About social intervention with LGTBIQ+: contributions from professional practice

Abstract

Introduction. Sexual diversity and gender identity have historically been the object of exclusion, discrimination and pathologization when deviating from the dominant cisheteronormative schemes. Despite the normative advances in LGTBIQ+ rights across some contexts, social intervention continues without consolidating a specific approach to these realities, especially in the field of Social Services. From this concern, the aim of this study is to analyze the professional functions involved in social intervention with LGTBIQ+ people, providing empirical evidence that contributes to an improvement in the processes of care. Methods. A qualitative approach with descriptive design has been used, prioritizing the deepening of understanding in professional practices. For the collection of information, semi-structured interviews were carried out with ten professionals working with LGTBIQ+ people, belonging to different Autonomous Communities of Spain and with trajectories in both public and Third Sector. Results. The results show a wide repertoire of functions and tasks in social intervention, highlighting actions such as the planning of care processes, social awareness through training tasks, socio-labor intervention, individualized accompaniment and direct care, whose main feature is the consideration of the transversality of the problems of the group. Likewise, there is a significant delegation of competencies to the Third Sector in the provision of these services, which can generate territorial inequalities. The need to overcome assistance models focused on vulnerability and move towards critical approaches based on rights and self-determination of gender and orientation is emphasized. A greater specialization of Social Work in sexual diversity, a specific continuous training and an effective articulation between public services and social entities are demanded. In addition, the importance of incorporating an intersectional perspective that considers other structural variables such as class, ethnicity or age, in order to design more inclusive and contextualized interventions, is raised. Discussion and conclusions. Social intervention with LGTBIQ+ people must move towards comprehensive, critical and rights-based models, overcoming welfare approaches. It is crucial to strengthen and improve the articulation between the public sector and the third sector to ensure inclusive, equitable and sustainable services.