Week 6 policy paper
GraduateWhat29
socialchangeproject.docx6
Social Change Project Part 1
Sara Hale
Walden University
3/14/2020
LGBTQ+ and Equality
According to Singh and Durso (2017), the LGBTQ+ community in the country face pervasive discrimination regularly, which adversely affects their lives. Consequently, many members of this community make changes in their lives to hide their authentic selves with the objective of lowering the chances of experiencing discrimination. Although the United States has made significant progress towards facilitating LGBTQ+ equality, one in four LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination (Singh & Durso, 2017). This discrimination hinders the LGBTQ+ community from effectively engaging in society and limits their ability to get effective health services. Consequently, a review of this social problem is crucial in order to effectively craft the necessary steps for social planning, social action, and policy change.
This social problem can be incongruent with traditional social work ethics and values. These are ethics and values that are normally influenced by issues of morality and religion. Standard morality and tradition are very strict on issues to do with a person’s sexual orientation. Therefore, social work may be unable to effectively cater to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community. This is why the ethics and values that guide social work must be modernized and amended to meet the needs of the LGBTQ+. This is the only way social work can be truly inclusive for all people regardless of their sexual orientation.
Historically, this social problem started gaining recognition in 1924 when Henry Gerber established the Society for Human Rights, the first official gay rights organization (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). Although the issue of the LGBTQ+ community was one that had spanned centuries, it was socially unacceptable, and its members shunned. The actions that were taken to address this concern were varied in nature such as the creation of the gay rights organization by Gerber. Another group called the Mattachine Society was formed in 1950 to fight or the social acceptance of homosexuals (CNN Editorial Research, 2019). However, the society continued to oppose this group with the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association describing homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance in 1952. Also, Eisenhower banned homosexuals from the federal government in 1953.
Over time, the groups that are affected by this concern have changed tremendously to become bolder than they were before. Previously, such groups operated in secret for fear of societal backlash (UCF, 2020). However, these groups are openly coming out to call for social action in support of their rights. Currently, there are several groups that actively work to fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the US. For instance, there is the LGBT Rights ACLU, which advocates for a society where the LGBTQ+ members can live freely without discrimination and enjoy the same freedom that heterosexuals have (UCF, 2020). Other groups that fight for similar rights include the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and the National LGBTQ+ Taskforce (UCF, 2020).
There are several policies that are related to this social problem. This paper covers three of them. All of these policies are dictated by a combination of federal, state, and local statutes. First, there is the SB 868, which is utilized in Virginia. It prohibits the discrimination of individuals based on their sexual orientations in the context of employment, housing, credit, and public accommodation (Ebbin, 2020). This policy has been in place since 03/06/20. There have been three amendments made to this policy since its inception, one of which was accepted and two rejected.
Second, there is the HB 1429, which is utilized in Virginia. This policy prohibits discrimination of individuals based on their gender identities in the context of health insurance (Roem, 2020). This policy has been in place since 03/05/20. There have been three amendments made to this policy since its inception, two of which were accepted and one rejected.
Finally, there is the SB246, which is utilized in Virginia. This policy directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure applicants have the freedom to designate their genders as female, male, or non-binary when applying for special identity cards or driver’s licenses (Surovell, 2020). This policy has been in place since 03/03/20. There have been no amendments made to this policy since its inception.
There are factions that support the policies above and those that oppose them. The policies were passed in the state through bipartisan votes, that is, 30-9 in the senate and 59-35 in the House (Associated Press, 2020). The policies were mainly supported by Democrats while the opposition majorly came from the Republicans. The factions that support the policies felt that the regulations were vital for supporting human rights for all while those that opposed them felt that the regulations could have adverse effects on religious freedom.
The policies affect the clients that I might see in a clinical setting positively. The clients will be more at ease when revealing pertinent details about themselves that relate to their sexuality since they will know that they are protected by the law. These clients will be in a public space where they do not face discrimination for being in the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, the HB 1429 will be beneficial to the LGBTQ+ community since its members will not be discriminated against based on their gender identities in the context of health insurance As a medical practitioner, the polices will also be beneficial for me since I require a lot of client details for me to carry out diagnoses effectively, especially when it is gender and sex-related.
As a clinical social worker, it is crucial that I advocate for change. This change will see that members of the LGBTQ+ be included in the rest of the community and enjoy the same rights and freedoms that heterosexuals are privileged with, without discrimination. Advocating for change will ensure that I energize and empower the LGBTQ+ community, which has traditionally been misunderstood by the larger society (Rabinowitz, 2020). I can call for social action to unify communities and fend off stubborn opponents. This social action can also facilitate policy change where I can work in collaboration with government agencies, legislators, (Rabinowitz, 2020) and the LGBTQ+ community to achieve real change in society. This way, I will have played a huge role in achieving inclusivity for all.
References
Associated Press. (2020). Virginia lawmakers pass protections for LGBTQ people. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/virginia-lawmakers-pass-protections-lgbtq-people-n1132301
CNN Editorial Research. (2019). LGBTQ rights milestones fast facts. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/19/us/lgbt-rights-milestones-fast-facts/index.html
Ebbin, A. (2020). SB 868 Discrimination; prohibited in public accommodations, etc., causes of action. Retrieved from http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=201&typ=bil&val=SB868%5C
Rabinowitz, P. (2020). Section 4. Social action. Retrieved from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/systems-advocacy-and-community-organizing/main
Rabinowitz, P. (2020). Section 3. Social planning and policy change. Retrieved from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/promotion-strategies/social-planning-policy-change/main
Roem, D. (2020). HB 1429 Health insurance; nondiscrimination, gender identity or transgender status. Retrieved from http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB1429
Singh, S. & Durso, L. (2017). Widespread discrimination continues to shape LGBT people’s lives in both subtle and significant ways. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbtqrights/news/2017/05/02/429529/widespread-discrimination-continues-shape-lgbt-peoples-lives-subtle-significant-ways/
Surovell, S. (2020). SB 246 Driver's license, etc.; sex designation on application form. Retrieved from http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=201&typ=bil&val=SB246
UCF. (2020). Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer resources. Retrieved from https://guides.ucf.edu/glbtq/organizations
