
Dr David Betts
Lecturer
School of Humanities and Social Science
- Email:david.betts@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone:(02) 492 15782
Highlighting the needs of ignored communities
Dr David Betts is a social work scholar whose research sheds light on the often overlooked cohorts of older sexual and gender minorities.
Dr David Betts is a social work researcher who is turning up the volume on the voices of a community that is “hidden and invisible”. His research focuses on the lived experiences of older adults who don’t fit the typical ‘older adult’ mold.
“In particular I’m interested in the experiences of older sexual and gender minorities and how they navigate life and contemporary community and what their historical experiences have been in this rapidly changing social and cultural world,” Dr Betts said.
Dr Betts undertook a study in New Zealand where he interviewed 31 older adults aged 60 – 80 years from a range of sexual and gender minorities, asking them about their forms of social connections. A strong aspect to emerge from his findings is the massive shifts in legislation the cohort had seen across their lifespan, including the decriminialisation of homosexuality and the introduction of anti-discrimination laws and marriage equality.
“The group were in a strong position to reflect on the changes they had seen. The study participants recognised that there have been great advancements but social attitudes haven’t come along in the same way. Discrimination and social stigma still exists. Just because laws have been passed doesn’t mean sexual and gender minorities aren’t exposed to stigma,” Dr Betts said.
Another theme from the study centred on the question of ‘what does older age care mean for sexual and gender minorities’? Dr Betts said many of the study participants were fearful of entering aged care facilities because of the assumption that other residents or workers might hold homophobic or transphobic views.
“There was a really strong belief that they might have to re-enter the closet. A lot of those worries came from their experiences with health professionals generally. Whether it was doctors, counsellors, social workers or nurses, the study participants cited exposure to a broad spectrum of health professionals throughout their life who expressed bigoted views,” Dr Betts observed.
The study participants often mentioned the fact that health professionals seemed to lack knowledge and training around the needs of sexual and gender diversity. Dr Betts is now pushing for health workers to be up skilled to support equality and diversity.
“We need to be vocal and vigilant and we need to make sure that education and training is updated and consistent. We should be actively listening to the voices of diverse communities and making sure their concerns are heard otherwise in terms of social work, we risk perpetuating social barriers, because we think everything’s fine when in fact it’s not,” Dr Betts said.
Social support and the impact on wellbeing
Dr Betts first became interested in the needs of older sexual and gender minorities while working as a social worker in gerontology wards in Christchurch. He noticed a lack of general social supports for people coming into health services and the impact on their wellbeing.
“I was often involved with patients from a clinical health perspective and I saw people going back into the community with very little social supports and often bouncing back into hospital. This happens because often older sexual and gender minorities might not have access to what is considered normal family support. They may have experienced rejection from their biological families and may not have children. This potentially puts this cohort at much more risk, so I began to question how does this cohort cope without the support we take for granted?”
Dr Betts did some exploratory research on existing literature on the topic and found very little. He saw a huge gap in research from a local perspective and wanted to bring local knowledge in to local services.
“A lot of the research that had been done was survey based and very quantative which doesn’t give you the opportunity to hear the true narrative and experiences of people who have lived through so much social change. I really wanted to highlight those voices and acknowledge them in social work education, practice and policy,” he said.
The double jeopardy of age and sexuality
In doing a deeper analysis of the study data, Dr Betts also drew the conclusion that older sexual and gender minorities experience a kind of ‘double jeopardy’ in that they are made to feel hidden and invisible because of their sexuality and their age.
“It’s a cohort that is hidden and ignored as a result of many overlapping factors including the dual impact of general homophobia and ageism. Older adults generally are not considered a worthy subject in society to pay attention to. Plus ageism within LGBTIA community often serves to disregard or ignore older people in the community,” Dr Betts said.
Dr Betts said that a lot of LGBTIA scene spaces and social environments are designed to cater for younger adults and a lot of participants in the study felt they weren’t welcome there or included.
Impact of marriage equality survey
Dr Betts next project will look at the impact that the marriage equality postal survey had on individuals and the community in the Hunter Region. He also plans to research groups that are underrepresented in the LGBTIA community.
“Primarily research tends to focus on gay men and lesbian women. There is limited material on bisexual and transgender individuals and even less focus on gender diverse and gender fluid individuals. I would like to explore these ignored narratives and highlight experiences of people who might not be included in LGBTQIA,” he said.
Highlighting the needs of ignored communities
Dr David Betts is a social work scholar whose research sheds light on the often overlooked cohorts of older sexual and gender minorities.
Career Summary
Biography
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Canterbury - New Zealand
- Bachelor of Social Work (Honours), University of Canterbury - New Zealand
Keywords
- gerontology
- sexual and gender minorities
- social work
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
Title | Organisation / Department |
---|---|
Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Humanities and Social Science Australia |
Lecturer | University of Newcastle School of Humanities and Social Science Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Journal article (3 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
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2020 |
Betts D, Maidment J, Evans N, 'Hidden and ignored: Older sexual and gender minorities in New Zealand', Social Work and Social Sciences Review, 21 94-109 (2020) [C1]
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2020 |
Betts D, ' Civil rights? Yeah, right! : Reflections on legislative changes from older sexual and gender minorities in Aotearoa New Zealand', Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, 32 5-16 (2020) [C1]
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2016 | Betts D, Maidment J, Evans N, 'Double jeopardy: The ageing LGBT population in social work education', Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 18 88-102 (2016) |
Conference (6 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Betts D, 'Waiting for Equality: A regional response to the Australian marriage equality debates', Online (2020) | ||
2020 | Betts D, 'Equality at Work: Reflections on Australian Marriage Equality and the Impact of Workspaces', University of Melbourne (2020) | ||
2020 | Steffner J, Betts D, 'Post-COVID Education: Embracing Creative and Adaptive Alternatives in Social Work Field Education.', Sydney (2020) | ||
Show 3 more conferences |
Other (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 |
McLoughlin K, Bennett J, Johnson M, Betts D, Shaw G, Pepper B, et al., 'Waiting for Equality Research Team Submission in response to Religious Freedom Bills First Exposure Draft', . https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Pages/religious-freedom-bills.aspx#w (2020)
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Report (2 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
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2019 | Dickson S, Betts D, 'All Right? An exploration of wellbeing in the Otautahi LGBTQIA+ community', All Right?, 96 (2019) | ||
2017 | Carswell S, Frost A, o-Hinerangi M, Betts D, 'Key elements of proactive service intervention with people who use violence: learnings from family violence services in the Canterbury Police District', Canterbury Police, 20 (2017) |
Thesis / Dissertation (1 outputs)
Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Betts D, Social Work with Older Sexual and Gender Minorities in New Zealand, University of Canterbury (2018) |
Grants and Funding
Summary
Number of grants | 6 |
---|---|
Total funding | $38,437 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20211 grants / $10,000
Seeing the Self: Examining reader experience of queer representations in Young Adult Literature$10,000
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr David Betts (Lead); A/Prof Keri Glastonbury and Dr Annika Herb (LDTI) |
Scheme | Strategic Network and Pilot Project Grants Scheme |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2021 |
Funding Finish | 2021 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20203 grants / $17,462
Institutional Intervention in Queer Lives: Historical to Contemporary Paradigms$12,000
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr David Betts (Lead), Dr James Bennett and Dr Justin Ellis |
Scheme | Strategic Network and Pilot Project Grants Scheme |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2020 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Faculty of Education and Arts New Start Grant$4,965
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Scheme | New Start Grants |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2020 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Gender and Sexuality at Work: A Multidisciplinary Research and Engagement Conference, Melbourne, 18 February 2020$497
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Scheme | FEDUA Conference Travel Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2020 |
Funding Finish | 2020 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
20192 grants / $10,975
Waiting for Equality: Telling LGBT+ Stories about Marriage Equality in Newcastle and the Hunter, 2004 - 2019$9,995
Funding body: Janet Copley Bequest
Funding body | Janet Copley Bequest |
---|---|
Project Team | Dr James Bennett, Professor Marguerite Johnson and Dr David Betts |
Scheme | School of Humanities and Social Science - Copley Bequest Pilot Research Fund |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2019 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | External |
Category | EXTE |
UON | N |
Australian Association of Gerontology 52nd Annual Conference, Sydney, 5-8 November 2019$980
Funding body: Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle
Funding body | Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle |
---|---|
Scheme | FEDUA Conference Travel Grant |
Role | Lead |
Funding Start | 2019 |
Funding Finish | 2019 |
GNo | |
Type Of Funding | Internal |
Category | INTE |
UON | N |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | PhD | Same Sex Attracted Male School Principals and their Lived Experiences | PhD (Social Work), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Principal Supervisor |
2021 | Masters | Do We Belong? An Exploration of the Lived Experiences of LGBTQIA+ Students in Heteronormative Educational Institutions | M Philosophy (Education), College of Human and Social Futures, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
News
Copley Bequest funds project that tells marriage equality stories of Newcastle and the Hunter
May 17, 2019
Dr David Betts
Positions
Lecturer
School of Humanities and Social Science
College of Human and Social Futures
Casual Academic
School of Humanities and Social Science
College of Human and Social Futures