For Pride Month 2025, we will be looking at various groups of people we support at Basis Yorkshire who are within the LGBTQ+ society and examine how stigma and discrimination affects them, and what we do to empower them and promote safety.
At Basis Yorkshire, we support young people (up to 25 years old, all genders) who have been sexually exploited or are at serious risk thereof.
While LGBTQ+ young people are not inherently at risk because of their gender or sexuality, they can be more isolated due to stigma and discrimination towards LGBTQ+ people, which can lead them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
This is compounded by a lack of visibility and role models, whether that be in-person or via media, which can make it harder for them to identify what they are experiencing as abuse or exploitation.
LGBTQ+ visibility and role models are important for young people, particularly positive representations of queer relationships and sex, as they model healthy ways to engage with people and can teach young queer people when a situation is potentially exploitative. This is particularly dangerous for LGBTQ+ young people living in rural areas, as they may face further isolation and turn to media representations to fill in the gaps.
While representation in media has improved over the past 10 years, there has been a drop of 26% in LGBTQ+ characters on TV between 2021 and 2024, and currently only 8.6% of regular appearing characters on television are LGBTQ+[1]. With the lack of representation on TV, LGBTQ+ young people are turning to online communities for support and connection.
Some LGBTQ+ young people may turn to adult-only sites in search of guidance and acceptance, or just generally be more willing to talk to people online who offer understanding of their situation and their struggles with sense of identity and self-worth. Perpetrators can identify this vulnerability, leading to grooming and exploitation.
“I was working with a young LGBTQ+ person who ended up on adult dating sites whilst underage. They weren’t looking for sex, they were looking for answers. With no one in their life talking openly about queer identity, relationships, or sex, they went online to figure it out themselves. That’s where someone exploited their need for connection and education.
This is something we see far too often. When young people don’t get safe, inclusive information, they seek it elsewhere and that can put them at serious risk. We need to meet them with empathy, not judgment, and make sure they have safe spaces to be seen, heard, and supported.”
– Esme, Sexual Exploitation Specialist (LGBTQ+ & 16) at Basis Yorkshire
Once exploited LGBTQ+ young people reach out for support, they might face barriers accessing support as not all professionals understand the nuances of LGBTQ+ identities, and this may lead to young people not feeling safe or understood. This may take the form of incorrect pronoun use, and/or making heteronormative (the belief that heterosexuality is the norm in society) or cisnormative (assuming that a person’s gender identity is the same as their sex assigned at birth, assuming gender is binary etc.) assumptions about someone. This can be extremely distressing and may cause the young person to disconnection and not engage with the service.
“I supported a young person who was constantly assumed to be trans by their school, even though they never said that themselves. Instead of being asked how they identified, they were talked about in ways that made them feel ‘othered.’ They heard things like, ‘You’re just going through a phase,’ or ‘You don’t act like a real girl,’ which left them feeling confused, isolated, and deeply misunderstood.
Later, when they tried to access support after being exploited, those same feelings came up again. A professional used the wrong pronouns, made assumptions about their gender and sexuality, and the young person shut down. This is really disappointing for us as a service because they’d finally reached out for help, but didn’t feel safe enough to stay.”
– Esme, Sexual Exploitation Specialist (LGBTQ+ & 16) at Basis Yorkshire
Basis were fortunate to receive funding in 2022 from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to support our 1 to 1 work with young people from the LGTBQ+ community based on our evidence of a substantial increase of their representation in our referrals. Since then, we have not only supported many young people with tailored, gender informed approach, we have also advocated for a more inclusive approach from professionals.
“These moments matter. If we don’t create spaces where LGBTQ+ young people to feel seen, respected, and understood, we risk pushing them away when they need us most. Being inclusive isn’t about ticking a box, it’s about how we listen, how we speak, and how we show up.”
– Esme, Sexual Exploitation Specialist (LGBTQ+ & 16) at Basis Yorkshire
To ensure our practice and knowledge is fully up to date, we recently completed the Barnardo’s Positive Identities SafeZone (LGBTQ+ Training).
We run dedicated youth groups for those ages 15-25 who have experienced or are at risk of child sexual abuse/exploitation that is LGBTQ+ inclusive. This group is extremely important to give opportunities to queer young people to form healthy peer to peer relationships that they might have missed out on. The space is currently queer led, which also provides healthy adult queer role models!
If you or a young person you know would benefit from support around experience or risk of sexual exploitation, please contact us:
0113 243 0036 or Esme.Bradley@basisyorkshire.org.uk for more about our young people groups, or ypreferrals@basisyorkshire.org.uk to directly submit a referral.
Find out more about our Young People team.