Social work and sexuality, working with lesbians and gay men: what remains the same and what is different?

Abstract

This paper looks at changes in social work practice with lesbians and gay men over the last fifteen years and specifically since the author's publication which addressed social work with lesbians and gay men (Brown, 1998b). The paper considers what the implications of some of those changes are for social work and is what would be described as 'a discussion paper' drawing on the existing literature and documents in the public domain and the author's own practice experience. The demise of the emphasis placed on relationship-based work, the author argues, affects all service users and carers including lesbians and gay men. To reclaim relationship-based social work would also be reclaiming the 'radical'; something that has got lost. To work effectively with lesbians and gay men requires this radical approach as it requires the ability to work with contradictions, to use the law as leverage to meet people's needs to apply knowledge effectively and to utilise competently communication skills in relationship based work.