Best4OlderLGBTI – Best interest for the Older LGBTI

Best4OlderLGBTI aims at reducing the inequalities and discrimination faced by older LGBTIs when attending public services or health and social services.

Grant Agreement Number: 809688

Funded by: REC Duration: 1/11/2018 – 30/10/2020

Challenge

The European population is rapidly ageing and many findings show that older people are targets of ageism, which negatively affects their mental, physical capabilities and their will to live. At the same time, as Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transsexuals and Intersexes (LGBTI) grow old, they are likely to experience various forms of discrimination, based for instance on their age, sexual orientation or gender identity. The Eurobarometer Survey on Discrimination showed that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was the second most widespread form of discrimination in the EU (Eurobarometer, 2015). As a result, these people face significant barriers in terms of accessing and seeking health care and other social services.

Innovation

Acknowledging that older LGBTI face multiple forms of exclusion, Best4OlderLGBTI aims at reducing the inequalities and discrimination faced by older LGBTIs when attending public services or health and social services, by empowering health and social professionals to mitigate stereotypes and negative attitudes regarding sexuality in older age.

Action

These short and high impact messages aim at deconstructing stereotypes and conveying a positive approach about sexuality in older age and about older LGBTI, and at promoting the use of non-discriminatory language.

The face-to-face awareness actions are short events aimed to transfer participants some key-messages about LGBTI older persons and sexuality in old age. The actions will address the needs of six different target groups: health and social professionals, professionals of public services, teachers, employers, university students and the public. The main goals of this activity are to show what are the main myths, stereotypes and discriminant attitudes against older LGBTIs, their consequences on people suffering from it, how to identify them and how to fight them in the different working & living contexts.

Do you wish to participate in one of the actions? Kindly send a message ([email protected]) and we will come back to you with more information!

Specifically focusing on health and social professionals, the intervention programme goal is to deconstruct negative images about the way LGBTI age and live their sexuality.