How do I evidence each of the steps?

In order to gain LGBT Charter status you must provide evidence for each of the steps of the LGBT Charter to show that you have met each of the requirements. You will be required to collate your evidence into an LGBT Charter application which the Charter Development Officer will assess.

The LGBT Charter toolkit was written to be user friendly to a range of different organisations thus your charter application may look quite different from another organisation’s. There is no prescribed method to collating your Charter application however there are forms on the website to complete to help you collate evidence.

Evidencing the resources that you have available to LGBT people could be taking photographs of the areas you have them or we may even choose to mystery shop your organisation.
We should be able to see links from your website to the LGBT Youth Scotland website in order that LGBT people can access support and advice via your website. If you can provide a safe place for LGBT people to access the LGBT Youth Scotland website, tell us where this place is.

Training is simple to evidence. If you have had your training through LGBT Youth Scotland, your training will have been tailored to your organisation to fulfil the requirements of the LGBT Charter. If you were trained elsewhere, you should complete the Charter Training Standards form and submit to charter@lgbtyouth.org.uk for assessment to ensure that the training meets the requirements of the LGBT Charter.
It is also useful to self reflect on the training that you have had. Do you feel confident dealing with LGBT issues? Are there any gaps in your knowledge? Could you offer correct advice and support to an LGBT young person?

Copies of organisational policies should be sent electronically to charter@lgbtyouth.org.uk or posted to Contact Us to ensure that they impact fairly on the LGBT community.

Before awarding the LGBT Charter mark the Charter Development officer may visit you to discuss your LGBT Charter application with you, make any recommendations and assess the space you provide for young people.

Occasionally LGBT Youth Scotland mystery shop services and organisations to ensure that they have fulfilled the requirements of the LGBT Charter or are maintaining their LGBT Charter mark. Organisations will be advised in advance that their service or organisation may be mystery shopped by an LGBT young person in the coming months.