{"id":5259,"date":"2012-11-13T13:11:47","date_gmt":"2012-11-13T21:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?p=5259"},"modified":"2021-12-21T15:37:57","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T23:37:57","slug":"a-long-road-for-lgbt-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/5259\/a-long-road-for-lgbt-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"A Long Road for LGBT Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

By Brian Rinker<\/a> and Beza Beneberu<\/strong><\/p>\n

November 13, 2012<\/p>\n

Mia Tu Mutch, 22, identifies as transgender and\u00a0prefers\u00a0female pronouns. She’s served as a member of the\u00a0San Francisco Youth Commission<\/a>\u00a0for a year and a half.\u00a0Advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights are more than just politics, it\u2019s necessary for her own survival. Mutch was refused health care access, she said, after service providers discovered she is transgender.\u00a0 She is not alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cLGBT youth are more affected by homelessness, suicide, and hate crimes than non LGBTs,\u201d said Mutch.\u00a0\u201cThere are lots of negative statistics for LGBT youth because of there not being adequate care from families and service providers.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than a decade the city has failed to make any progress implementing\u00a0Administrative Code 12N<\/a>, which requires LGBT sensitivity training for all city employees and city-funded nonprofits whose work impacts young people. The mandate would only affect the nonprofits that receive $50,000 or more per year from the city and include after-school programs, hospital workers, social service workers, shelter program employees and homeless prevention services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city has not been in compliance in any way that we know of,\u201d said Mutch, referring to 12N, which was passed by the Board of Supervisors in 1999. Mutch adds that the city ordinance is vague and doesn\u2019t provide specific standards for city workers. \u201cWe want to hold the city accountable and make sure there is a system implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only in the last year have the\u00a0Department of Public Health<\/a>,\u00a0Human Rights Commission<\/a>\u00a0and Youth Commission taken any significant steps toward fulfilling the requirement of the ordinance.<\/p>\n

Originally, the biggest obstacle was that 12N was an unfunded mandate, said Nadia Babella of the Human Rights Commission.<\/p>\n

That changed last year when the\u00a0health department stepped\u00a0in and paid\u00a0Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology<\/a>, BAYCAT, \u00a0$50,000 to make an educational training video about LGBT sensitivity issues.<\/p>\n

The 40-minute video is comprised of many interviews with LGBT youths. They share their personal experiences and give pointers to viewers on how to speak respectfully and ask questions about sexual orientation and gender identity.<\/p>\n

Ariel Dovas, media director at BAYCAT, was a producer and editor for the 12N video. Dovas said he hopes the video will become an LGBT-sensitivity training model for communities everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll communities can benefit from this type of training,\u201d said Dovas, adding that he learned a lot about LGBTs issues while working on the video. He said that the LGBT voice is missing in the media and was honored to have the opportunity to use his skills to a make a video that could positively impact LGBT youth. The city needs to take the reins and become a leader in educating the community about the sensitivity issues LGBTs face, said Dovas.<\/p>\n

The video would be put online and function as a webinar for other agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach agency could be sent the video, as well other training material, handouts, questionnaires,\u201d said Babella. \u201cThis would keep training consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next step, according to Babella, is to develop supplemental material to the video, which would then have to be approved by the human rights and youth commissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there would likely be a pilot program, testing, and finally implementation,\u201d added Babella.<\/p>\n

Jodi Schwartz, executive director of\u00a0LYRIC<\/a>, a local nonprofit youth organization that serves 700 young people a year and another 1500 in outreach, said she is afraid that a video and questionnaire won\u2019t be enough to properly train service providers about LGBTs.<\/p>\n

\u201cA onetime seminar or webinar aren\u2019t going to be the transformational tools needed to accomplish the goals that 12N is required to provide,\u201d said Schwartz, adding that 12N is only a piece of the solution.<\/p>\n

What is needed to effectively address these issues is the collection of demographic population data for sexual orientation and gender identity, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the issue is that city departments don\u2019t understand how many LGBTs they are serving,\u201d said Schwartz, adding that most service providers rely only on anecdotal evidence.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Unified School District is one of the only organizations in the city that collects LGBT data.<\/p>\n

Every few years the school district conducts the Youth Risk Behavior Survey.\u00a0The 2011 study<\/a>\u00a0found that students in middle and high school who identify as LGBT\u00a0experience significantly higher rates of violence, bullying, suicidal thoughts and depression. With more than 3,000 students in the district identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning (not sure) and transgender, the data shows a need for trained service providers.<\/p>\n

2011 Survey of San Francisco Middle School Students<\/p>\n

\n

Violence at School:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
    \n
  • 70% of transgender, and 58% of LBG youth have had property damaged at school compared with 33% of non-LGT youth<\/li>\n
  • 66% of transgender and 40% of LGB have been bullied at school compared with 21% of non LGB youth<\/li>\n
  • 70% of transgender and 43% of LGB have been in a physical fight, compared with 17% of non-LGB<\/li>\n
  • 58% of transgender and 27% of LGB youth have been threatened or injured with a weapon at school, compared with 5% of non-LGB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Drug Use:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n
      \n
    • 74.1% of transgender and 62% of LGB have drank alcohol compared with 21% of non-LGB<\/li>\n
    • 62% of transgender, and 38.2% of LGB have used marijuana compared with 8.4 of non LGB<\/li>\n
    • 69.8% of transgender youth and 32.2% of LGB have used cocaine, compared with 2.9% of non-LGB<\/li>\n
    • 64.6% of transgender and 41.1% of LGB have used inhalants, compared with 7.7% of non-LGB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
      \n

      Suicide indicators:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n
        \n
      • 57.1% of transgender and 49.2% of LGB have seriously considered suicide compared with 18% of non-LGB<\/li>\n
      • 54.6% of transgender and 41.1% of LGB have made a suicide plan, compared with 10.7% of non-LGB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
        \n

        49.8% of transgender and 33.5 of LGB have attempted suicide, compared with 6% of non-LGB<\/p>\n

        Source: 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, San Francisco Unified School District<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        \u201cGood policies are driven by data,\u201d said Schwartz adding that the data lets departments know who is succeeding and who is failing.<\/p>\n

        When LGBTs don\u2019t feel safe, said Schwartz, it is proven that they more likely to engage in risky behavior\u2014 substance abuse, risky sexual behavior and suicide\u2014than heterosexual youth.<\/p>\n

        While steps are being made to address these issues and implement 12N, nothing has been set in stone, said Mutch. She said she worries the video alone won\u2019t be enough and\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0want the ordinance to become a \u201csymbolic gesture\u201d.<\/p>\n

        The Youth Commission is currently researching the effectiveness and costs of other training methods.<\/p>\n

        \u201cIn San Francisco we\u2019ve come to expect that people and providers know what LGBT is, and that they will treat us all with respect,\u201d said Mutch. \u201cWhen that doesn\u2019t happen, it\u2019s a little disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Mia Tu Mutch, 22, identifies as transgender and prefers female pronouns. Mutch was refused health care access after service providers discovered she is transgender. She is not alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8843,"featured_media":5260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1315,108,63,43,222,17,205],"tags":[2017,2019,163,471,1354,2772,2018,527,2016,2015,2020],"class_list":["post-5259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-education","category-healthcare","category-homelessness","category-housing","category-news","category-politics","category-religion","tag-administrative-code-12n","tag-baycat","tag-board-of-supervisors","tag-department-of-public-health","tag-discrimination","tag-healthcare","tag-human-rights-commission","tag-lgbt","tag-san-francisco-youth-commission","tag-transgender","tag-youth-risk-behavior-survey"],"yoast_head":"\nA Long Road for LGBT Youth - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/5259\/a-long-road-for-lgbt-youth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Long Road for LGBT Youth - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mia Tu Mutch, 22, identifies as transgender and prefers female pronouns. 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