May 17th was the International Day Against Homophobia. A recent paper by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Perspectives on ageing: lesbians, gay men and bisexuals by Sally Knocker shines a spotlight on the huge impact that prejudice has had on older people's lives and on the impact that the morms of their youth still have upon their present experience.
Sally found that many fear needing services, believing (rightly or
wrongly) that their identity will become invisible or that they will
experience prejudice from care professionals or their own peers. This is
particularly true for those who are HIV positive. A national survey
found that many HIV-positive older people fear that social care
services, care homes and sheltered housing might be HIV prejudiced
and/or homophobic. One in five reported experiencing age- or HIV-related
discrimination in the past year, and HIV discrimination was worst in
healthcare and goods and services.
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