Intersex Awareness Day

INTERSEX 101 & HOW TO BE AN ALLY!

By Clara, ShoutOut Executive Team Member and Intersex Activist

Definition: Intersex people have biological traits that aren’t easily categorized as typically male or typically female. These differences occur in one or more of the five aspects of sex - external genitalia, internal gonads, chromosomes, hormones, and/or secondary sex characteristics. As you can imagine, this means that people with a very broad spectrum of traits all fall under the umbrella term of intersex. It also means that’s it’s really normal to be intersex! We represent about 1.75% of the population - which is the same as the global percentage of redheads.

In some cases this can be described as a ‘blending’ of male and female traits. It is easy to assume that this means all intersex people have bodies which are outwardly very ambiguous, but actually there can be little to no external indication that a person is intersex (because their ‘blending’ is at DNA level). 

The Intersex Flag

Intersex Issues: In short, because it can be difficult for people to accept that intersex bodies are usually healthy ones, with some added quirks, we are at risk for medically unnecessary interventions. These are done for aesthetic purposes or to facilitate (heterosexual) sex. Unfortunately, statistically these interventions occur most commonly before the age of 2, meaning that our consent is also not obtained. 

Intersex surgeries are not by any means the only issue we face, but if I had one wish for my community it would be to end early intervention where surgeries can be postponed. It is by far the most pressing fight we are facing.

What it’s Like to be Intersex: Before they even brought me home from the hospital, my parents were told that I had an intersex condition. Of course, this being Ireland in the 90s they actually told my parents I had a ‘syndrome’, that it was nothing to worry about, they should simply raise me as a girl and ‘keep an eye on things.’

Throughout my childhood I had countless medical interventions, so much poking and prodding I can’t even quantify it. It’s only in my 20s that I’ve developed the courage to question my doctors. Nowadays, I hold them to account for mistakes that were made in my treatment, which have gone on to provoke gender dysphoria. I am more comfortable in insisting that they respect my bodily integrity and autonomy. 

It was only when I was around eighteen that I discovered that my ‘syndrome’ fell under the umbrella term of intersex, meaning there were other people like me. There was a community to find, advocacy to do. 

How to be an Ally?

• Educate yourself (learn about intersex from intersex people). 

• Use intersex-inclusive language. (If you watch your language for trans inclusivity, then you already are doing this, thank you!)

• Educate your community.

• Do not make the assumption that intersex is a medical condition.

• Include us in your discussions about human rights. Keep working on improving the GRA/ LGBTI strategy, keep demanding that healthcare improve! We stand to win when the broader community does too.

• At the same time, try to amplify the voices of intersex people when speaking about issues that effect them.

• Remember that our bodies are not a way to win arguments about gender theory! There are many other ways to prove that gender is not binary!

• Remember that being intersex may or may not be part of their identity

• Do not assume it is their duty to discuss being intersex at any time, or that they’re comfortable to discuss all aspects of being intersex

• Phrase questions broadly

• Ensure that your questions don’t serve to stigmatize or fetishize 

Key Goals

• Full implementation of human rights, bodily integrity & self-determination for intersex people

• Legal prohibition of non-consensual medical & psychological treatment; medical practitioners or other professionals should not conduct any treatment to the purpose of modifying sex characteristics which can be deferred until the person to be treated can provide informed consent

• Full protection against discrimination & the adoption of » sex characteristics « as a protective ground

• Education of society on intersex issues from a human rights perspective

Resources: If you’d like to learn more (and I really hope you would!) then you’re in luck. Thanks to wonderful intersex activists there’s now heaps of online resources. A few of my personal favourites are below: 

https://interactadvocates.org/

https://oiieurope.org/

https://www.them.us/story/intersex-allyship-101

http://4intersex.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/4intersex-Common-Arguments-from-Doctors.pdf

Intersex Ireland

You can also check out intersex ‘influencers’ like Pidgeon Pagonis and Emily Quinn on youtube, or join an open facebook group run by InterAct/OII/Intersex Ireland, just for example. If you have a question not best answered by Google, or are an intersex person looking to reach out, please don’t hesitate to get in touch using the team@shoutout.ie email, or intersex.ie@gmail.com.

To all my lovely intersex people out there, happy awareness day, I hope to meet you soon. This one’s for us. 

ShoutOut at Pride flying the Intersex Flag

ShoutOut is Recruiting!

ShoutOut is recruiting! We're looking for dedicated individuals to join our executive team. The executive team helps oversee the daily running of ShoutOut's activities and plays a part in the charity's strategy and decisions relating to policy, fundraising, and volunteer training/recruitment. This is a great opportunity to give back to the LGBTQIA+ community, gain voluntary experience, and make some great friends!

We will accept applications until the 7th of October 2019 at 5pm

The ShoutOut executive team requires a commitment of an average of 4 hours a week. We are hoping to expand our fabulous current team so we can achieve even more this year! To find out more about what we do, read our 2019 annual report!

View fullsize

The Team

Here is what some of our current team members have to say about being involved!

Being a member of the ShoutOut executive team has been a really rewarding experience. It’s varied and exciting work that can range from improving our resources, to heading off on a road trip somewhere to train a new group of volunteers - just for example! What’s more, it’s not all giving, you get to build your own skills (in presentation, communication etc) and have loads of fun at the same time. 10/10 would recommend.

- Clara

Táim bródúil agus fíorshàsta a bheith ag obair le ShoutOut. Tá ár gcuid oibre fíorthábhachtach do dhaoine óga - bíodh siad LADT+ nó eile. Bíonn roinnt deiseanna agam mo chuid Gaeilge a úsáid freisin- i gceardlanna, ag aistriú agus ar na meáin shóisialta!

Volunteering with ShoutOut has been some of the most enjoyable and fulfilling work I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of. I've travelled around Ireland doing workshops, have gained invaluable experience and skills and learned a lot! I couldn't recommend volunteering with ShoutOut more highly if I tried!

- Lisa

Being on the executive team over the last year has been one of the most fulfilling things I have done. The opportunity to effect change on the running of the charity is hugely beneficial because as an active volunteer I can see the fruits of the exec team's labour.

- Spencer

Any questions please email team@shoutout.ie

ShoutOut 2019 Annual Report

SHOUTOUT VOLUNTEERS DELIVER LGBTQ+ EDUCATION TO 12,000 YOUNG PEOPLE

In the past school year, ShoutOut volunteers have delivered more than 400 workshops in LGBTQ+ awareness and inclusion to 12,000 young people in schools and youth groups around Ireland. Seeking to make up for the lack of LGBTQ+ education in the Irish curriculum and to address the issue of homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies volunteer with ShoutOut to spread a message of acceptance and empathy. 

ShoutOut’s school workshops challenge students to consider the difficulties their LGBTQ+ peers still face in the classroom. Volunteers begin each workshop by explaining how they came to terms with their own identity, and their experiences of being LGBTQ+ in an Irish secondary school. Students then take part in a series of exercises designed to educate them on the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ identity, and to prepare them to support their classmates who may be struggling. Many have a perception that Ireland became a fully equal country following the 2015 marriage equality referendum, but as recently as 2018, 77% of LGBTQ+ young people reported coming out at school as their main source of anxiety. 

ShoutOut’s annual report, released today, details the number of workshops delivered and the organisation’s operations in full from July 2018 - July 2019. Working with just one part-time staff member, the Dublin-based charity has had a national impact in those 12 months, with 70% of workshops delivered outside the capital, including 126 workshops delivered in the North of Ireland by their partner Cara-Friend. In addition to working in schools, ShoutOut delivers in-depth training to teachers, social workers, youth workers, parents, and guardians to ensure these key figures are adequately prepared to support the LGBTQ+ young people in their care. 

“I have been a volunteer with ShoutOut for almost 4 years now and can confidently say I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I know how scarce information regarding the lives of LGBTQ+ people in [Irish secondary schools] can be… Simply being there as a proud gay person can be a lifeline in itself.” - Ross Hunter, ShoutOut volunteer

As an organisation, ShoutOut has grown significantly since launching as a pilot programme in 10 Dublin schools in 2012, and as of July 2019 has added a second staff member to the team in a bid to increase and diversify operations to better serve LGBTQ+ young people in Ireland. However, volunteers will always be at the heart of the charity, and it draws strength in the diversity of its volunteer force in representing the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ experience. If you’d like to make a difference for young people in Irish secondary schools, you can get involved. The next ShoutOut volunteer training will take place in Dublin’s Central Hotel on September 16th at 18.30, followed by training in Cork Gay Project on September 18th at 18.30. 

“There is nothing small about ShoutOut. In the past 12 months alone we delivered more than 400 workshops. 67 active volunteers made this happen. We reached 98 schools, trained over 500 youth workers and spread a message of acceptance and inclusion to 12,000 students, all in the past year.” - Bella FitzPatrick, Executive Director

ShoutOut at the UN!

MD of ShoutOut, Bella, has taken some time away and is currently in New York working with OutRight Action International and spent the past two weeks in the UN at the Convention on the Status of Women. Bella writes about her experiences here:

Bella outside the UN HQ

What is the Convention on the Status of Women?

I was delighted when I started working with OutRight Action International (OutRight) as they are an amazing organisation, working on LGBTQI equality across the globe, with staff in 6 countries. The convention on the status of women (CSW) is a coming together of countries and people from civil society to discuss women’s rights and within this format, we discuss the rights for LBTI women around the world. Nearly 9000 people participate in CSW every year.

How are LGBTQI rights represented at CSW?

Activists fighting for LGBTQI rights come together at the beginning of CSW and share resources and information. While we’re working on very specific issues in our home countries, here we are united in the advancement of LGBTQI rights on the global level. The first thing I did at CSW was listen to Norway speak on behalf of an LGBT core group; a group of countries committed to advancing LGBTI rights (Ireland is not, unfortunately, a part of this group). You can read or listen to this statement here.

Your country’s office is like any representative, you can contact them and urge them to take action. The side who are against LGBT people do this all the time, and try to hold back our rights so getting involved is another way to participate in the liberation of LGBT people.

Norway Speaking on behalf of the LGBT Core Group in the General Assembly Hall

OutRight held two amazing events about LGBT rights: one of Transgender and Gender non conforming people and one about LBTI people and access to public services. These events were greatly attended and it gave me optimism for the appetite for progressive policies.

OutRight Panel on LBTI people’s access to public services

Complacency and the Anti LGBT agenda at CSW

Unfortunately, often countries can gloss over serious issues and act like everything is fine for the LGBT people in their country. For example representative from the UK spoke at length at the many advances for LGBT people living in the UK with no mention of the lack of marriage equality in Northern Ireland. That’s not to mention the countries which have high levels of violence against LGBT people acting like everything is fine.

There were anti-LGBT (specifically there was more than one event which was transphobic)  and anti-feminist events held as well by far right and religious organisations which espouse an outdated and hetero-patriarchal view point. If we stop fighting at the UN then we risk the reversal of all of our hard won victories. These groups fight against marriage equality, gender recognition, recognition of rainbow families and comprehensive sex education.

The UN Secretary General & UN Women are asked about LGBTQI rights

There was a town hall with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, and the LGBT contingent was able to ask what the UN planned to do for LGBT rights. While the reply was vague, he did speak about having to push back against the push back, and not let our rights go backwards which is very important at the moment.

LBTI Caucus meeting with ED of UN Women

We also had a meeting with UN Women about LGBT rights and were able to ask questions about trans inclusion, regional funding initiatives, intersex genital mutilation.

OK, but how does this impact the work of ShoutOut?

While the UN feels very far away from the work in local schools done by ShoutOut it’s actually far more linked than it seems. The way in which the UN adopts policies on LGBT people, their families, and their needs will impact the way all the UN agencies will fund issues pertaining to LGBT people. While we are relatively fortunate in Ireland compared to other countries we still have a long way to go to see full legal and social equality for the members of our community and this must be fought at local, national and international level. CSW has a large focus on access to education, and ShoutOut would argue that when schools are prejudiced against you, you are being denied your right to an education.

Reforming Our Schools

Here at ShoutOut we’ve known for a long time about the shortcomings for LGBTQ+ students in the Irish education curriculum. Indeed our very name ‘ShoutOut’ derived from the loud absence LGBTQ+ students faced about their identities in classrooms across the country.  

This is not surprising. Some parts of the curriculum have not been updated for two decades. Indeed we continue to hear this message of outdated and unfit for purpose from young people in schools every week.

That’s why ShoutOut loudly welcomes the proposed reforms from the Oireachtas Education Committee on Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in our schools published last week. 

The report recommends that in the new programme, both secondary and primary school children would be taught about “LGBT specific sexual health issues and the presentation of LGBT relationships without distinction as to their heterosexual counterparts.” About time.

Interestingly external providers of sex education in schools should be regulated and accredited by the HSE and the Department of Education. This is “to ensure consistency and accuracy of information to students.” While ShoutOut does not focus on sex education we are very pleased to know that those who do opine on this topic must soon be qualified to do so.

These are important and welcome reforms. We thank the Committee and we look forward to continuing to work with the National Council on Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) as we have done previously so that our mission to make every school on the island of Ireland a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ youth becomes a reality. 

ShoutOut @ ILGA Europe

ShoutOut’s Managing Director, Bella FitzPatrick, and ShoutOut’s Chairperson, Declan Meehan were both delighted to be able to attend ILGA Europe’s annual conference which was held in Brussels in late October.

Declan and Bella represented both ShoutOut and Cara Friend while at ILGA Europe. The theme was Politics For Change and focused on the importance of legislative progress for the LGBTQIA+ community across Europe and Central Asia. Bella writes about her experience at ILGA Europe here:

On the first day we were welcomed to Brussels by the lovely ILGA team and we were more than ready to dive in! It was great to meet all the bi+ activists at the space for bisexual people to meet each other before the conference kicked off.

Bisexual pals at Brussels

The first meeting we went to was hosted by IGLYO where we met people doing similar work from all over Europe and Central Asia. We heard about IGLYO’s amazing work indexing the school environment in terms of LGBT inclusion which you can see here.

The next day at the opening panel, we were addressed by the VP of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans who spoke on the solidarity needed for LGBT rights from society at large, as everyone benefits from equality.

We were then treated to an amazing speech by Ireland’s very own Ailbhe Smyth as she spoke about recent journey towards equality which has taken place here in Ireland.

From left: Brian Sheehan; Co chair ILGA Europe, Niamh Cullen; European Commission, Bella FitzPatrick; ShoutOut Managing Director, Declan Meehan; ShoutOut Chairperson, Deputy Director of Cara Friend, Ailbhe Smyth; absolute hero

We attended a very interesting session hosted by GLSEN on research which has been conducted in countries throughout Europe detailing the climate in schools for LGBT students. This lead to a meeting with everyone who works in the area of schools. We met with people from Iceland, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania and Denmark who do similar work to ShoutOut. We are now in touch and will be sharing knowledge and resources.

Meeting with people working in education

It was another fantastic year at ILGA, we learned a lot and met a lot of great people! Next year ILGA will be held in Prague and we hope to attend again!

ShoutOut 2018 Annual Report!

We've had one whirlwind of a year! Read all about it here!

We are delighted to present our 2018 annual report with all of the facts and figures from the past 12 months, along with information on how far we have come. As always have a read and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch!

10,000 STUDENTS REACHED!

We are a little overwhelmed to announced that we completed 349 workshops this school year - that's 10,000 students who received a free workshop tackling LGBTQ+ bullying!

229 workshops took place with students in Ireland, 108 with students in Northern Ireland and 12 workshops were in schools with the teaching and administrative staff. 

We've come a long way this year, delivering more workshops and reaching more people than ever! 

Check out our workshop numbers over the years: 

Number of school workshops

• Population

• Population

These were done nearly entirely by volunteers! 61 volunteers to be exact! We are always looking for more people to get involved so if you'd like to help out for this school year please get in touch. 

Workshops in Northern Ireland look place in parntership with Cara-Friend who deliver ShoutOut workshops as part of their Safe Schools Programme. 

We hope to continue to reach as many, and more, students this year. But we will not be able to without your help. We do all our own fundraising and receive no government funding at all. So please consider donating or volunteering with us to help us reach 10,000 new students this school year!

Some photos from this school year

We are currently reviewing the content of our student workshop to make sure it's as up to date and accurate as possible. The subcommittee reviewing the content consists of representatives from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex communities as well as two youth workers and a medical doctor! 

The Student Guide Subcommittee at their last meeting

Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported ShoutOut over the past year! Support comes in many different shapes; businesses who book corporate workshops which fund the school workshops and kind individual donations from amazing folk and most importantly the volunteers who give up their time to give the workshops. Thank you, one million times, thank you!

(no, you're crying)

ShoutOut's Pride Tour!

Here at ShoutOut we're absolutely bananas about workshops!

If there's a group of people sitting near us we are liable to start some ice-breaking games out of nowhere! So despite giving 349 (!!!!!) school workshops this school year we just couldn't help ourselves and thought; sure, will we just give some more workshops so? 

So we hit the road, to give our popular ABCs of LGBT workshop to youth workers, social workers and parents/guardians in locations around Ireland!

We teamed up with local organisations to host these talks and it was so great to meet these amazing activists from around the country. 

We worked with Gay Cork Project, Bi+ Ireland, Teach Solais, 8 Rays Leitrim and Donegal Youth Service!

We absolutely could not have done this without the support of Arthur Cox who funded The entire tour! So a huge thank you to Arthur Cox for their amazing support!

If you would like a workshop for your organisation please get in touch! We'd be happy to help! 

Join the ShoutOut Board of Directors!

We’re currently accepting applications for the role of Director. It’s a great opportunity to join a fun and committed team and make a difference in the LGBTQ+ community.

 

 

What is the Board of Directors?

The primary role of the Board of the Directors is to oversee the direction of the organisation. Unlike the Executive Team, the Board is not generally involved in the day-to-day administration (booking workshops, assigning volunteers etc.) but instead makes decisions regarding the broader policies, procedures and focus of the organisation. It is also responsible for the sustainability and strategic development of the organisation.

What’s involved in the role?

Your primary responsibility would be to attend the monthly ShoutOut board meetings. At these, the board receives updates from the Executive Team, votes on any important changes and assesses what needs to be done next! Directors also take on a variety of other tasks when required i.e. assisting with grant applications, fundraising, writing the annual review etc. The role is flexible and can be adjusted to your own interests and time commitments but it’s important that you be ready to lend a helping hand with whatever job crops up. This is also a voluntary role.

Who are we looking for?

There are no specific requirements for this role and we hope to receive applications from a diverse range of candidates with different backgrounds and experience levels. If you are motivated to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people then you are eligible! We do however particularly welcome applications from individuals with experience or interest in the following areas:

·   Transgender Rights and Equality

·   Secondary and Primary School Education

·   Corporate Social Responsibility

·   Social Work and Youth Work

·   Charities Governance

How do I apply?

Please send a CV and cover letter to our Chair, Declan, at declan@shoutout.ie by May 15th.

If you’ve any questions, you can also contact Declan at the above address.

We look forward to hearing from you!