LGBTQ+: How care homes celebrate Silver Pride
Care homes are ‘supporting the right to be who you are’
Moving into a care home for people who have been ‘out’ all their lives can be a daunting experience as they may worry about revealing their sexuality to a whole new community of people.
Homosexuality for consenting men over the age of 21 was only made legal in England and Wales in 1967, with Scotland not following suit till 1980 and Northern Ireland in 1982. This means that care home residents were brought up in an era when homosexuality was illegal.
Fear of discrimination leads to some residents keeping their sexual identity private
Lesbianism has never been illegal in the UK and even though same sex couples can now get married everywhere in Britain apart from Northern Ireland, homophobia does still exist although it is not so widespread as it was. So it is not surprising that the fear of discrimination can lead to some care home residents wanting to keep their sexual identity private.
This is why it is vital that care homes make sure they show residents they are embracing diversity and being truly inclusive and one way of doing this is by celebrating Pride month which falls on June every year.