Supporting Adults and Volunteers
Supporting Adults and Volunteers
Within Scouts there are LGBTQ+ adults as well as young people. Some may be open about their sexual orientation and others may not be. This is a personal choice, which should be respected .
Scouts openly welcomes volunteers from the LGBTQ+ community, and a volunteer’s sexual orientation has no bearing on their suitability to fulfil a voluntary role in Scouts.
Appointments Advisory Committees must implement our Equal Opportunities Policy (chapter 2 of POR) and no member should be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation.
It isn’t necessary or appropriate to ask questions around an applicant’s sexual orientation and inclusive language should be used.
Volunteers should be reminded of their commitment to our Equal Opportunities Policy and their line manager should support them to change their practise. It may be useful to arrange an awareness raising session in your District/County, through our National Active Support Unit, FLAGS or our National Inclusion Team.
It's the responsibility of all adults within Scouting to act as role models by celebrating diversity and creating a safe, inclusive environment in which all members can enjoy Scouts.
How open leaders feel they can be about their sexual orientation is an important indicator of how inclusive a group is.
If adults aren't comfortable to be open, it’s unlikely that a young person will feel able to be open about their sexual orientation either.
Sharing your sexual orientation is an individual decision. As an adult volunteer, it’s your choice and will be dependent upon the ethos of the group. But, if ‘straight’ adult volunteers are open about their relationship status, lesbian, gay and bisexual adult volunteers should feel able to be open as well.
Talk to your line manager, Group Scout Leader or other volunteers and make a shared decision about what information the team will share.