PROBLEM FORMULATION Introduction In last years of the 1960s, homosexuality came before the public’s eye. The Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village paved a way for liberation of gays and lesbians. Within six months of the public incident that sparked rioting, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gays and lesbians. However, it was not until December of 1973 that the Board of Trustees in the American Psychiatric Association, which has determined diagnostic criteria for social work practitioners, voted not to list homosexuality as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM IV). Problem Statement Negative attitudes toward gay men and lesbians have been expressed by the American public throughout the nation’s history. Nationwide probability samples of American adults surveyed between 1970 and 1984 consistently found that approximately 70 percent of the American public was of the opinion that homosexual relations were wrong (Newman, Dannenfelser & Benishek, 2002). Since the 1970s, American public services and educational systems have evolved and grown to accept homosexuality. Homosexuality is addressed by the NASW policy statement, encouraging social workers to become actively involved in the movement toward the inclusion of sexual orientation in its anti-‐discriminatory policy statement. In CSWE’s Educational Policy 3.1, which discusses diversity, it states that
1866: Rust College Journal of Student Research – Social Science
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