Digital intimacies and LGBT+ youth: celebration, equity and safety

“Digital Intimacies and LGBT+ youth” was commissioned by Brook, the wellbeing and sexual health charity for under-25s. It builds on the insights of its earlier report Digital Romance (McGeeney and Hanson 2017) which researched young people’s digital intimacy practices. For this report, we revisited survey and focus group data specifically from LGBT+ participants in that research. Additionally, we reviewed academic literature and gathered new data from LGBT+ youth groups, youth work practitioners and teachers, and parents / carers. Our research took place during the period of lockdowns due to Covid-19. These induced rapid shifts in perceptions of the online and in youth work practices, which have shaped our analysis here.