Bi+ specific support and inclusion
More support for bi+ people was mentioned in seven comments (6% of comments), and themes of “less erasure” and “more inclusion within the LGBT+ community” received six mentions each. These include not dismissing bisexuality as a valid sexuality and understanding that bi+ people feel that they belong in the LGBT+ community even when they are in mixed-sex relationships. Public awareness of bi+ issues is not widespread. There are also fewer bi-specific support groups and spaces in which to build confidence. Bi+ people may therefore need more targeted support to engage with services. The need for more bi-specific spaces was mentioned in five comments (4%), particularly linked to the need for acknowledging the specific needs of bi+ people. Some respondents shared ideas as to how to improve services:
“Funders need to stop assuming that funding services for gay people is good enough for reaching bi people. There are almost no specific bi services, so we have to run the gauntlet in gay and straight services where we have different types of prejudice to deal with in both.”
“Fund bi-specific services and projects, don’t assume ‘gay and bisexual’ covers it, especially with sexual health. Train everyone about bi+ identities, especially volunteers and phoneline people and especially about how we do have relationships that might look straight.”
“I would like to find any bi+ service provision where I live which feels as though it is reaching out to me and others like me. It has required a great deal of investigation on my part to find any sort of community, which I eventually found online, which is for Bi+ people who live in Scotland.”
- Establish safe and inclusive spaces for bi+ individuals to connect, share experiences, and receive support. This can include community centres, peer support groups, and online platforms that specifically cater to the bi+ community.
- Services should advertise their inclusion of bi+ people specifically, as our results have shown that saying that you are LGBT+ friendly is not enough. Services should then be prepared to do the work to make that inclusion real by understanding and catering to bi+ people’s needs.
