Examining the Impact of the Lgbtqia+ Policy Landscape on the Field of Social Work

The social and political climate around LGBTQIA+ communities has shifted over the past decade with multiple state-level legislation and Supreme Court victories providing relationship recognition and non-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. With increased visibility of LGBTQIA+ people in the media, increased academic literature on LGBTQIA+ populations, and more knowledge in the general population about LGBTQIA+ people has led to progressive and regressive policy changes and discourse at local, state, and national levels.

The LGBTQIA+ justice movement has been present for decades, however, recently an anti-transgender countermovement has evolved and gained traction, currently focusing efforts on regressive tactics that negatively impact the health and wellbeing of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young people. These policies being proposed across the country that target TGD young people’s access to health care and access to participate in their school community, the essence of these policies go directly against science and all credible professional associations such as the AMA, APA, NASW, and AAP. These policies go so far as criminalizing the health care providers that work with TGD young people – proving to be not just an ethical but a moral dilemma for the field of social work, committed to equity and justice for those most marginalized.

This roundtable session will prompt a dialogue about the role of social workers in the discourse related to anti-LGBTQIA+ and specifically, anti-TGD policy. Presenters will provide socio-demographic and historical context, an overview of local, state, and federal policy as it related to LGBTIQA+ communities, the impact these policies have on the field of social work, and what social work researchers and practitioners can do to advance equity and justice for LGBTIQA+ individuals and communities at micro, mezzo and macro levels. Our goal is to prompt a call to action for social work scholars and practitioners to engage in dialogue and scholarship about the real life or death consequences of these policies.