Since 1994, The Rainbow Project has been working for a better Northern Ireland for LGBTQIA+ people and their families. They aim to change lives through service provision that mitigates the impact of discrimination, and to change society through training, campaigning and policy work, seeking to eliminate the root causes of discrimination.
As Alexa Moore, policy, campaigns and communications manager at The Rainbow Project, points out, you can’t have one without the other.
“If we are doing the work to change lives and investing loads into our services without changing society, then the demand for our services is just going to increase and increase, without addressing the root causes of that demand."
In 2021, the charity carried out its ‘State of the Community’ survey, using the data gathered to ensure their campaigns reflect the needs, experiences, and aspirations of LGBTQIA people across Northern Ireland. The survey revealed that the top priorities of the community included things such as better LGBTQIA inclusion in mental health services and the education curriculum, a ban on conversion therapy, access to trans healthcare, and a crackdown on anti-LGBTQIA bullying in schools.
After the survey was done in 2021, the NI Assembly shut down in February 2022, and major pieces of work were put on hold for The Rainbow Project. In February 2024 a new Executive was installed, but whilst the charity is now reviewing its priorities, their main concerns are much the same now as they were in 2021.
In fact, The Rainbow Project is concerned that things are moving backwards, with policy changes in England - such as the ban on puberty blockers, extended to cover Northern Ireland in August 2024 - having a knock-on effect on services in Northern Ireland.
“The waiting list is getting longer and longer. Many people have been waiting upwards of seven years for access to gender-affirming care, or even a first appointment in the gender identity clinic,” Alexa said.
One area where The Rainbow Project is campaigning for progress is the provision of Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Northern Ireland. In England, the current RSE curriculum for secondary schools covers content on sexual relationships, consent, domestic abuse, and online abuse. Parents have a right to remove their child from some sex education lessons, but not from relationship education. In Northern Ireland however, each school develops its own RSE policy, and parents can remove their child from sessions covering sexual health, prevention of early pregnancy, and access to abortion.
After speaking with young people in Northern Ireland through focus groups, The Rainbow Project has found the leeway schools have over RSE provision has resulted in a very limited education about sexual health, which doesn’t include LGBTQIA issues at all.
Alexa said: “We have a situation where even baseline RSE isn’t delivered in a comprehensive or standardised way across Northern Ireland. To make it LGBTQIA inclusive is another ask altogether, so we’re taking a broader approach to improve RSE as a whole.”
When you add this to other issues faced by young people: schools that are unequipped to support LGBTQIA students, bullying, and the presence of conversion practices – together combined with long waiting lists to access LGBTQIA support services – the resulting deterioration of mental health in the LGBTQIA community, and the strain on health services, is unsurprising, Alexa said.
Despite the delay in updating policy to better meet the needs of LGBTQIA people, The Rainbow Project do believe there has been a shift in public opinion. In the last ten years, the lifetime blood donation ban for gay men was lifted, and same-sex marriage was legalised in Northern Ireland. Whilst progress for LGBTQIA equality and inclusion might be slow, Alexa believes they are close to making substantial progress, but they need to keep the public pressure on across all political parties to create that change.
This is why The Rainbow Project is now working to build a movement in the LGBTQIA community in Northern Ireland, encouraging them to get involved in campaigns, but also supporting them to have conversations with friends and family on the issues facing them.
“Those who oppose social and legal equality for LGBT people are really good at mobilizing and getting people to respond to consultations,” Alexa said. “We can't allow for that to overtake the narrative that society has moved on and that LGBT people are a key part of our society.”
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- The Rainbow Project received a grant of £130,087 over 36 months for core costs through JRCT ‘s Northern Ireland programme in 2022.