Experiences of the Older LGBT+ Generation with Social and Health Care – Slovenian and European Union (EU) perspectives
Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) Regional Coordinating Institute (North Kerala Region)
invites you to a talk titled
Experiences of the Older LGBT+ Generation with Social and Health Care –
Slovenian and European Union (EU) perspectives
by
Dr Mojca Urec
Dean & Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Details for joining online follow:
24 February 2026 (Tuesday
10: 30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. IST
Online: Zoom meeting link
https://zoom.us/j/99947323590?
Meeting ID: 999 4732 3590
Passcode: 706023
Accessibility
The lecture will be conducted in English with Indian Sign Language (ISL) interpretation. If the interpreter is not spotlighted along with the speaker, you may please pin the interpreter's tab for a seamless experience. If anyone requires assistance in accessing the lecture without barriers, in addition to sign language, please email sudarshan@iitpkd.
Abstract
The non-normative sexual orientation and gender identity at the intersection of old age represent a risk of discrimination and social exclusion. The long standing hiding of one's identity, using tactics regarding coming out or fear of coming out may contribute to a lot of negative consequences on health and the sense of security in older generation of LGBT+ population. One of the consequences of homo (trans, bi) phobia is also that LGBT+ people may be invisible in the whole life course, also to the social and health system. In old age, such a situation only makes things worse for them. Rarely, they make use of forms of help, home visits, placements in homes and all other situations that could hypothetically trigger coming out and ill-treatment. Care providers demonstrate limited awareness and understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition to these, good care experiences and practices are documented in research and deserve recognition and promote a sense of safety for older LGBT+ people.The specific characteristics of life course and past experiences of LGBT+ old people require knowledge and awareness on the part of care providers. But old LGBT+
people’s experiences with health and social care are generally under-researched. In addition, the old LGBT+ people are also largely unacknowledged as service users. In this presentation, an international perspective to shed light on key issues in the field of inclusive care for LGBT+ old people is used, with a particular focus on the Slovenian context, drawing on the findings of the Erasmus+ project “Being me” with a strong training element (2018–2020) and a small-scale research study during the covid-19 in Slovenia (2021). Among the principles and approaches that directed our research, the focus was put on intersectionality, resilience, strengths perspective, life stories, and collaboration with LGBT+ old people.
Bionote
Dr Mojca Urek was Chair of the Community Mental Health Department for 16 years and is currently Dean of the Faculty of Social Work, University of Ljubljana. She has undertaken research on narrative approaches in social work, social perspectives on mental health, LGBT+ in social
work and gender-based violence. Beside involvement in several national researches, she was the national lead in five European mental health projects with a strong training element on empowerment through education and employment, on participation of children with mental disabilities in taking decisions about their life, on inclusion of experiential knowledge in academia and services, on methods of overcoming prejudices and hetero- and cis-normativity practices in homes for older people through staff-training, and on combating violence against gender non-conforming children. She is the author of the Slovenian monograph “Stories at work: narrating, recording and reporting in social work” and co-author of six other monographs on long-term care, innovation in care homes, violence against women in intimate relationships, changes of the
family life in Slovenia and. In 2022, she co-edited a thematic issue of the journal Socialnodelo (Social Work) entitled Strengthening social work to respond to the challenges of ageing in the LGBT+ community. She has co-authored several original research articles on LGBT+ ageing and co-edited the international monograph on LGBT+ children and youth. She actively participated in deinstitutionalisation processes and mental health reforms in Slovenia. She is current
Chair of Research at the European Network for Training, Evaluation and Research in Mental Health (ENTER).
All are welcome!
