Capacity Building with Gender and Sexual Minorities

In this workshop, we aim to equip participants with the knowledge to expand their capacity to conduct research with sexual and gender minorities in a manner that aligns with the social work profession’s commitment to advancing social justice. We will being by reviewing commonly reported challenges related to conducting research with sexual and gender minorities, and provide examples of how we have addressed some of those challenges in our own research. Adidtionally, we will critically examine the ways in which heterosexism, cisgenderism, and pathologically rooted conceptualizations of queer and trans identities and behaviors have informed research design. Participants will then think through ways to collect data that are inclusive and affirming of a range of gender identities, gender expressions, sexualities, and sexual behaviors.