As the Queer Cyprus Association, we have entered a period of great transformation and development since the day we started our struggle in the field of anti-human trafficking with the LGBTI+ in Freedom from Exploitation (Life) Project that is financed by the European Union under the Together Against Trafficking in Human Beings Grant Scheme and implemented by the Queer Cyprus Association in cooperation with KAOS-GL. The struggle and the work we have done in this area have revealed an important roadmap for us. The inadequacy of the social service, which has become more evident with the Covid-19 pandemic together with the ‘Situation Mapping of LGBTI+ Sex Workers in the northern part of Cyprus’ study we carried out in 2019-2020, showed us the importance of this research once again.
This study focuses mainly on the current services provided by ‘social services department’ and ‘social workers’/social work professionals’ attitude towards LGBTI+s as well as LGBTI+’s insight about the services they receive with an aim to better understand the scope of the ‘department’s services in light of the results of the study ‘Situation Mapping of LGBTI+ Sex Workers in the northern part of Cyprus’, conducted by Queer Cyprus Association. The aim of the study is to analyse how ‘social workers’ provide services to LGBTI+s and how and to what extent LGBTI+s benefit from those services.
Mapping Study on Access of LGBTI+s’ to Existing Social Services in the northern part of Cyprus was carried out by scientific consultant Buse Erzeybek Şemi and research assistant Saime Uluçaylı. Onur Yılmaz contributed to the analysis of the data. In the editorial part of the report, Faika Deniz Pasha took part.
The section on access to social services directed to LGBTI+s consists of 3 parts, the part consists of analyzes to evaluate their access to social services (housing, social assistance, psycho-social support, post-violence support mechanisms) and their thoughts on accessing services. Another part of the study was carried out by analyzing the levels of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia of social workers/workers in order to examine the attitudes towards LGBTI+s on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and characteristics. In the last part of the study, the findings obtained from the study and the responses given by both respondent groups shed light on how functional social services towards LGBTI+s are in the northern part of Cyprus, what further services need to be developed, the legal regulations and policies needed in relation to service delivery, and what level the knowledge, skills, and value basis required are currently at.