Social Work with People Practicing Same-Sex ... - ILGA Europe

Women’s Network Party, Kyiv, 2007
46
Outreach methods are used in the work with the so-called marginalized groups, including
drug users, sex workers, street children, vagrants, delinquent teenagers, men who have
sex with men, women who have sex with women, and others.
Outreach work (as an integral component of social services) covers two levels:
� an individual approach aimed at changing the behaviour of an individual;
� a group-oriented approach aimed at achievement of social and cultural changes.
As a rule, the key goal of outreach work with MSM is to increase awareness on the
prevention of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections. Another
important objective of outreach work with MSM is to contribute to the change of risky
behaviour through the distribution of information about risks related to unsafe sexual
behaviour and through the development of less risky sexual behaviour skills.
Goals of Outreach Work
Outreach work in the area of HIV/AIDS prevention can be aimed at:
� distribution of knowledge about less risky drug use and safer sex practices;
� development of a more positive attitude of the clients to less risky behaviour;
� better understanding of common problems related to health in the communities;
� changing social norms, attitudes, etc.
Thus we can see that the outreach objectives are diverse and most often depend on
the characteristics of the region, target group and specific project within which the
outreach team is working.
Objectives of Outreach Work
The numerous objectives of outreach workers may include:
� establishment or sustaining contacts with the target group;
� information gathering (on what is going on, what kind of sex is practices, what
drugs are used, what are the priority problems of the target group, etc.);
� provision of advice and brief information (where to find a doctor, a lawyer, certain
services, education, etc.);
� issue of referrals (to other help services or therapeutic programmes);
� provision of help and support (in case of psychosocial problems when it is not
possible to refer the client to other help services, etc.);
� prevention (information on health, sex, drug and alcohol use, less risky drug use
and safer sex practices);
� representation of the interests of the target group(-s) and distribution of
information.
In the process of outreach work development the range of its services has expanded
and various models of outreach work have appeared, which help to take the needs
of a target group into account more flexibly.
Classification of the Outreach Work Models
There are several classifications of the outreach work models that depend on the
territorial factor, team structure and other criteria.
For instance, the British understanding of outreach work includes the following
models: