Voices of Children Conference (7 of 13): My Family: Children and Young Adults talking about their lives with lesbian and gay parents: Helen Statham, Senior Research Associate, Centre for family Research Cambridge University UK. Helen Statham discusses the findings and her experiences of working on research that she carried out with colleagues in Cambridge University, which was commissioned by Stonewall in the UK, in relation to children with gay and lesbian parents. As well as describing the research methodology she gave details of some of the experiences of children in relation to their families, schooling and friends.
Voices of Children was organised by Marriage Equality as the first conference held in Ireland to look specifically at the issues surrounding the situation of children growing up in same sex parented families in Ireland. The Conference was held on 8th September 2010 in the Wood Quay Venue, Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8. A range of experts presented papers and research from Ireland and other European member states. It was at this conference that the Voices of Children report, on a workshop that took place in December 2009 with 11 young adults with lesbian parents living in Ireland, was formally launched by Ciaran Cuffe TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for Sustainable Transport, Horticulture, Planning and Heritage, who had worked closely on the Civil Partnership Bill in his former role.
Conference context
Marriage Equality, with the support of the European Union Progress Fund, the Equality Authority, The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the British Council hosted the first conference of its kind to look at the experiences of young people growing up in Ireland with lesbian and gay parents.
Conference aims
The conference aimed to be a space for the exchange of information between experts working in the field of children's rights and young people's first hand experiences. The conference also aimed to create an opportunity for dialogue between those working directly with children with LGBT parents, LGBT parents themselves, adult children with LGBT parents, service providers and those working in the areas of equality, law and human rights.
About Helen Statham
Helen Statham is a Senior Research Associate and the Deputy Director at the Centre for Family Research in Cambridge. A graduate of the University of Durham and the University of Liverpool, she was a Research Fellow in the Jerry Lewis Muscle Research Centre at Hammersmith Hospital. Helen joined the Centre for Family Research in 1989, exploring psychological, social and ethical aspects of life in non-traditional families. As part of this research, she undertook a series of interviews with children and young adults who have lesbian and/or gay parents. The findings of this study -- Different Families: The experiences of children with lesbian and gay parents (2010) -- have been published by Stonewall UK.
About Marriage Equality (www.marriagequality.ie)
Marriage equality is about giving equal rights to marriage for lesbian and gay couples on the basis that lesbian and gay people and heterosexual people are equal in the law. Marriage Equality grew out of 'The KAL Initiative' to support the case of Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan to have their Canadian marriage recognised in Ireland. Marriage Equality argues that lesbians and gay men should have the right to marry, in a civil registry office, and gain the same legal rights associated with marriage for themselves, their families and their children.
