Lesbian and Gay Family Issues in the Context of Changing Legal and Social Policy Environments.

The lesbian and gay movement in the UK has been the least successful of the major ‘new social movements’ (NSMs) in achieving social policy and legislative change, and Section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988) remains in force as a major symbol both of Conservative opposition to such changes and also of wider and institutionalised discrimination. Around ‘New Labour’ proposals to repeal Section 28, a ‘moral panic’ has taken place, and sections of the popular press have been ‘players within’ the amplification processes involved. Reporting of ‘what has been happening’ has suggested apparently close ongoing links exist between disparate groups opposed to repeal and largely homogenous views about the moral wrongness of homosexuality as such tantamount to a ‘New Right’ hegemonic phenomenon. However, a closer look suggests there is actually important differences between the groupings involved and the ‘close links’ are actually artefacts of ‘creative reporting’; and that these events are better characterised in terms of a ‘backlash’ to the specificities involved rather than a ‘New Right’ blanket response.

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Committee on Lesbian and Gay Family Issues Division of Family Psychology

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e406872005-022 ◽

1993 ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Lesbian And Gay ◽

Family Psychology ◽

Family Issues

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Committee on Lesbian and Gay Family Issues

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e410252005-005 ◽

1994 ◽

Author(s):

Natalie S. Eldridge ◽

◽

Roy Scrivner

Keyword(s):

Lesbian And Gay ◽

Family Issues

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Committee on Lesbian and Gay Family Issues

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e588832009-007 ◽

1993 ◽

Author(s):

Roy Scrivner ◽

Natalie Eldridge

Keyword(s):

Lesbian And Gay ◽

Family Issues

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Aboriginal Social Policy: A Critical Community Mental Health Issue

Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health ◽

10.7870/cjcmh-2014-010 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 109-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Terry Mitchell ◽

Timothy MacLeod

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Policy ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Policy Development ◽

Critical Role ◽

Aboriginal Peoples ◽

Mental Health Issue ◽

Policy Environments ◽

Health Practitioners ◽

The Status

Community psychologists offer relevant tools for pursuing critical reflection on the nature of social policy, with special consideration of power inequities that often arise from the misrepresentation of affected stakeholders. This article examines the critical role researchers and community health practitioners can play in guarding against the misrepresentation of community voices in neoliberal policy environments. We identify the extreme harm caused by socially exclusive policy-making in an examination of the institutional oppression of Aboriginal peoples across Canada. We caution against the dangers of perpetuating neoliberal agendas and token participation via the misuse of community engagement. We emphasize the important role of community psychologists in challenging the status quo, for engaging stakeholders in authentic participation, and in policy development. We conclude with recommendations to broaden and improve the policy skills of community psychologists and other mental health professionals to more effectively advance social policy and actualize the potential for transformative social change in Aboriginal communities.

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