally, the Act does not comply with international human rights standards namely the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
It is crucial that enhanced protections and the human rights of adults and children who go into hospital for mental health care and treatment are provided for in future updated legislation.

BeLonG To youth services commend the work that has taken place up to this point in order to advance and improve the existing legislation.

However, we wish to acknowledge that the Act does not create the conditions for a person’s legal right to individual care and recovery planning.
Currently, voluntary patients have no basic right to information and there is no existing right to advocacy for voluntary or involuntary service users.

Concerningly 16 and 17 year olds cannot consent to or refuse mental health treatment and there is no review for voluntary patients of 16 and 17 years.

Additionally, Advance Healthcare Directives are not recognised for involuntary patients and there is a lack of specific guiding principles for children in the Act.
Consent to Treatment & Provisions Related to Children Current legislation, policy and practice around the age of consent in accessing or refusing mental health treatment are barriers to all young people being affirmed in relation to their healthcare needs.

However, this specific barrier in which only those aged 18 and over can consent or refuse treatment poses significant risk to LGBTI+ youth.
In relation to mental health access and service provision, this creates a circumstance for LGBTI+ young people wherein their access to mental health services is dependent on their willingness to share their needs with their 10 parents/guardians.

As research has demonstrated, many LGBTI+ young people are not supported in their home environments as a result of their sexual orientation or gender identity6.
Thus their parents/guardians may act as gatekeepers to mental health treatment by utilising this aspect of the Mental Health Act, 2001.

Additionally, young people may be forced to come out to parents/guardians as LGBTI+ prematurely in order to access mental healthcare which could have numerous ill-effects for the young person if their family is unsupportive.
It is also of note that we believe that the lack of agency given to young people to refuse treatment adversely effects LGBTI+ young people who may be subjected to anti-LGBTI+ treatment in the form of conversion therapies, given that Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018 has yet to be legislated.

As this bill has yet to become law there is little protecting LGBTI+ young people from harmful stigmatising practices masquerading as mental healthcare.
We must protect LGBTI+ people from these harmful practices by restoring their agency to consent to their mental health treatment.

There is a lack of clarity about consent to access to health services for young people under the age of 18 years in the context of the Mental Health Act, 2001.
Echoing the recommendation of The Task Force for Youth Mental Health7 which BeLonG To Youth Service was a part of, we support the recommendations of the Expert Group on the Review of the Mental Health Act, 2001 on the issue of consent to mental health services for those aged 16 or 17, along with additional recommendations included below.

6 BeLonG To Youth Services (2020) LGBTI+ Life in Lockdown Key Findings The Impact Of COVID-19 Restrictions on LGBTI+ Young People in Ireland.
Dublin: BeLonG To Youth Services [Available at: https://belongto.org/wp- content/uploads/2020/06/LGBTI-Life-in-Lockdown-Key-Findings.pdf] Pizmony-Levy, O.

& BeLonG To Youth Services (2019) The 2019 School Climate Survey Report: The experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people in Ireland’s schools.

Research Report.

Ireland: Dublin.

[Available at: https://belongto.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Belong-To-Youth-Servces-School-Climate- Report_2021.pdf] Higgins A. et al.
(2016) The LGBTIreland Report: national study of the mental health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Ireland.

Dublin: GLEN and BeLonG To Youth Services.

.

[Available at: https://belongto.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LGBT-Ireland-Full-Reportpdf.pdf] Quilty, A.

& Norris, M. (2020) A Qualitative Study of LGBTQI+ Youth Homelessness in Ireland.

Dublin: Focus Ireland.


[Available at: https://www.focusireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LGBTQI-Youth- Homelessness-Executive-Summary_FINAL-VERSION.pdf] 7The Task Force for Youth Mental Health (2017) National Youth Mental Health Task Force Report 2017.
Dublin: Department of Health [Available at: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/117520-national-youth-mental- health-task-force-report-2017/] 11 We recommend the following in relation to the Mental Health Act, 2001 review: • Introduce 16 as the uniform age of consent for young people for all medical treatment/support.

• Introduce Gillick competence to inform young people aged 13-16’s access to consent to treatment based on the evolving capacities of young people at different ages.
• Additionally, we recommend that the autonomy and personhood of those aged 13 and under be recognised and recommend that provisions be enacted to ensure young people and children are be consulted in their treatment, listened to regarding their needs and informed appropriately.
While we wish to draw the Committee’s specific attention to Consent to Treatment & Provisions Related to Children as these topics relate to LGBTI+ young people’s experiences, we are also calling for actions to be taken to: • Amend the law in line with the recommendations from the expert group review of the mental health act, 2001.

• Ensure adults and children have their rights adequately protected.
• Ensure the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2018 be commenced or incorporated as part of this critical review.

12 About BeLonG To BeLonG To Youth Services is the national organisation supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI+) young people in Ireland.

Since 2003, we have worked with LGBTI+ young people, between 14 and 23 years, to create a world where they are equal, safe, and valued in the diversity of their identities and experiences.
We also advocate and campaign on behalf of young LGBTI+ people and offer a specialised LGBTI+ youth service with a focus on mental and sexual health, alongside drug and alcohol support.

We respond to the needs of LGBTI+ young people in Ireland and we help them thrive.

In BeLonG To we directly provide mental health support to LGBTI+ youth in conjunction with our partner Pieta and we continually refer young people to the relevant mental health supports and services necessary to meet their specific needs.
LGBTI+ youth mental health is one of the most significant areas of work to which we devote our time as an organisation.

It is one of the biggest challenges facing LGBTI+ youth today and one of the greatest barriers to their wellbeing, safety and happiness in Irish society.

As an organisation BeLonG To Youth Services has worked closely with the Government and HSE to promote the wellbeing, safety and inclusion of LGBTI+ young people throughout Ireland.
LGBTI+ young people face significant mental health challenges and are at a greater risk of adverse mental health outcomes than their straight cisgender peers.

This is reflected across our youth work, our advocacy and across national literature8.

The impact of homophobia, 8 BeLonG To Youth Services (2020) LGBTI+ Life in Lockdown Key Findings The Impact Of COVID-19 Restrictions on LGBTI+ Young People in Ireland.
Dublin: BeLonG To Youth Services [Available at: https://belongto.org/wp- content/uploads/2020/06/LGBTI-Life-in-Lockdown-Key-Findings.pdf] Pizmony-Levy, O.

& BeLonG To Youth Services (2019) The 2019 School Climate Survey Report: The experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people in Ireland’s schools.

Research Report.

Ireland: Dublin.

[Available at: https://belongto.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Belong-To-Youth-Servces-School-Climate- Report_2021.pdf] Higgins A. et al.
(2016) The LGBTIreland Report: national study of the mental health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Ireland.

Dublin: GLEN and BeLonG To Youth Services.

[Available at: https://belongto.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LGBT-Ireland-Full-Reportpdf.pdf] Quilty, A.

& Norris, M. (2020) A Qualitative Study of LGBTQI+ Youth Homelessness in Ireland.
Dublin: Focus Ireland [Available at: https://www.focusireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/LGBTQI-Youth- Homelessness-Executive-Summary_FINAL-VERSION.pdf] McBride, R. et al., (2020) The Post-Primary Experiences of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth in Ireland.

Dublin: TENI & University of Limerick.


[Available at: https://www.teni.ie/reports/] 13 transphobia, violence, isolation and discrimination span LGBTI+ young people’s lifeworlds affecting them in school, home life, employment, third level education and social spaces.

Many young people are isolated, victimised and experience daily prejudice and rejection from those closest to them and Irish society more broadly.
Examples of our Advocacy and Education work - Membership of the Taskforce on Youth Mental Health, 2018 - Membership of the Department of Health’s National Implementation Monitoring Committee (NIMC) for their mental health policy ‘Sharing the Vision – a Mental Health Policy for Everyone’ (current) - Membership of Dublin City South CYPSC subcommittee on Mental Health - Members of Mental Health Reform - LGBTIreland Report, 2016 LGBT-Ireland-Full-Reportpdf.pdf (belongto.org) - Life in Lockdown, 2020 LGBTI-Life-in-Lockdown-Key-Findings.pdf (belongto.org) - Better Out Than In campaign Better Out Than In - BeLonG To - Stand Up Stand Up Awareness Week - BeLonG To - ComeIn #ComeIn - BeLonG To - Safe And Supportive Schools and Services (SASS) Coláiste Chill Mhantáin step-ups to create a safe space for Wicklow LGBTI+ Students in Ireland’s first LGBTI+ Safe & Supportive Schools Project - BeLonG To - Training, support and accreditation for LGBTI+ youth groups Apply for Accreditation - BeLonG To - E-learning online module for teachers and youth workers Online Training for Youth Services and Schools - BeLonG To 14 For further information regarding this opening statement please contact: Moninne Griffith Sinead Keane CEO Communications & Advocacy Manager BeLonG To Youth Services BeLonG To Youth Services Moninne@belongto.org Sinead@belongto.org 15