Gender and Sexuality
SUPPORTING A CHILD WITH GENDER OR SEXUALITY QUESTIONS
Your sexuality is the way you describe sexual, emotional and physical feelings or attractions you have towards another person. You may be attracted to people of the same gender, or a different gender, or you might not experience sexual attraction at all. These are all things which make up your sexuality - it is about more than just who you have sex with.
It is important to remember that there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ sexuality; it is simply about how you personally identify and experience attraction.
Your first place to start should be about knowing the terminology surrounding gender and sexuality see below for a quick glossary of some of the most common terms (not all of them though) taken from Stonewall.
If you're worried about a child who's LGBTQ+
Not all children and young people feel comfortable talking to their parents or carers about their sexuality, or their family may be unsupportive when they do. Children may also be experiencing abuse or neglect at home, and not feel safe to come out.
Adults outside the child's family, such as teachers, sports coaches or extended family can provide valuable support. Being able to talk to a safe adult who'll listen non-judgementally can really help a young person to feel accepted and less alone.
Support for young people from Childline.
- Sexuality - different types of sexuality, questioning your sexuality and relationships.
- Coming out - advice to support young people with coming out.
- Homophobic and transphobic bullying - what do if you're being bullied.
- Message boards: Sexuality - support from other young people with similar experiences.
WHO SHOULD YOU TURN TO FOR MORE HELP?
- Stonewall has a fantastic website full of advice and information to read through
- The Proud Trust is also a great site full of useful links and information for you on how to support your child
- Family Lives have some great pages on a range of issues but do cover this topic specifically
