Equip staff with the knowledge and support to engage respectfully with all service users, including rainbow people.
Affirming identity means respecting the self-determination of the person you’re working with. Ask inclusive questions that are respectful, relevant, and enable the person to share or not share information as they prefer. Be clear about what is being recorded, who will have access to that information, and any limits of confidentiality.
Take Action
Make sure that your intake forms and databases
use the service user’s preferred name, and do not ask about their legal name unless there is a specific need for this
do not require titles, and if you do collect them, provide the gender-neutral Mx as an option alongside Ms, Mr, Mrs, Miss etc (read more about titles).
include open-box options for gender (not a tickbox or binary of male/female)
allow for sexuality to be recorded if relevant
ask questions that are gender neutral and inclusive when asking about relationships and sexual activity (if relevant)
Make sure that all staff feel comfortable asking inclusive and respectful questions about gender and sexuality when talking with service users, and that they
explain why you ask questions about sexuality and gender and who will have access to this information
ask service users how they want information about gender and/or sexuality recorded, and respect their choices
use the service user’s name and pronouns correctly (read more about pronouns)
Make sure systems are in place so that you affirm service users’ identities in all databases, correspondence and conversations.