To ensure a safe environment for GLBTQ youth, the first step is to assess the internal climate of your organization. Assessment will show whether the organization offers a safe space for all participants and especially for GLBTQ youth.

Do not evade any of the questions by asserting that there are no GLBTQ youth in your program. Answer all questions and assume that at least five to 10 percent of the youth in your program are GLBTQ.

If you can honestly answer yes to all the questions below, your agency is a welcoming and safe space for GLBTQ and straight youth. Congratulations! Any "no" answers indicate areas for improvement. Four or more "no" answers indicate a serious need for your organization to commit to serving all the young people in its programs and for staff and board to take steps to ensure that the agency's mission, vision, planning, and operations create and maintain a safe space** for GLBTQ youth.

For assistance in taking steps to assure safe space, see the rest of the guidelines and/or consult the organizations listed in Creating Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit.

1. Do the GLBTQ youth, staff, and volunteers in your organization or program know that you care about them—individually and as whole people?
2. Have you created a safe space where all youth can openly ask questions about and discuss issues like sexual health, body image, relationships, and gender?
3. Do you know the interests, abilities, hobbies, and skills of each young person in your program?
4. Do you offer any information about local GLBTQ communities and resources? Do you refer youth to these resources?
5. If you offer information about safer sex, HIV prevention, and/or pregnancy prevention, is it also GLBTQ friendly? Is the information appropriate for all the program's youth? Is it culturally appropriate? How do you know?
6. Do you ask youth to fill out evaluation forms that measure the quality of your services—qualities such as youth-friendliness, cultural appropriateness, and safety?
7. Do you employ youth as staff? Do any of these youth self-identify as GLBTQ?
8. Is staff of similar background and culture(s) to the youth served by the program? Does any staff self-identify as GLBTQ?
9. Do you involve youth in planning and evaluating the program? Do you involve GLBTQ youth?
10. Have you intentionally created a youth-friendly space? Is it friendly as well to GLBTQ youth? How do you know?
11. Does your program or organization have a broad commitment to social justice*** ? Does this commitment include the human rights of GLBTQ people?
12. Do you initiate questions with youth in the program about racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of cultural oppression? Do you ask the youth to generate ways to solve, limit, or minimize the problems caused by cultural oppression?

* Adapted and reprinted with permission of Health Initiatives for Youth, San Francisco, California.

** Safe space is a place where any young person can relax and be fully self-expressed, without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwanted, or unsafe on account of biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, race/ethnicity, cultural background, age, or physical and mental ability. It is a place where the rules guard each person's self-respect and strongly encourage everyone to respect others.

*** Social justice means equal treatment and social and economic equal opportunity, irrespective of one's sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, country of origin, physical health status, or age.

This publication is part of the Creating Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit.