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LGBT Alaskans still face discrimination says survey
Members deal with discrimination daily
Suzanna Caldwell
Issue date: 10/14/08 Section: News
Many of Alaska's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents still live in fear of discrimination, according to a recent report released by the American Civil Liberties Union.
According to a survey the ACLU conducted, 28 percent of respondents said discrimination and lack of equal rights are the largest problems Alaska's LGBT community is facing right now.
The report shares only the initial findings of the survey.
Tiffany McClain, LGBT public policy coordinator for the ACLU, said the ACLU hopes that by releasing the results, members of the LGBT community who disagree will respond.
The results show the findings of 65 people polled, mostly from Alaska's urban centers - Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks. More than twice as many women responded than men. McClain hopes by posting the results early, more members of the LGBT community will respond, mainly those living in rural areas.
Of the 65 responses, only three of those were from what the survey defines as a "small Alaska community", McClain said, which includes rural villages and suburbs such as the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Phyllis Rhodes, executive director of Identity, Inc., a non-profit Anchorage-based organization, said, the fact that LGBT Alaskans have limited protections makes them more vulnerable than in other places. At Identity, Rhodes takes calls from people who have faced discrimination, although she said the calls are very few.
Rhodes said that part of avoiding discrimination involves living a somewhat secretive life.
"Generally, I think that we know. We sense when it's safe to be who we are and when it's not," Rhodes said.
Vicki Mason, current president of The Family, an unofficial UAA club, said that while discrimination is not a huge problem in Anchorage, the group has had to deal with people ripping down posters and signs that advertise the group's presence.
The Family has had a presence on campus for years. Its goal is to act as a family for straight and LGBT students who may have nowhere else to turn.
According to a survey the ACLU conducted, 28 percent of respondents said discrimination and lack of equal rights are the largest problems Alaska's LGBT community is facing right now.
The report shares only the initial findings of the survey.
Tiffany McClain, LGBT public policy coordinator for the ACLU, said the ACLU hopes that by releasing the results, members of the LGBT community who disagree will respond.
The results show the findings of 65 people polled, mostly from Alaska's urban centers - Juneau, Anchorage and Fairbanks. More than twice as many women responded than men. McClain hopes by posting the results early, more members of the LGBT community will respond, mainly those living in rural areas.
Of the 65 responses, only three of those were from what the survey defines as a "small Alaska community", McClain said, which includes rural villages and suburbs such as the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Phyllis Rhodes, executive director of Identity, Inc., a non-profit Anchorage-based organization, said, the fact that LGBT Alaskans have limited protections makes them more vulnerable than in other places. At Identity, Rhodes takes calls from people who have faced discrimination, although she said the calls are very few.
Rhodes said that part of avoiding discrimination involves living a somewhat secretive life.
"Generally, I think that we know. We sense when it's safe to be who we are and when it's not," Rhodes said.
Vicki Mason, current president of The Family, an unofficial UAA club, said that while discrimination is not a huge problem in Anchorage, the group has had to deal with people ripping down posters and signs that advertise the group's presence.
The Family has had a presence on campus for years. Its goal is to act as a family for straight and LGBT students who may have nowhere else to turn.
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