Resources and Education
Despite the huge progress made in Ireland in the past 25 years, depression, suicide and addiction rates among LGBTQ people are still significantly higher than among the general population. Isolation is also a serious issue, especially in more rural areas, and among older LGBTQ people.
Legislative changes will therefore not be enough. People Before Profit recognise that simply eradicating homophobia and transphobia will not make up for the decades of oppression and repression suffered by the LGBTQ community.
As well as these legal changes, there needs to be real societal change to eradicate homophobia and transphobia from Irish society. People Before Profit will therefore campaign for
- Free gender care through an Irish NHS. This should include services like psychotherapy, counselling, speech and language therapy, hormone therapy, hair removal, gender reassignment surgery etc. At present many trans people must go abroad to access more affordable surgery.
- Restoration and improvement of funding for mental health and addiction treatment services.
- Proper funding for LGBT organisations and resource centres.
- Compulsory, age-appropriate sex education which deals with issues around gender, sexuality, consent and contraception. There should also be a focus on safe sex practices so young gay and bisexual men do not expose themselves to unnecessary risks.
- Anti-bullying initiatives for schools, youth groups, sports clubs etc.
- LGBTQ awareness training for workplaces, community organisations, sports clubs etc.
- People Before Profit is a 32 county organisation. We support full equality for LGBTQ people across the islands including marriage equality in the north.