NEWS23 June 2016

LGBT+ community still feel need to lie

UK – This weekend will see the LGBT+ festival Pride in London hit the capital’s streets but research released today shows that three quarters ( 74%) of LGBT+ people still feel the need to lie about their sexuality or gender identity.

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The survey by Quadrangle and Populus among 1,000 LGBT+ people in the UK also found that 77% of respondents felt uncomfortable being their true self in public, compared with 23% of the general population.

And while 75% were out to all their friends, only 50% were to their work colleagues. Men were more likely to be out at work ( 89% of male survey respondents) than women ( 76% of female survey respondents).

Chair of Pride in London, Michael Salter-Church said: “Great progress has been made in the name of LGBT+ equality in recent years, but these figures show the striking reason why Pride is still as important as ever.”

Alison Camps, marketing director of Pride in London, and deputy chair at Quadrangle Research, said: “As well as changing laws we need to change hearts and minds. Pride in London gives us an incredible day to celebrate who we are, and give people the confidence to be proud.

“This is what this year’s campaign #nofilter is all about. We will recognise those people who must live life under a filter, fight for them, and celebrate a day of #nofilter.”