Meeting with The Government Equalities Office-LGBT+ Healthcare Team

Many of you know how passionate we are about making change especially when it comes to policy & the law for our community.

From our own experiences, & those of women we have supported over the last few years, I (Laura-Rose) had worked my way through the ranks of Government via secretaries, Assistances, Aide’s & even MP’s & finally got through to the Head of LGBT+ HC team within the GEO & they requested I come in for a meeting.

I explained the areas that within Healthcare & society the LGBT+ women we support (& of course other same sex families) weren’t receiving the support needed, & that we felt our duty to bring this to their attention.

Our goal is not to point the finger so to speak, but highlight the areas whereby LGBT+ women & their families require additional support or a change in policy. I explained I felt that as times have changed so quickly, Policy tends to not change with the times- this is to no fault of anyone, but the fact that if we work together & collaborate, we can advise & assist in these changes, by sharing ours & our Tribes views & experiences, to ensure better outcomes.

Whether it be through education & training, or visibility, or Date & software changes- there were multiple areas that we felt needed addressing & were excited that they were interested. In most cases, they advised some of our points were not matters that had ever been brought to their attention before but that they agreed change was due & appreciated our help with this.

So we hope that this is the first step to ensuring change to support our LGBT+ women & their families, & all same sex families going forward!