Out and Proud? Social Work's Relationship with Lesbian and Gay Equality

‘It's All a Bit Pantomime’: An Exploratory Study of Gay and Lesbian Adopters and Foster-Carers in England and Wales

“…However, it was evident that whilst lesbians and gay men can more easily access adoption or fostering, such processes remain dominated by gendered and sexual norms. These accounts also confirm suggestions that the implementation of new legislation does not necessarily dismantle the wider social hierarchies in which it is set (Brown and Cocker, 2008;Cocker and Hafford-Letchfield, 2010). Although gay and lesbian identities are now sanctioned within the contexts of adoption and fostering in England and Wales, such processes are still complicit in producing distinct versions of acceptability.…”

Rights through Alliances: Findings from a European Project Tackling Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying in Schools through the Engagement of Families and Young People

“…however, as legislation does not stop discrimination occurring, as can be seen in UK history through the example of its equality legislation (Cocker and Hafford-Letchfield, 2010). In summary, the findings from this study highlighted that anti-discriminatory legislation per se represents a significant stepping stone with wide ranging difference where it is not underpinning hate crimes.…”

“…LGBT issues within its equality, diversity and human rights concerns (Cocker and Hafford-Letchfield, 2010) we suggest that there are implications for social work to respond in new and different ways, particularly given its role in service integration and systemic approaches to promoting children's wellbeing.…”

“…Education, and schools in particular, are known to make a difference (Birkett et al, 2009). There is however a relative silence from social work on this issue (Cocker and Hafford-Letchfield, 2010;Mishna et al, 2009) despite the potential role it plays in the provision of proper, safe and supportive spaces for children, young people and their families and carers (Guasp, 2010). Freedom from discrimination and harm is essential to be able to learn, develop and flourish (Rivers, 2001;Adams et al, 2004;DePalma and Atkinson, 2009;Monk, 2009).…”

Positioning discourse on homophobia in schools: What have lesbian and gay families got to say?

“…This was a descriptive and exploratory study, given the shortage of literature on lesbian and gay parents' views about homophobia in schools. There are methodological challenges, particularly with sampling and accessibility (Cocker and Hafford-Letchfield, 2010). We chose a qualitative method capable of generating data directly from parents about what they think and say about schools' approaches to tackling homophobia, including acknowledged or hidden knowledge of the topic and the context it reflects (Fairclough, 1995).…”