Why it's still not safe to come out

It will take more than a change in the law to stop care providers discriminating on the grounds of sexuality, says Ju Gosling

As disabled people, we all know that it takes more than a change in the law to change our daily experiences.

While we have all enjoyed some legal protection against discrimination for over a decade, disabled lesbians, gay men and bisexuals have only had the right not to be discriminated against by service-providers on the grounds of sexual orientation for less than a year. And unsurprisingly, there is still a long way to go before this “right” becomes reality.

A survey by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) suggested in March that nearly half of all disabled bisexuals, lesbians and gay men who use social care have faced discrimination by their service providers. As a result, fewer than 40 per cent felt comfortable enough to “come out” about their sexuality in their last review.

What does this discrimination look like? It might mean being denied services altogether because the person in charge of the review doesn’t think “queers” are “deserving” enough. It might mean experiencing subtle – or not so subtle – abuse in your home on a daily basis. It might mean living life in “the closet” without being able to be yourself and without contact with your community.

It might mean a care home manager telling you that if you disclose your sexual orientation to staff or residents, you will be asked to leave. It might mean being told you can’t have your same-sex partner to stay overnight in supported accommodation, even though heterosexual partners are welcome. It might mean personal assistants being allowed to refuse to work with you and telling other service-users why.

It might mean a gay man being housed in a project for disabled women, perhaps because gay men are seen as sex offenders and a danger to other men, or feminised and not “real men” at all.

Thank goodness for CSCI, which has produced comprehensive advice for care-providers in response to the new legislation. Providing appropriate services for lesbian, gay and bisexual and transgender people is the first in a series of three bulletins designed to help service providers address the “personalisation” agenda in social care.

CSCI is particularly to be congratulated for covering transgender issues, despite this group not yet having legal rights and facing more discrimination than lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.

Despite being screamingly out to the world at large, when it comes to dealing with social care services I am still in the majority who do not feel safe to “out” themselves. I long for the day when this is no longer the case, and I am very appreciative of CSCI’s current efforts to achieve change, but I am absolutely not holding my breath.

• Ju Gosling is an artist, writer and activist, and co-chairs Regard, the national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender disabled people’s body