Further Out

There are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in every part of Scotland from our biggest cities to our smallest settlements and islands. While LGBTI equality has progressed considerably in recent years the lived experience of LGBTI communities in urban settings is vastly different to that of LGBTI communities in more rural and island settings.

Our Scottish LGBT Equality Report highlighted that the experiences of LGBT people vary considerably across the country. Those living in rural parts of Scotland report a significantly worse experience than those living in urban areas, including more prejudice, greater isolation, and less access to local services that meet their needs.

• Almost a quarter of LGBT respondents living in rural areas (24%) described their local area as a ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ place for LGBT people to live, compared to 12% of those living in urban areas.
• Almost half of LGBT respondents living in rural areas (47%) said they feel isolated where they live because they are LGBT, compared to almost a quarter (23%) of those living in urban areas.
• A majority of LGBT respondents living in rural areas (55%) said that services in their local area do not meet the specific needs of LGBT people, compared to a third (30%) of those living in urban areas.
• Six out of ten LGBT respondents living in rural areas (59%) regularly travel outside of their local area to access LGBT services, compared to just over a third (35%) of those living in urban areas.
• Four out of ten LGBT respondents (43%) have either moved, or considered moving, to live in a different area because of being LGBT.

That’s why we’re holding our biggest conversation yet, and we want you to take part. Why not join us and share your experiences of LGBTI life outside our biggest cities.

Where we’ll be

We plan to visit 50 locations across Scotland, from Shetland in the North to Stranraer in the South. We’re holding LGBTI information street stalls, events and coffee meetings all over Scotland.

LGBTI Information Street Stalls: We’ll be pitching our Gazebo on high Sstreets and town centres in over 30 locations. Providing information on LGBTI issues, chatting to local people about equality and carrying information from partner organisations like LGBT Health, Stonewall Scotland, LEAP Sports and LGBT Youth Scotland.

Further Out Events: We want to bring LGBTI people together to discuss what life is like for them in their communities and what can be done to bridge the LGBTI equality gap with urban Scotland. We’re planning 15 events in community centres, libraries and theatres.

Coffee Meetings: We want as many people as possible to get involved, but we know that for some very rural and island communities sometimes there aren’t the numbers to have events so that’s why we’re happy to meet up for a coffee and a chat to discuss your experiences.

Rural Survey: In 2015 we published the Scottish LGBT Equality Report, it highlighted an LGBTI rural / urban divide that’s why we’ll launch a survey on Monday 27th September to better capture the experiences of LGBTI Scots outside our urban centres.

We’re working to get permission from local authorities to hold street stalls, and will post more detailed information about where we’re going to be as soon as we get it. Here is what we know so far:

If you live on Scotland’s Islands and would be interested in meeting us please email Scott [at] equality-network.org