Non-Binary Working Group - Crisis Services Sub-Group minutes: 10 February 2022

Attendees and apologies

Attendees

• Neil Meehan, Hate Crime Team, Scottish Government

Group members

• Dr Ben Vincent, The Open University
• Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans
• Megan Snedden, Stonewall Scotland
• Sarah Anderson, LGBT Youth Scotland
• Non-binary community members

Secretariat 

• Chloe Coldwell, Equality and Inclusion Division, Scottish Government

Apologies

• Oceana Maund, Scottish Trans
• Dr Carolynn Gray, The University of the West of Scotland
• Katrina Mitchell, LGBT Health & Wellbeing
• Dr Peter Dunne, The University of Bristol

Items and actions

Key Discussion Points

The group discussed:

Care services and young people

• how trans and non-binary young people interacted with care services
• foster care for trans young people and issues relating to sharing of information

• developing a recommendation around bullying, which was broad to encompass a variety of experiences
• LGBT Youth Scotland had existing recommendations for how to treat LGBT people within care services
• developing a recommendation around a scoping exercise for existing services and organisations and how they do or could address the needs of trans and non-binary young people

Domestic violence services

• Government-supported services and taking a gendered approach to this issue.
• not wanting to remove the gendered aspects of these services but instead looking at how non-binary people could be included in provision
• possible inclusion of transmisogyny in the recommendations
• developing a recommendation that would deal with ensuring non-binary people were recognised within gender-based violence services while supporting ring-fenced services for women and girls

Hate crime

• incorporating support services for victims of hate crime within the recommendations
• SG hate crime work including publishing an action plan and developing a hate crime strategy
• trust issues with the police, including whether support could be given to vulnerable people without having to report hate crimes

Action: Neil to come back with more information on discussion topics from justice colleagues.