Racism Rife in LGBTQ+ Community, Reveals Stonewall Research

Half of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people (51%) said they’ve faced discrimination or poor treatment from the wider LGBTQ+ community, according to Stonewall, the UK’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi, and trans equality. The situation is particularly acute for Black LGBTQ+ people, with 3 in 5 (61%) experiencing discrimination from other LGBTQ+ people, confirmed Stonewall’s new report.

The research, based on YouGov's poll of over 5,000 LGBTQ+ people, exposes the extent to which Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people face discrimination based on both their sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and their race; also known as "double discrimination."

The abuse Black, Asian, and minority ethnic LGBTQ+ people face from the community includes feeling excluded from LGBTQ+ specific spaces and hurtful comments. Racist language and behavior leaves already marginalized members of the LGBTQ+ community feeling shut out and isolated. These statistics are from a new Stonewall report investigating the experiences of different groups of LGBTQ+ people at home, in LGBTQ+ communities and their faith communities.

Acceptance from family and friends was found to still be a problem for many LGBTQ+ people. Only half of lesbian, gay, and bi people (46%), and trans people (47%), said they feel able to be open about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity to their whole family. A third of bi people (32%) say they cannot be open about their sexual orientation with anyone in their family.

The research also found that trans people, LGBTQ+ disabled people, and those of faith were at significant risk of exclusion from other LGBTQ+ people. More than a third of trans people (36%), 1 in 4 (26%) LGBTQ+ disabled people whose activities are limited a lot, and one in five LGBTQ+ people of non-Christian faith (21%) say they’ve experienced discrimination from within the community.

“This research gives a worrying insight into just how serious a problem prejudice is within our community, and we need to talk about it. Users of dating apps will be familiar with phrases like ‘No Blacks, no Asians’ and ‘No chocolate, no curry, no rice, no spice’ becoming the modern-day versions of ‘No Blacks, no dogs, no Gypsies,’” highlighted Ruth Hunt, Chief Executive of Stonewall UK. “Both online and in their daily lives, LGBTQ+ people of color are excluded and face stereotyping from their white peers. This leaves BAME LGBTQ+ people feeling unwelcome within the wider community. This is unacceptable and it causes damage and mistrust.”

If real change for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people is to occur, "we as a community need to hold a mirror to ourselves and have open conversations about how to change,” she added. “This means learning to recognize our own privileges and to be active allies to each other. The same is true for Stonewall: we are absolutely aware that we too are on a journey and we have a long way to go. But we are committed to learning and getting it right going forward, both internally within Stonewall, and externally. To truly work with and for all LGBT communities, we have to be an active part of the solution to many of the issues outlined in this report. Our ‘Come Out For LGBT’ campaign is all about being visible and doing something to stand up for others. This research shows just how much those voices are needed if we are to get to a point where everyone in our community is included as an equal. It’s only by working together that we can create a world where all LGBT people are accepted without exception."

The report makes several recommendations, and these were developed with groups and individuals from the communities featured in the research. Ensuring more diversity in decision-making structures, commissioning anti-discrimination training, building links and partnership work with Black, Asian, and minority Ethnic and disability groups, as well as listening to and giving a platform to others, are just some of the key steps that organizations should take. You can read the full LGBTQ+ in Britain Home and Communities report here.

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