Jorge Gato, researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP), has joined the Scientific Technical Group of the Advisory Board of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (GIC in the Portuguese acronym). Gato was invited by Portugal’s Minister of Youth and Modernization Margarida Balseiro Lopes (on the left in the photo).
The CIG Advisory Board met on September 19th, in Lisbon, to discuss short and long-term goals to be implemented in the areas of equality, domestic violence and LGBTQIA+ discrimination.
According to Gato, “it is very important that scientific knowledge is the basis for the design and implementation of equality and citizenship policies. For instance, results of studies conducted by our team on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ young people in Portuguese schools will be important for the reflection on school bullying that has finally begun to be carried out by a Working Group already appointed by the Minister. As an Advisor on LGBTQIA+ issues, some of the data I intended to bring to this particular reflection are related to some specificities of bullying perpetrated against LGBTQIA+ students, namely its worsening effects on the victims’ mental health, or the fact that this type of bullying is perpetrated not only by peers, but also by teachers and school staff”.
The CIG Advisory Board will meet periodically, with specific working groups expected to be formed on the topics of gender equality, gender-based violence and LGBTQIA+ discrimination.
About Jorge Gato
Gato has a degree and master’s degree in Psychology from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCEUC) and a PhD in Psychology from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP), where he is currently a Researcher. He is a Family and Systemic Therapist by the Portuguese Society of Family Therapy and a specialist in Psychotherapy by the Order of Portuguese Psychologists.
His research interests include LGBTQIA+ Psychology, Family and Gender, topics on which he has published nationally and internationally. Among other topics, he is currently researching Parental Burnout in LGBTQIA+ families.
