Written evidence submitted by LGBT Foundation [GEO0040]

LGBT Foundation Response: The role of the GEO: embedding equalities across Government

About LGBT Foundation

LGBT Foundation is a national charity delivering advice, support and information services to , , bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities. With a history dating back to 1975, we campaign for a fair and equal society where all LGBT people can achieve their full potential. LGBT Foundation has done a significant amount of work with the Government Equalities Office and in particular the LGBT Team.

1. The Covid-19 Pandemic

The Government Equalities Office needs to do more to recognise and address the impact that Covid- 19 is having on LGBT communities. The pandemic has had a greater impact on those who were already disadvantaged and it has compounded existing health inequalities. LGBT people experience a number of health inequalities and disadvantages1 and therefore are likely being worse hit by the pandemic.

LGBT Foundation research carried out in April and May 2020 has found that LGBT people are facing a number of disadvantages as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. These have included a lack of access to gender identity services, having to isolate in homes with LGBTphobic family and flatmates, feeling cut off from others in LGBT communities and facing hate crime from people in their local area and online. 2

‘As a trans poc [person of colour] who is [in] older life [and] is already quite isolated this time does increase the amount of isolation I experience.’ - LGBT Foundation Covid-19 survey respondent

‘My grandparents do not know I’m gay, I believe they would throw me out, be unhappy, hurt & upset, so it is no happy place to come out’ – LGBT Foundation Covid-19 survey respondent

‘Was told second assessment at GIC not possible over the phone so appointment is being rescheduled and after nearly 3 years of being on the waiting list my access to transition-related healthcare has been delayed further’- LGBT Foundation Covid-19 survey respondent

‘I have been subject to a much greater increase of online bullying and transphobia during lockdown and I worry people may trace my address.’- LGBT Foundation Covid-19 survey respondent

The most recent lockdown has also had a huge impact on LGBT people’s wellbeing and mental health. In January, LGBT Foundation’s wellbeing services received the highest number of monthly referrals in this financial year to date. Furthermore, compared to the four weeks prior, the period 4th January – 31st January 2021 saw a 188% increase in calls about trauma, a 115% increase in calls about Covid-19, a 100% increase in calls about anxiety, an 82% increase in calls about counselling and a 54% increase in calls about depression to LGBT Foundation’s helpline. Additionally, during each of the three lockdowns we have seen an increase in referrals to our substance misuse and counselling services.

Research by the University of Sussex and UCL has also demonstrated the impact of Covid-19 on LGBT people. 69% of LGBT respondents had depressive symptoms and 16.7% had experienced some form

1 LGBT Foundation. 2020. Hidden Figures: LGBT Health Inequalities in the UK. Available at: https://lgbt.foundation/hiddenfigures 2 LGBT Foundation.2020. Hidden Figures: The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on LGBGT Communities. Available at: https://lgbt.foundation/coronavirus/hiddenfigures Written evidence submitted by LGBT Foundation [GEO0040] of discrimination based on their LGBT identity since the start of the pandemic. People who had experienced harassment based on their LGBT identity were three times more likely to experience significant depressive symptoms. Trans and gender diverse people had the highest scores for perceived social or depressive symptoms.3

Despite this evidence LGBT people have been absent from much of the narrative around the disproportionate impact of the virus and the ways in which this should be addressed. The Government Equalities Office has a key role to play in ensuring that LGBT communities are not forgotten throughout the rest of the pandemic and as we move into recovery.

2. Stakeholder Engagement

The GEO has done some incredibly positive and important work over the last few years. The GEO LGBT Team carried out a range of effective stakeholder engagement around the National LGBT Survey. The National LGBT Survey was a hugely important piece of research, which helped us to better understand LGBT people’s experiences in the UK and to help us demonstrate the need for LGBT specific services.

Effective stakeholder engagement was also carried out when putting together the LGBT Action Plan and when completing elements of the Action Plan. However in more recent times this engagement has been noticeably missing. Previous engagement has shown how productive this work can be and the GEO should prioritise this stakeholder engagement. For example the LGBT Advisory group contains a range of experts and should be regularly consulted, however at the moment this regular consultation is not happening.

3. New Approaches and Initiatives

We agree that more work needs to be done to reduce socio-economic inequalities in this country, however this should not be done at the expense of addressing inequalities based on protected characteristics. This is for two key reasons, first of all because inequality and discrimination based on identities and protected characteristics is still pernicious and we have a long way to go before it is eradicated. Secondly because socio-economic inequalities cannot be properly addressed without also addressing identity based inequalities and discrimination.

Inequalities are interlinked and socio-economic inequalities are caused in part by identity based inequalities. For example the National LGBT Survey found that trans people are significantly less likely to be employed compared to the general population, making them more likely to be socio- economically disadvantaged.4 These lower employment rates are party caused by discrimination. A Crossland Employment Solicitors survey found that one third of employers said they would be less likely to employ a trans person5 and a Total Jobs survey found that 29% of trans people have faced discrimination in the job recruitment process and 36% of trans people have left a job because the environment was unwelcoming.6

3 Kneale, D. and Becares, L. 2020. The mental health and experiences of discrimination of LGBTQ+ people during the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial findings from the Queerantine Study. MedRxiv. 4 Government Equalities Office. 2018. National LGBT Survey. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/national-lgbt-survey-summary-report 5 Crossland Employment Solicitors. 2018. Transphobia rife among UK employers as 1 in 3 won’t hire a person. Available at: https://www. crosslandsolicitors.com/site/hr- hub/transgenderdiscrimination-in-UK-workplaces 6 Totaljobs. 2016. Trans Employee Experiences Survey. Available at: https://www.totaljobs.com/insidejob/ trans-employee-survey-report-2016/ Written evidence submitted by LGBT Foundation [GEO0040]

LGB people are also likely being placed at a socio-economic disadvantage as a result of discrimination. A 2019 survey found that LGBT employees in the UK take home on average £6,703 less per year compared to non-LGBT people, which equates to a pay gap of 16%.7 Discrimination is likely to play a role in this, for example 2017 survey found that 7% of cis LGB people did not get a promotion they were up for in work in the year preceding the survey because they were LGB. For all LGBT people this figure was 10%, which rises to 19% of Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT people and 16% of disabled LGBT people. The same Stonewall survey also found that 18% of LGBT people who were looking for work said they were discriminated against because of their LGBT identity while trying to get a job in year preceding the survey.8

Other forms of discrimination and inequality based on characteristics such as gender, ethnicity and disability can all heighten socio-economic disadvantage. For example a 2019 UCL report found that ethnic minorities, women and disabled people ‘often face multiple disadvantages affecting their educational outcomes, employment prospects, home ownership, health and life expectancy.’9 The report also outlined the impact that class and socio-economic background has on people’s opportunities and outcomes and we are by no means downplaying this impact or suggesting that there should not be more work done to address this. However this work should not be done at the expense of not addressing other inequalities and it should be recognised that socio-economic inequalities cannot be addressed in isolation and that identity based inequalities can cause and compound socio-economic disadvantage.

February 2021

7 LinkedIn. The UK has an LGBTQ Pay Gap. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/news/the-uk-hasan- lgbtq-pay-gap-4702500 8 Bachmann, C. and Gooch, B. 2018. LGBT in Britain. Work Report. Stonewall and YouGov. Available at: https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_in_ britain_work_report.pdf 9 UCL and Resolution Foundation. 2019. Structurally unsound Exploring Inequalities: Igniting research to better inform UK policy. Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/grand-challenges/sites/grand- challenges/files/structurally-unsound-report.pdf