Contemporary queer critiques are interested in the ways queer politics undergo certain shifts and warn us about their neoliberal/homonationalist turn. In Greece, research in this area is very limited although many events pertaining to LGBTQI+ issues are happening lately (having the first openly gay man as an opposition party leader, the same-sex marriage bill, and EuroPride) which remain unproblematized. From an intersectional and queer feminist perspective, this thesis’ aim is to explore the ways queer activists in Greece understand, address, and negotiate issues pertaining to identity, oppression, and resistance in the formation of queer politics in Greece. Via five semi structured interviews with queer activists and using thematic analysis, it was revealed that participants discussed how certain hierarchies among the queer identities arise, with the cisgender, masculine, white, beautiful, rich, gay man enjoying most privileges alongside the marginalization of trans experiences and the incorporation of Europeanness into queerness. The study examines how these identity intersections reveal new normativities within the queer movement and raise questions about homonationalism and neoliberal LGBTQI+ politics in Greece, creating new and different forms of oppression that require rethinking resistance. The need for an intersectional understanding of identity - oppression – resistance is emphasized, recognizing the interconnectedness of various oppressive systems such as capitalism, patriarchy, neoliberalism, and racism. The thesis suggests that identity-based mobilization should be viewed as an ongoing process rather than an end goal, advocating for a continuous re-evaluation of what it means to be queer in the Greek contex.

Bakgrund: Paraplybegreppet hbtqi inkluderar homosexuella, bisexuella, transpersoner, queera identiteter och uttryck samt intersexpersoner. Denna grupp har historiskt stigmatiserats som ett psykiatriskt eller medicinskt problem och möter fortfarande utmaningar. Hbtqi-personer har ofta sämre hälsa än genomsnittet och upplever det svårt att hitta vård som tar hänsyn till deras specifika behov. Hur de bemöts i vården påverkar deras upplevelse av hälsa och välbefinnande. Därför är kompetens bland hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal kring hbtqi-personers erfarenheter inom hälso- och sjukvård avgörande för att erbjuda en god vård och ett respektfullt bemötande. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva hbtqi-personers erfarenheter av bemötande av hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal. Metod: Litteraturstudien baserades på 10 kvalitativa artiklar framtagna ur Cinahl och Pubmed. Dessa analyserades med manifest innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet redovisas i tre teman och sex underteman. De teman som framkom var Hbtqi-personers erfarenheter av vårdmöten, Konsekvenser av ett okunnigt bemötande samt Sätt att skapa en inkluderande vård. Konklusion: Hbtqi-personers sexualitet och könsidentitet kan utgöra hinder för en adekvat vård, till följd av förekommen diskriminering och den kunskapsbrist som existerar hos hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal. Hbtqi-personers negativa erfarenheter inom vården kan bidra till en sämre hälsa då de söker vård i lägre utsträckning. / Background: The term LGBTQI encompasses homosexual, bisexual, transgender individuals, queer identities and intersex people. This group has historically been stigmatized as a psychiatric or medical issue and still faces challenges. Research indicates they often experience worse health than the general population and struggle to find healthcare tailored to their needs. How they are treated in healthcare significantly impacts their well-being. Therefore, healthcare professionals' competence in understanding lgbtqi experiences is crucial for quality and respectful care. Aim: This study aimed to describe lgbtqi individuals' experiences when approached by health care personnel. Methods: This literature review was based on 10 qualitative articles from Cinahl and Pubmed, analysed through manifest content analysis. Results: Three themes and six sub-themes emerged. The themes that emerged were LGBTQI-individuals’ healthcare experiences, Consequences of uninformed encounters and Approaches to creating inclusive care. Conclusion: The sexual orientation and gender identity of lgbtqi individuals can hinder their access to adequate healthcare due to discrimination and healthcare professionals' knowledge gaps. These negative experiences in the healthcare system can lead to poorer health outcomes as they are less likely to seek medical care.

abstract: LGBTQI people are often victimized by law enforcement and these victimizations often are related to victimizations of domestic violence and hate violence. Because reporting a victimization to the police leads to contact with police, a part of the research question involved herein looked at whether or not reporting a victimization to the police also increases the rate of police violence. Through secondary data analysis, this study investigated the correlation between reporting domestic violence and hate violence to the police, and subsequent victimizations by the police in the form of police violence. Additionally through secondary data analysis, this study investigated whether or not this correlation is stronger with transgender women and people of color. All data analyzed in this study was collected in Tucson, Arizona through the Wingspan Anti-Violence Project (WAVP). All data was analyzed with the permission of the data owner, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) (see Appendix IV), and with IRB approval from the Arizona State University Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (see Appendix III). The findings demonstrated a positive correlation between the rate of LGBTQI people reporting violent crimes to the police and the rate of police violence against LGBTQI survivors of domestic violence and hate violence. The results further demonstrated the rate of police violence associated with reporting domestic violence or hate violence is greatest for transgender women and people of color. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Work 2016

Bakgrund: Det råder en heteronorm i samhället och forskning visar att HBTQI-personer är utsatta för våld, diskriminering och fördomar i samhället. Forskning visar även att det råder bristande kunskap om HBTQI-personers hälsa inom hälso- och sjukvården. HBTQI-personer har sämre hälsa jämfört med övriga befolkningen, både gällande psykisk och somatisk hälsa. Arbetet inom hälso- och sjukvården skall utgå från en värdegrund som beskriver att alla människor har lika värde och personcentrerad vård förespråkas.  Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva HBTQI-personers upplevelser av hälso- och sjukvården.  Metod: En litteraturöversikt har genomförts för att besvara syftet. Elva kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar som hämtades från databaserna CINAHL Complete och PubMed har kritiskt granskats enligt Fribergs metod. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras under tre teman, Normer och normativitet, Hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalens attityder och Hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalens kunskapsnivå. Slutsats: Litteraturöversikten visar att HBTQI-personer upplever att hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalens attityd är avgörande för hur mötet med vården upplevs. Negativa upplevelser av vården i form av dåligt bemötande eller bristfällig vård eller rädsla för ett negativt bemötande har i vissa fall medfört att vård undviks vilket kan medföra sämre hälsa. En inkluderande attityd kan överbrygga eventuell kunskapsbrist och olika normativa antaganden och därmed leda till en mer positiv upplevelse av mötet med vården. / Background: There is a heteronorm in society and research shows that LGBTQI-persons are exposed to violence, discrimination and prejudice in society. Research also shows that there is a lack of knowledge about the health of LGBTQI-persons in health care. LGBTQI-persons have poorer health compared to the rest of the population, both in terms of mental and somatic health. The work in health care must be based on a set of values that describes that all people have equal value and person-centered care is advocated. Aim: The aim was to describe LGBTQI- person's experiences of healthcare. Method: A literature review has been conducted to answer the aim. Eleven qualitative scientific articles retrieved from the databases CINAHL Complete and PubMed have been critically reviewed according to Fribergs method.  Results: The results are presented under three themes, Norms and normativity, Healthcare provider’s attitudes and Healthcare provider’s level of knowledge.  Conclusion: The literature review shows that LGBTQI-persons feel that the attitude of the health care providers is decisive for how the encounter with healthcare is experienced. Negative experiences of healthcare in the form of poor treatment or inadequate care or fear of a negative treatment have in some cases led to healthcare being avoided, which can lead to poorer health. An inclusive attitude can bridge any lack of knowledge and various normative assumptions and thus lead to a more positive experience of encountering healthcare.

Humanitarian action faces challenges in engaging with LGBTQI+ people. Research has shown that humanitarian response to LGBTQI+ people are solely studied on the issues around resettlement, migration and legal protection of LGBTQI+ people. This study aims to provide a critical analysis to engagement practices of humanitarian actors with LGBTQI+ people in Hatay, Turkey. In order to explore this engagement, this study asks the role of humanitarian actors in identifying the LGBTQI+ community, the strategies used by the humanitarian actors to support the LGBTQI+ community, the consequences of humanitarian professions’ actions in Hatay, Turkey. This research is based on empirical findings of six semi-structured interviews conducted with LGBTQI+ people and humanitarian professionals. The most significant finding of this study is that humanitarian organizations refrain particularly from engaging with LGBTQI+ people because of the existing primary frameworks between LGBTQI+ people and Syrian community, and also between the Government of Turkey and humanitarian organizations. This leads to increased invisibilities, re-stigmatization and dissociation of LGBTQI+ people from the society.

Sweden is generally regarded as progressive in politics related to LGBTQI people, and the work for LGBTQI-rights is often described as a success story. Nevertheless, success and resistance have coincided throughout history with different discourses characterizing the political conversation. The study’s aim was to identify and deconstruct the subject positioning of LGBTQI people in Swedish politics. Furthermore, I analysed how LGBTQI people are constructed as a threat or as threatened in relation to the majority society. Using the AI-based topic modeling tool BERTopic, speeches from parliamentary debates from the period 2010–2023 were sampled for a qualitative discourse analysis. The theoretical framework consists of discourse theory, intersectionality, and concepts from queer- and postcolonial theory. The results show that the positioning of LGBTQI people is made in a hegemonic vulnerability discourse. The construction of LGBTQI people as vulnerable relates to an unwanted social development in which LGBTQI people are positioned as an already vulnerable group risking further vulnerability. Two competing discourses emerge, one that constructs threats to LGBTQI people as imported problems, and one that constructs LGBTQI people as threatened by right-wing nationalism. When LGBTQI people are constructed as a threat, it is primarily a threat to the prevailing gender order.

A national survey of 123 school counselor educators investigated how participants integrated K–12 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex (LGBTQI) students’ needs and concerns into school counseling curricula. Results indicated 91.9% of participants integrated the K–12 LGBTQI students’ needs and concerns for a median pedagogical duration of one, 3-hour session within a single course, focusing on students’ knowledge and awareness of gender and sexual/affectual orientation. Follow-up interviews were conducted with participants identified as committed to integrating LGBTQI issues into the curriculum, and these interviews produced themes that expanded survey findings in several areas, including significant educational experience, recognition of iterative effect, experiential, personal engagement, ethics, and influence of training and resources. Implications for school counselor education and professional development are discussed.

Ojämlikhet i hälsa är ett omfattande folkhälsoproblem. Somliga gruppers hälsotillstånd riskeras i större utsträckning än andra. Publikationer från nationella myndigheter samt internationell forskning påvisar det faktum att homosexuella, bisexuella, transpersoner, queer och intersexpersoner [HBTQI] är en grupp som löper större risk att insjunkna i psykisk ohälsa. Ur ett folkhälsovetenskapligt perspektiv bör därför hälsofrämjande arbetssätt som förbättrar gruppens psykiska hälsa belysas. Med den utgångspunkten syftar studien till att beskriva olika offentliga och ideella aktörers erfarenheter av att främja psykisk hälsa bland HBTQI-personer. Studien tillämpar en kvalitativ metod, med ett målstyrt snöbollsurval och semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex olika aktörer. Materialet har bearbetats genom en analysprocess som gjorts i form av en manifest innehållsanalys. Slutsatserna som kan dras utifrån resultatet av aktörernas erfarenheter, är fem hälsofrämjande arbetsmetoder som förbättrar den psykiska hälsan hos HBTQI-personer. Det är kunskapshöjande insatser, tvärsektoriell samverkan, meningsfulla aktiviteter, intersektionellt och långsiktiga arbetssätt. Aktörernas positiva erfarenheter är det faktum att det finns många möjligheter i arbetet och yrkesrollerna. Aktörerna beskriver också positiva erfarenheter av samverkan, och menar att det är en viktig framgångsfaktor i det hälsofrämjande arbetet. De negativa erfarenheterna som aktörerna beskriver är kunskap-och resursbrister, samt svårigheter att nå målgruppen. De utmaningarna beskrivs som särskilt märkbara i mindre städer. / Inequality in health is one of the biggest public health challenges. Some people’s health conditions are at risk to a greater extent than others. One such group that is at greater risk of developing mental illness are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people [LGBTQI]. This is shown by publications from national agencies, as well as international research. Therefore, methods that promote mental health among sexual minorities should be clarified. For that reason, this study aims to describe different public and non-profit actor’s experiences of health promoting methods to improve mental health among LGBTQI people. This study applies a qualitative method, with a purposive- and snowball sampling combined with semi-structured interviews with six different actors. The material has been processed by a manifest content analysis.  The conclusion in this study is that five health promotion methods were found, based on the actors’ experiences. These are educational-raising promotions, cross-sectoral collaboration, meaningful activities, intersectional and long-term strategies. Actor’s positive experiences is the fact that there are many opportunities in the public health work and in their professional roles. The actors also describe positive experiences of collaboration and claims that it is a benefit in the health promotion practice. The negative experiences are the lack of knowledge and resources, as well as difficulties in reaching the target group. These challenges are particularly noticeable in smaller cities.

HBTQI+-ungdomar är en särskilt utsatt grupp eftersom risken för dem att erfara psykisk ohälsa är utökad. HBTQI+ ungdomar erfar fortfarande osynliggörande, öppen diskriminering, hot om våld och våld på grund av deras HBTQI+-tillhörighet. Välfungerande och gynnsamma sociala insatser och stöd för HBTQI+-ungdomar är därmed nödvändigt. Syftet med denna uppsats var att belysa det internationella forskningsläget om HBTQI+-ungdomars upplevelser av tillgänglighet och kvalitet av HBTQI+-inriktade insatser och stöd inom det sociala arbetet och andra serviceorganisationer. Därigenom går det även att identifiera faktorer som påverkar HBTQI+-ungdomars välmående och psykiska hälsa. För att undersöka syftet valdes litteraturstudie som metod. För att illustrera komplexiteten med faktorer som influerar tillgängligheten och kvaliteten av sociala insatser och stöd användes Ilan H. Meyers minoritetsstressteori och Michael Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrati vid analys av resultaten. Resultaten visar att mänskliga faktorer som professionellas kompetens och bemötande, samt interpersonella relationer till vårdnadshavare, vänner och professionella har en inverkan på tillgängligheten och kvaliteten på sociala insatser och stöd. Geografiskt avstånd till och lokalisering av insatser och stöd, även tillgången till variation av insatser och stöd var också faktorer som hade en betydande inverkan. Uppsatsen har framförallt redovisat att vårdnadshavares, familjers och vänners inställning till HBTQI+-identiteter har en starkinverkan både på HBTQI+-ungdomars psykiska hälsa och välmående, men likaså på ungdomarnas möjligheter och motivation att använda sociala insatser och stöd. Det redogörs även finns ett behov bland målgruppen för fler organisationer och större variation bland sociala insatser och stöd. / LGBTQI+ youth are a particularly vulnerable group because of their increased risk of experiencing mental illnesses. LGBTQI+ youth still experience erasure, open discrimination, threats of violence and violence because of their LGBTQI+ identities. Consequently, it is necessary that well-functioning and advantageous social interventions and support for LGBTQI+ youth are available. The aim of this study was to highlight the current international research situation on LGBTQI+ youth’s experiences of LGBTQI+-orientedinterventions and support’s accessibility and quality within social work and other service organizations. The aim also enables the possibility to identify factors that affect the wellbeing and mental health of LGBTQI+ youth. The chosen method for this study was a literature review. Ilan H. Meyer’s minority stress theory and Michael Lipsky’s theory about street-level bureaucracy were used when analyzing the study’s results, to illustrate the complexity of factors influencing the availability and quality of social interventions and support. The results display that human factors such as professionals’ competence and demeanor, as well as interpersonal relationships with caregivers, friends and professionals have an impact on the availability and quality of social interventions and support.Geographical distance to and localization of interventions and support, and variation in interventions and support were also factors that had a significant impact. The study has primarily exhibited that the attitudes of caregivers, families and friends towards LGBTQI+ identities have a considerable impact. Both on the mental health and well-being of LGBTQI+ youth, but also on the youths’ opportunities and motivation to use social interventions and support. It is also exhibited that there is a need among the target group for more available organizations and a greater variation in social interventions and support.

The aim of this study is to explore and understand school counselors' experiences and work methods towards students in elementary school who identify as LGBTQI and experience vulnerability as a result of this. LGBTQI-youth are described by the Swedish government as particularly vulnerable in schools because of their LGBTQI-identity. Previous international research confirms that LGBTQI-students experience vulnerability, which affects them in their health, wellbeing and school experience. However the context in Sweden is quite unexplored, which implicates a research problem. A qualitative method was used to answer these questions by conducting eight digital semi-structured interviews with school counselors from different municipalities in Sweden. These interviewees were contacted by gathering their email addresses from school websites. Two theories were implemented in order to understand the empirical data, which include queertheory and the critical theory. Both of which are part of a social constructionist theory approach. The results of this study shows that Swedish school counselors have different opinions on the targeted group’s vulnerability and the possibilities, conditions and obstacles of their work. Therefore they also work in different ways. Still there is a consensus that this is an important issue that all schools should prioritize and that the responsibility does not lie solely on school counselors. These results are important because they shine light on the Swedish context and inspire further research.