Debate over the Civil Partnership Bill has brought gay issues under the spotlight again in recent months. However, there is one major group of homosexuals that continues to be largely forgotten, regardless of the issue in question – the over-55s.

Despite the fact that Ireland has become much more accepting and inclusive of different sexualities, very little is known about the experience of being an older homosexual here. However, a groundbreaking new study, commissioned by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN), aims to change all that. By far the most comprehensive piece of research of its kind to date, it will specifically focus on the needs and experiences of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Ireland, and the results and recommendations are to be published by the end of the year.

Unique challenges
International research has already established that older homosexuals face certain unique challenges. For example, they tend to have a lot of concerns about being placed in residential care because of the fear of having to deal with homophobic attitudes from carers or other residents. Such worries are easy to understand when you consider that homosexuals, for various reasons, tend to be far more dependent on social services than their heterosexual counterparts.

“In many cases, they are much more isolated because they emigrated, couldn’t get married, didn’t come out to family or didn’t develop a long-term relationship,” says Odhran Allen, director of mental health strategy at GLEN. “They are also much less likely to have had children so, as they age, they begin to feel isolated and find themselves more dependent on friends.”

Acceptance
They also tend to face greater problems of acceptance by society than younger LGBTs. This is because our culture struggles to recognise older people as sexual beings at all and it is even more reluctant to recognise them as homosexual.

“Many people are aware of general gay issues such as civil partnership but they don’t think of older LGBTs, even though they are in every town, village and community in Ireland,” says Allen.

Resilience
However, on a positive note, older LGBTs have also been found to show great resilience – something the current study hopes to look at alongside the more negative aspects of life as an older homosexual.

“We are very mindful that older LGBTs have lived through times of great discrimination, stigma and harassment, and have survived,” says Allen. “They have a rich and diverse range of experiences and are very resilient. People often think that older people are more vulnerable but that can be an ageist assumption.”

Get involved
The study will be widely advertised when it gets under way and will involve surveys as well as in-depth interviews. Although aimed at the over-55s, the researchers are particularly keen to make contact with the over-65 cohort, which is traditionally the most difficult to find out about.

As part of the campaign, there will be several regional meetings with LGBT organisations around Ireland. “We are hoping that, even if the person themselves doesn’t hear about it, someone who knows them will and may be able to pass the survey on to them,” says Allen.

Find your voice
While the study should be of huge informational value in finding out the demographics and health needs of older LGBTs, the ultimate goal is to empower them to speak up for themselves and make their presence felt. This should finally begin to break down Irish society’s mental block about LGBTs in their 50s and above.