Culture

82% of LGBTQ+ people do not feel represented in LGBTQ+ media, new survey reveals

By Zoya Raza-Sheikh

17th November 2021

UK Black Pride has uncovered pressing statistics spotlighting how people of colour from the LGBTQ+ community feel underrepresented in the UK.

The We Will Be Heard report, carried out by the leading LGBTQ+ charity for people of colour, surveyed over 1,400 people across the country.

The report looks at the LGBTQI+ community through an intersectional lens and identifies how different groups of individuals feel about particular topics, including

UK Black Pride’s initiative examined a diverse cross-section of communities across various topics, including safety, media, mental health and the workplace.

The groundbreaking study revealed only 25 per cent of respondents felt their local LGBTQ+ spaces were welcoming for Black people and people of colour. Moreover, a shocking 82 per cent said they do not feel represented by LGBTQI+ media in the UK.

Nearly half of the respondents revealed they have faced some level of abuse, insult, or harassment in the past year. This disturbing data highlighted Pakistani respondents (59 per cent), trans respondents, (57 per cent) and non-binary respondents (54 per cent) faced a greater risk of being targeted.

Additionally, trans and non-binary people stated they felt “uncomfortable “using public toilets. A shocking number of trans (70 per cent) and nonbinary respondents (62 per cent) said they would feel “uncomfortable”, compared to 27 per cent of all respondents.

Co-founder of UK Black Pride, Lady Phyll, issued a statement in the foreword of the report: “Each of us deserves respect, safety and acceptance. Each of us deserves to have our experiences counted and to inform the provision of services. Each of us deserves to have our voice heard.”

The work ahead of us at UK Black Pride is the building of our first Community Action Plan, through which we’ll distribute funding to organisations working in service of LGBTQI+ Black people and people of colour, and which address some of the key findings within this report. Our hope is that other organisations will join us in committing to addressing and redressing some of the disparities made clear here”.

UK Black Pride is Europe’s largest pride celebration for LGBTQ+ people that caters to African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern descent.

The event strives to bring together diverse sexualities, gender identities, gender expressions and cultures in a celebratory safe space.