When youth in one study were asked if they knew "where to find resources for GLBT youth experiencing dating violence," only 10% identified domestic violence or sexual assault services (Freedner et al., 2002).
Many sexual assault programs struggle to reduce barriers for teens to access their services; in the case of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning) youth, the barriers may be even more substantial.
If you're looking for answers here, then you're already well on your way to learning how God wants you to handle relationships with the opposite sex.
We've compiled some of the most common dating questions here and will definitely be adding more as we write them, but if you have a more specific question about relationships and situations in your life, please feel free to send us your question through our Q&A page.
KG: What is the best response you have ever gotten from telling someone? He didn't really know what to do with himself, so I said, "Whenever you're ready to come back in, you can come back." But right now he's dating another girl, so, I don't know. KG: Have you faced much rejection from potential partners? All of my partners I go out with now, I tell them from the beginning. Either you want to be with me or not." And sometimes they don't believe me. You just don't want to be with me." And I tell them the truth like, "Seriously, yes I am." KG: Do you have a policy about if or when you tell a potential boyfriend that you are positive? KG: How do you tell someone who you want to date that you're HIV-positive? I always ask them, "If you had a girlfriend you really loved and then she told you that she had HIV, what would you do?
RL: All of my friends I told, they all got emotional and they all started crying. Like when I'm down or depressed or whatever, all my friends -- they always have my back. RL: No, because I will never go out with another boy at my school. once you do something or go out with somebody, the whole entire school knows. " And at first, I hear how they act, like, "Oh, I wouldn't go out with her ...
) The following observations reveal some of the challenges and realities about life as a single, young, youth minister.
Leading a youth ministry inevitably means that personal and professional life will overlap.The schedule of youth ministry makes a social life, especially outside of church, challenging.Youth group gatherings, Bible studies, and church meetings all happen regularly. Many youth leaders end up with 3-5 evenings a week committed to the church, and those times are when most peers have time to go out and socialize. But when you factor in HIV, you instantly shift from the innocence of sneaking a kiss in the hallway between classes to serious matters that most grown ups aren't even ready to deal with. RL: If I see that you're very close and you're nice and you're not the type of person who will tell everybody, "Listen, that girl has the monster," I will probably pull you to the side and tell you up front, like, "Let me tell you one thing right now.There are lots of young people, however, who are dealing with it in one way or another. I'm HIV-positive and either you want to be my friend or not." But some of my friends, they are like, "Oh, Raven, you are just saying that to make me feel sad for you." And I'm like, "No, it's really true." So I'll bring in a POZ magazine, and they will see for themselves and be like, "Oh, wow," and they get emotional and all that kind of stuff. RL: Um, I do get scared, because I don't know how they're going to react.That was back in 2004, and I am now married with two kids. I know many youth ministers who are young and single (I know many youth ministers of various ages and stages of committed relationships too, of course!