LGBTQ+ Youth and the Internet

Name: LGBTQ+ Youth and the Internet
Start: 2024-06-20T18:00:00+00:00
End: 2024-06-20T19:00:00+00:00
Location: Webinar

Overview

According to the 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report conducted by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, more than two-thirds of LGBTQ+ youth participate in online communities specifically to engage with other LGBTQ+ people in their age group. Virtually all LGBTQ+ youth, as well as transgender or gender-expansive youth, have used the internet to find information that helps them understand their LGBTQ+ identity. Unfortunately, roughly half of all LGBTQ+ youth have experienced cyberbullying based on their identity.

On Thursday June 20th, FOSI hosted an evening virtual webinar discussion, where we heard opening remarks from FOSI’s Jonathon Bridgeman, before Ellen Kahn (Human Rights Campaign Foundation) presented key findings from HRC’s report. Ellen then lead a discussion featuring two teens and their parents who shared how they safely navigate the Internet, what tools and resources they use to connect to the LGBTQ+ community online, and how they keep themselves and their communities safe.

Speakers

Ellen Kahn

Ellen Kahn is Vice President of Programs and Partnerships at the Human Rights Campaign overseeing a portfolio of programs and initiatives aimed at improving the lives of LGBTQ children, teens, and families, including Welcoming Schools, All Children-All Families, Project THRIVE, Parents for Transgender Equality, and the HBCU Program. In her 18+ years at HRC, Ellen has shaped innovative system-change work in child welfare, education, and healthcare. She is nationally recognized as an expert on LGBTQ family life, LGBTQ youth, and frequently writes and speaks on these topics for a wide variety of audiences. A self-described trans-affirming, progressive lesbian feminist social worker, and mother of two wonderful daughters, Ellen has dedicated her career to improving the lives of LGBTQ people--from working on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS in the early days of the epidemic, to facilitating dozens of "Maybe Baby" groups for prospective LGBTQ parents. Before joining HRC, Ellen spent 12 years at Whitman-Walker Health (formerly Whitman-Walker Clinic), leading the Lesbian Services Program for eight of those years; in that role Ellen led the expansion of programs to meet the needs of the growing community of LGBTQ people prospective parents, and those already navigating life with children. When she isn't working to change the world, Ellen enjoys a drama-free domestic life with her lovely spouse, her pandemic pup, Tootsie, and special time with her two adult daughters. In her free time Ellen enjoys spinning, swimming, watching movies, and with some reluctance, scrolling Facebook to stay informed and entertained.