The Prague Pride association’s long-term vision is to improve the quality of life for LGBT+ people in the Czech Republic and to lower the level of discrimination. One way to achieve this is to train those who work with LGBT+ people.

It is important for people to be able to use services in fields like education, healthcare or social care without being afraid that they will be treated improperly because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

We help workers in helping professions to become aware of the problems LGBT+ people deal with. We help them find out what LGBT+ people encounter in their lives and what might be in store for them further. We focus mainly on workers from helping professions (social workers, psychologists, medical nurses) and on teachers and other employees in the school system.

Why is it important to educate people on LGBT+ issues?

When people ask for instance for psychological counseling, they normally expect an attitude based on knowledge and respect. That’s not always the case. A study about transgender people compiled by the Trans*parent association in 2018 (Obavy a přání trans lidí) suggests that 25% of the cases of discrimination and inappropriate behavior mentioned by respondents were connected with that type of service. 

The situation in the school system is also not always encouraging. A survey done by the Czech ombudsman in 2019 (Being LGBT in the Czech Republic) shows that 13% of respondents encountered discrimination in one form or another in the education system. Factsheet here – in Czech only). One solution suggested by the ombudsman in this connection was to include the LGBT+ topic in the curriculum for aspiring teachers for primary and middle schools.

What’s on our work desk

We are currently working on a manual for social work with LGBT+ people, seeking accreditation for the course Basics of social work with LGBT+ people in cooperation with the PROUD organization, and reaching out to experts on various types of social work. Moreover, we are preparing to train education workers (school/class climate, prevention of homophobic/transphobic bullying etc.) and we are setting up a group of experts.

For the second half of 2020 we are planning to launch a course focusing on social workers, and to hold two seminars for school teachers. Long-term, we are also planning training for professionals providing psychological counseling.

We offer training and consultation 

Is your organization interested in consultations, seminars or other types of training activity, concerning LGBT+ topics? Please contact us at the email address below, write down your expectations and we can talk about making it happen. We are happy to prepare `tailored` courses just for you. 

Projects we joined

Common Point: Innovative approaches to training mental health service providers for the quality support of LGBTQI people (Erasmus+, 2019-2020) – international program (Hungary, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia) directed at enhancing the knowledge of social workers on LGBTQI matters.