A guide to improving safety in pastoral care with LGBTQA+ people

This resource provides guidelines for safer pastoral care with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, asexual and other people with diverse sexual and gender identities (LGBTQA+). The guidelines are based on our research with LGBTQA+ people about their experiences of pastoral care, reported in Healing Spiritual Harms. It has been produced for use by pastoral care workers and faith leaders from all religious or spiritual backgrounds. Religious communities have a range of beliefs, rules and attitudes related to gender and sexual diversity. This resource is designed to be useful in your community and for you to be able to apply the guidelines consistently with your beliefs, traditions and rules concerning sexuality, gender identity and sexual behaviour. Its aim is to increase your capacity to provide safe pastoral care to the LGBTQA+ people in your community, their families, and their friends. This document was written by researchers from La Trobe University, Macquarie University, AGMC (Australian GLBTIQ+ Multicultural Council), and Brave Network with support from the Steering Committee of the Improving Spiritual Health Care for LGBTQA+ Australians Research Project. It was funded by the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Government.