Here, Queer & Mentally Unclear Eductaional Workshops (360G-ThriveLDN-398)

Here, Queer & Mentally Unclear Educational Workshops is a 60 minute long theatrical workshop which educates on LGBTQIA+ identity and mental health. Our challenge is the rising hate crime towards LGBTQIA+ people. In 2017/18 sexual orientation hate crimes in the UK weent up 27% from the previous year and transphobic hate crimes went up 32% (Home Office 2018: 12). And the situation for young people is daunting, with one in 7 trans people being physically attacked at school by teachers and/or students (Stonewall 2018 School Report). 91% of LGBTQIA+ people never report a hate crime or incident so we know these numbers are actually much higher. The effects of hate crime are long lasting and people who experience hate crime are over twice as likely to face serious emotional impacts such as difficulty sleeping, anxiety, panic attacks or depression, compared with people who experience crime in general (Home Office 2018: 28). We are targeting schools because there is a normalization of anti-LGBTQIA+ stigma, bullying and violence. In the general population nearly 1 in 5 people believe’ LGBT was ‘immoral’ or ‘against their beliefs’’, and this rises to 1 in 4 among young people, showing a generational shift toward anti-LGBTIA+ prejudice. (Galop Hate Crime Report). We believe the best way to combat hate crime and prejudice is through education and compassion. Our workshops therefore take a compassionate approach to LGBTQIA+ education, with a focus on the importance of allyship. The workshop tells stories of two young people, one who identifies as non-binary and bisexual, and one who identifies as a trans man. The two share verbatim stories intertwined with emotive songs. The theatrical dialogue is interspersed with educational information covering the LGBTQIA2+ acronym, gender identity, sexuality, bullying, mental health and wellbeing, allyship and signposting. Our project includes a period for marketing and outreach with specific focus on getting into Sixth Forms, Colleges and Secondary Schools in London Boroughs of Westminster, Lambeth and Southwark. Followed by rehearsals, performing the workshop, receiving and monitoring feedback and assessing progress. This is an ongoing project, but we aim to deliver workshops to at least 4 schools in the target Boroughs by February 2021. We collect feedback on sight by providing feedback forms for participants to fill out and follow up with the schools. We continue to stay in contact to monitor any shifts in the culture towards LGBTQIA+ people.