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PREVIEW: The Trocks are coming!

Get set for an uproarious and exhilarating night out this November.

Don Quixote
Don Quixote

New York’s internationally renowned, all-male, professional comedy ballet company, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, returns to Brighton Dome with its brilliantly playful take on some of ballet’s best loved works.

‘The Trocks’ will once again be presenting their inspired blend of technical prowess, bravura, and side-splitting comedy, with dancers Ida Nevasayneva, Olga Supphozova and Lariska Dumbchenko performing alongside their broad-shouldered and sometimes hairy-chested fellow ballerinas, bringing athleticism and grace to the stage while wearing up to size 12 pointe shoes. Yes, these men can really dance en pointe without falling flat on their faces.

The Trocks’ return marks the company’s fourteenth visit to the UK and follows extensive tours of Europe and Japan in spring and summer 2015.

Their Brighton programme will include Swan Lake (Act II), the Merce Cunningham-inspired Patterns in Space, the Balanchine style Go For Barocco, and the UK premiere of the Trock’s new Don Quixote.

Go For Barocco
Go For Barocco

Event: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Where: Brighton Dome Concert Hall

When: Tuesday 3 & Wednesday 4 November 2015

Time: 7.30pm

Tickets: £12.50 / £18.50 / £22.50 / £27.50

To book online, click here:

 

PCC invests in technology to help tackle hate crime

A new App to make it easier to record and report all strands of hate crime in Sussex is being developed with support from Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC), Katy Bourne and partners.

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The one-year pan-Sussex pilot is in partnership with Sussex Police, Brighton & Hove City Council Safer City Team, Victim Support and local authorities across Sussex.

The Self Evident Crime Reporting App is an existing piece of technology developed by social enterprise, Just Evidence. However, financial investment from the PCC and her counterpart in London has enabled more bespoke software to be added which will serve a wider purpose.

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Victims of hate crime may want to access help and advice but not necessarily want to involve the police. The App will now allow them to send a report to Victim Support who will then direct them to the appropriate support organisation. Vicitims will also be able to store evidence securely and build a dossier, so they can decide at a later stage if they want to send it to Victim Support or to Sussex Police. Another advantage is that the data will allow partners to anonymously identify where the hate crime hot spots are in the county and react accordingly.

The App also allows witnesses to take a stand against hate crime by reporting what they see.

Katy Bourne: Police & Crime Commissioner
Katy Bourne: Police & Crime Commissioner

Mrs Bourne, said; “No one should be singled out and victimised because of their sexuality, gender, race, faith or disability.

“Many minority groups have not always had the same trust in the police. I am determined to improve this for everyone and that is why I fully support any initiative that tackles hate crime, which is a key priority in my Police & Crime Plan.

“The App will hopefully empower victims of hate crime by allowing them to choose the kind of support they want to receive. Ultimately, the App puts the victim in the driving seat.

“I am delighted that its enhanced development has the full backing of experienced partners like the Brighton & Hove Safe in the City Team and Victim Support.

“I look forward to the launch in October and hope that it goes a long way to bringing an end to hate crime”.

Sarah Byrt, manager at Witness Confident, the charity which promotes the app, added: “It’s great news that victims or witnesses of hate crime in Sussex or London will have new and easy ways to report to police and get support with the free Self Evident app. More than 90% of users already recommend the Self Evident app for crime reporting and we’re delighted that the new features will help LGBT people and the whole community in the fight against hate crime.”

Eric Page
Eric Page

Eric Page from the LGBT Safe in the City, said; “We are really pleased to be working with the PCC on this much needed innovation. Report after report shows us how much Hate Crime LGBT people are actually suffering, but many people find reporting mechanisms difficult or take up too much time. This easy, direct and quick new way of reporting and contacting police, council and support agencies – via their own smart phone -will give people a sense of control over their reports and make it much, much easier for victims of all forms of hate crime to report what’s happened to them, and also to choose who they report to. This app makes reporting hate crime as easy and secure as checking your bank account, flight details or social updates on your phone, with as much control as people expect with their data & digital lives”.

Sergeant, Peter Allan
Sergeant, Peter Allan

Sussex Police Hate Crime Sergeant, Peter Allan, added: “We are working hard with our partners to raise awareness of hate crime and increase trust and confidence within our communities to report it. 

“Although we saw a 37% increase in recorded hate crimes and incidents from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, we still acknowledge that many such crimes and incidents go unreported. 

“Sussex Police is pleased to be involved with the enhanced development of the Self-Evident reporting app; to boost its existing reporting function, to include the option for victims to report to a support service only, rather than the police directly. I understand that there are many reasons why victims choose not to report to the police, but I would encourage them to do so, whether it is by app, telephone or online.”

Graham Hill, Victim Support’s Lead Manager for Hate Crime Services in Sussex, said: “People affected by hate crime are often reluctant to tell anybody about what is happening to them. As a consequence they internalise this and ‘suffer in silence’; also they do not access the support that is available to them.

“Together with our partner agencies, we have worked to create an environment in which people have the confidence to tell others they are being targeted. The development of an App to encourage those affected to report this is a very welcome step forward. Having the option to involve the police, if that is their choice or to report to an independent third party is warmly welcomed by Victim Support”.

The App will be officially launched on Tuesday, October 13, during National Hate Crime week (October 10-18) at the Mesmerist, 1-3 Prince Albert Street, Brighton from 10.15am.

Do you have a life limiting illness?

ACCESSCare conduct new study to impove care for LGBT people with life-limiting illnesses.

Image©iStock.com
Image©iStock.com

ACCESSCare: what is the study about?

Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans people do not receive the support they need when facing a life-limiting illness.  A project is currently being carried by out researchers at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London, to find out why this may be, and what can be done to improve the care that LGBT people receive.

The ACCESSCare study, which is funded by Marie Curie and being carried out by in collaboration with GMFA, is currently interviewing LGBT people facing advanced illness to try to understand what their challenges are, and what can be done to improve their care.

They are interviewing people living with the illness themselves, their partner or chosen family, as well as those who have recently lost a partner, friend or relative to a life limiting illness.  The experiences people are sharing will be used to develop supportive materials for LGBT people facing a life limiting illness, and their partners, friends, and family, as well as training and education for health care professionals.

ACCESSCare: What has been found so far?

The research is progressing well, and currently the team have talked with over 30 lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people who have shared their experiences in interviews.  Some participants have shared positive experiences, feeling comfortable to share their sexual identity or gender history with the health care team, and being treated with respect and understanding.  However, other participants have described more challenging experiences, healthcare professionals refusing to acknowledge a same-sex partner, making visitors feel unwelcome, or assuming heterosexuality, as described by James.

“There was complete lack of recognition. The consultant even, on the tenth or twentieth time of being told I was his partner still referred to me as his brother. There’s no official next of kin because it’s same sex, and there’s a lot less desire to be flexible.”

Similar experiences were also shared by trans participants, with health care professionals refusing to acknowledge their gender identity, and using the wrong pronoun (for example ‘he’ rather than ‘she’).

Many participants also shared feelings of isolation, as they became less well and therefore less able to socialise. Colin, who lives with a chronic lung condition, also described feelings of exclusion, and a lack of thought about his specific care needs.

“With the COPD [Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease] I’ve felt very, very excluded… they don’t get patients like me…  So when I’ve had pulmonary rehab, it’s me and a class of eighty year old women… I can’t be the only 44-year-old out there with bad lungs.”

Participants have also shared challenges in bereavement, with experiences of isolation and a lack of sensitivity for their loss, as described by Rebecca who recently lost her partner to breast cancer.

“It feels that society doesn’t validate the loss of a civil partner quite as much as they would understand and validate the loss of a husband.  It’s more complicated, and a lot of people don’t have the imagination to understand that it’s the same kind of relationship.” 

Currently, the majority of those who have volunteered to share their experiences have been gay men and lesbian women.  However, researchers want to ensure that this research is also representative of the views of the bisexual and trans communities.

ACCESSCare: Want to share your experiences?

If you are facing the later stages of a life limiting illness (such as cancer, neurological conditions, heart, lung or liver disease), and identify as lesbian, bisexual, trans or gay, and would be willing to share your care experiences, get in touch with the King’s College London ACCESSCare research team (details below).

Alternatively, if you are the partner, friend or relative of someone who identifies as LGBT, and is approaching the later stages of a life-limiting illness, researchers would like to hear your experiences of the care they, and you, have received.

They are also looking to hear experiences from people who have recently lost an LGBT partner, friend or relative to a life-limiting illness.

ACCESScare: Want to find out more?

For more information about the project, and the research team, click here:

Or email the dedicated research team: accesscare@kcl.ac.uk 

Or telephone: 020 7848 5521.

 

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