A sparse audience turned out Monday night to learn about creating safe spaces for lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and questioning students and the latest information on health-care rights for that segment of our community.
The first thing to learn is the appropriate language, Lauren Cikara, safe schools manager for One Colorado said.
“You know how on the first day of school, the teacher stands in front of the class and reads all the names for roll?” she said. “A better way would be asking each student their preferred name and preferred gender pronoun. Just doing this one thing will help a teacher become a trusted adult.”
Cikara said because her name is Lauren and she wears earrings, it’s easy to assume she wants to be called ‘she’ and ‘her,’ but it’s better not to assume and ask.
Most schools in Southwest Colorado have inclusive policies and at least some nondiscrimination, anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies on the record that specifically mention sexual orientation – Bayfield High School is the exception in La Plata County. But many do not have a gender-identification policy specifically spelled out, she said.
“This isn’t just about a safe school for students,” she said, “it’s about safety and fairness for LGBT staff and teachers, too.”
The game-changer on the health-care front for the gay community was the Affordable Care Act, One Colorado’s health-policy manager Leo Kattari said, but that doesn’t mean all the problems have been solved.
One of the biggest obstacles is a fear of rejection by a health-care provider.
“If they have a friendly provider,” Kattari said, “they’re more likely to be healthy overall, get more preventive care and be less depressed.”
The University of Colorado Medical School offers a webinar on the subject for providers.
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