The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) published the latest hate crime figures for 2020-21 on Friday 4th June.

The figures show that recorded sexual orientation aggravated crime continues to rise in Scotland, this could be a consequence of both an actual increase in hate crimes against LGB people (both real and perceived), and an increase in reporting by victims of hate crimes.

Sexual orientation aggravated crime is the second most commonly reported type of hate crime. The number of charges reported increased by 5% in 2020-21 to 1,580. With the exception of 2014-15, there have been year on year increases in charges reported since the legislation introducing this aggravation came into force in 2010.

Transgender identity aggravated crime stayed roughly at the same level as 2019-20 with 46 charges reported in 2020-21 with an aggravation of transgender identity, compared to 47 in 2019-20.

COPFS statistics are useful but should not be regarded as reporting the whole picture of hate incidents and crimes experienced by LGBTI people. The Crown Office hate crime statistics count the number of reports by police to Procurators Fiscal (PFs). There is currently no national reporting in Scotland of the number of hate incidents reported to the police, or the number of hate crimes recorded by police. The new Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 will require the annual publication of police statistics on hate crime, as well as conviction statistics from the courts, once the Act is fully in effect.

In addition, many hate incidents and crimes are not reported to police. The Scottish LGBTI Hate Crime Report (2017) reported that 81% of those who witnessed hate crimes did not report any incident to the police. Crown Office statistics therefore seriously under-report the level of hate incidents and crimes.

The Scottish Parliament passed a new hate crime law in March 2021. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 is not yet in force. It clarifies the existing law, and also extends the existing crime of stirring up racial hatred, to cover stirring up hatred against a group of people defined by age, LGBTI status, disability, or religion. The offence is quite narrowly defined – it makes it a crime to act in a way that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening or abusive, and which is deliberately intended to stir up hatred.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to @AyeforScotland, @BlackeSkye and their team for raising an amazing £7240.66 to support our work for LGBTI equality. For 24 hours their online event on Twitch engaged many guests about LGBTI issues, all while the host played the Hollow Knight game.

All of our campaigning work is funded by donations, so we are hugely grateful to everyone who took part and donated.

If you missed the event but would still like to consider a donation you can do so on our JustGiving page here.

COVID-19 will ensure this years LGBT History Month will be like no other before it, but as a major event in the LGBT+ calendar and as an important way to bring LGBT+ people together online, the show must go on! 

We’re pleased to be working with our friends LGBT Youth Scotland to support LGBT History Month in Scotland with £5000 of ring-fenced funding from our LGBTI Recovery Fund. Funding support of between £50 – £500 will be made available directly to LGBTI community groups and organisations to enable an LGBT History Month event to take place. This fund is now closed to new expressions of interest as we have now allocated over £5k of funding. We’re really looking forward to all the amazing events taking place to mark LGBT history month!

LGBT Youth Scotland will be supporting events to take place across Scotland and have produced an Action Pack to help you take part in this years LGBT History Month. More information on LGBT History Month Scotland can be found on the website here.

The LGBTI Recovery Fund is made possible with support from the Scottish Government Communities Recovery Fund.

Equality Network welcomes new fairer blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men.

Today we welcome the news that blood donation rules in Scotland, and the rest of the UK, will be changed this summer to remove the discriminatory three month ban on donations from men who have had sex with men.

Scott Cuthbertson, Development Manager said, “We’re delighted with the news that new fairer blood donation rules are being implemented based on an individualised assessment, this is something we have been calling for, for 15 years.”

For the first time since the early ‘80s gay and bisexual men will no longer be judged for who they are in blood donation criteria. Outdated rules which reinforced stigma, and were inconsistent with safer sex messages, will be consigned to the dustbin of history.”

The Equality Network has been campaigning on the issue for many years and we look forward to feeding into the new Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) risk assessment in advance of implementation in the summer of 2021.

The changes will also be implemented in England, Wales and NI.

This is what the Scottish Government have released:

Currently, men are not able to donate blood in the UK if they have had sex with another man in the past three months, in line with previous expert advice.

New recommendations, which the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is satisfied will continue to ensure blood safety, mean men will no longer be automatically barred from giving blood if they have had sex with another man in the last three months. Instead, everyone will be given a more individual risk assessment, which will involve all potential donors being asked a few additional questions about their sexual behaviours. 

Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) will ensure there is information available for donors to explain the reasons for the changes and to give reassurance that all information provided by donors is kept strictly in confidence.

The changes follow recommendations by the specialist steering group for Assessment of Individualised Risk (FAIR) made up of leading medical and academic experts and LGBTI+ groups. 

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said:

“I welcome the recommendations of the FAIR group, which will enable a more individualised risk assessment approach to blood donor safety checks while continuing to ensure the safe supply of blood to patients.

“We are committed to equality and inclusion, and these changes will ensure a fairer and more up to date assessment of risk is applied to both men and women to identify whether donors may be at risk of a blood-borne virus infection.

“I am pleased to announce SNBTS expects to be able to implement these changes by summer 2021. They will be working to prepare their systems and staff for these changes and will also be working to raise awareness of the changes with existing and potential donors in advance.”

SNBTS Director Craig Spalding said:

“We are proud to have been involved in the work that has been undertaken to enable the Scottish Government to make an informed decision on reviewing and changing donor eligibility requirements.

“Donor eligibility based on personal risk assessments, rather than on broader demographic information such as sexuality, is a welcome change.

“We are grateful for all the donors of Scotland and are looking forward to welcoming a broader cross section of the population, in particular those men who have sex with men who will be able to donate blood under the new criteria.”

We were pleased to announce the £20,000 LGBTI Recovery Fund in January. The fund has now been topped up with an additional £6k and extended until the end of May 2021.

So far during the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve been able to distribute over £120,000 directly to LGBTI groups and organisations across Scotland to support their efforts in COVID-19 relief and resilience.

We hope this further £26,000 fund will help in the recovery of LGBTI groups providing vital support to LGBTI people across the country. 

The LGBTI Recovery Fund is made possible through funding from the Scottish Government Communities Recovery Fund.

We have set out the following fund criteria to ensure maximum benefit for LGBTI community organisations and groups across Scotland:

• LGBTI Groups must be not for profit and LGBTI led.
• Individuals cannot apply.
• Requested funds must be for a purpose.
• The fund is designed primarily for small amounts (Between £50 – £500)
• Groups must be in Scotland, or deliver work in Scotland.
• All money must be committed by the 31st May 2021.
• We are unable to fund duplication.

There may be exceptions, especially to ensure the representation of under represented groups within the LGBTI community, which we are happy to discuss.

The PRIDE Support Fund is a £7.5k fund supporting Scotland’s Pride events, which have been running online during the pandemic, with the cost of technology and mitigation. We want to help ensure Pride’s have the tools to continue inclusive and accessible online events until large public events can take place again once more. Pride and visibility events are an important means to reduce isolation and stigma for LGBTI people and this fund recognises the contribution of Scotland’s Pride events to these aims. Equality Network have already, thanks to our funders, been able to support online visibility and pride events in Scotland with over £25k of support funding in 2020/21. This is part of the LGBTI Recovery Fund and the criteria above applies.

LGBTI organisations and groups in Scotland can express interest in the available funding here. If you are a sports group you should apply via our funding partner LEAP Sports Scotland here.

This funding is to support LGBTI groups and organisations with limited resources and capacity with Equality Network acting as a intermediary organisation to ensure funds go quickly to LGBTI communities that need them most. Organisations looking for larger amounts of funding should apply directly to the Scottish Government Communities Recovery Fund.

Should you have any questions about the fund please contact scott@equality-network.org

LGBTQ+ organisations and groups across the UK will soon be able to apply for grants of up to £15,000 to support their vital role in supporting LGBTQ+ communities through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

METRO Charity in partnership with NAZ, Equality Network, The Rainbow Project, Umbrella Cymru, Yorkshire MESMAC and Birmingham LGBT, will be cascading the £585,000 fund from Comic Relief, raised from ‘The Big Night In’.

The partners will be convening grants panels in each nation – Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England to ensure the maximum reach to grassroots community-led LGBTQ+ organisations across the UK. Organisations and groups with income under £100,000 will be able to apply for over 100 grants ranging from £500 to £15,000.

Scott Cuthbertson at Equality Network said, “LGBTI groups and organisations across Scotland have been hit hard by COVID-19, having to adapt to a whole new challenging environment, while continuing to provide vital social support and services. We’re pleased to be the Scottish organisation, working with partner organisations across the UK, on disseminating this much needed Comic Relief funding. With COVID-19 there will undoubtedly be challenges to come, and I’m glad that we are addressing them together.”

Jacqueline Onalo, Comic Relief Trustee said, “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on many grassroot projects, especially those supporting diverse LGBTQ+ communities, has been truly devastating. Our ring-fenced funding aims to directly address these inequalities and empower LGBTQ+ led organisations, with specialist expertise, to support grassroot local projects that are a lifeline to the people they help. Comic Relief has a long and proud history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community and I hope this funding will make a real difference throughout the pandemic and its recovery.”

Dr Greg Ussher, CEO at METRO Charity said, “We couldn’t agree more with Comic Relief’s identification that LGBTQ+ grassroots community-led organisations need support right now to ensure that they can in turn support LGBTQ+ communities across the UK through this pandemic and beyond. We are very pleased to be working with partners in each of the UK nations to maximise the reach of the fund and the diversity of organisations and groups we will collectively be encouraging to apply.

“As delivery organisations ourselves, we already have first-hand experience of the needs of LGBTQ+ communities and the new and increased demands placed on services – especially around mental health and isolation – and the challenges these bring.

“We are delighted to be continuing our long-term relationship with Comic Relief and of course with our delivery partners.”

Parminder Sekhon, Interim CEO at NAZ said, “Small community BAME led and BAME LGBTQ+ led organisations are the backbone of the voluntary sector and are built on the principle of self-organisation and self-mobilisation. We need to protect small organisations delivering vital frontline services, plugging the gap of unmet need during this health and economic crisis, because we are going to need them even more as we move into recovery.

“BAME LGBTQ+ people have been and continue to be, at significant risk of poor health and wellbeing outcomes, often on the margins of an already underserved population group. COVID-19 has exacerbated and magnified that risk. NAZ is so pleased to be part of this partnership, distributing grants to amazing LGBTQ+ and Black LGBTQ+ organisations delivering lifeline health and wellbeing services up and down the country, keeping LGBTQ+ people safe, connected and supported. Thank you Comic Relief.”

**Applications to this fund have now closed**

Funding Notes:

• The LGBTQ+ Sector COVID-19 Fund will be opening for applications this summer.
• The programme is funded by Comic Relief.
• The funding cascade partnership is led by METRO Charity and delivered in partnership with NAZ, Equality Network, The Rainbow Project, Umbrella Cymru, Yorkshire MESMAC and Birmingham LGBT.
• Grants will be available in a number of sizes up to the following: £500, £1,000, £5,000, £10,000 and £15,000, with a total grant fund of £585,000.
• Applications will be accepted from LGBTQ+ community-led organisations and groups with an income under £100,000.
• Grants panels will be convened across the UK: in Scotland led by the Equality Network, in Northern Ireland led by The Rainbow Project, in Wales led by Umbrella Cymru, by Yorkshire MESMAC for the north of England and the midlands, by METRO Charity for London and the south of England. Supported by NAZ and Birmingham LGBT.

About the partners:

• METRO is a leading equality and diversity charity delivering services across London and the South East, with national and international projects. They support anyone experiencing issues around sexuality, gender, equality, diversity and identity across their five domains: Sexual & Reproductive Health, Community, Mental Health & Wellbeing, Youth and HIV. To find out more visit metrocharity.org.uk.
• NAZ is a BAME-led sexual health agency working to address sexual health inequalities in BAME communities. They have 29 years of experience working across London to provide culturally specific interventions to BAME communities disproportionately impacted by poor sexual, reproductive and HIV health compared to their white counterparts. They have national reach through their events and some programmes. NAZ was born out of the necessity to make a response to the health inequalities faced by BAME & BAME LGBTQ+ people across London during the HIV pandemic. 30 years later we are facing similar inequalities under the COVID-19 pandemic. NAZ work across four key areas: Care and Support Services to people impacted and living with HIV, Sexual health prevention and promotions services, Clinical Services: HIV/ Selected STI pop up services and Psychotherapeutic counselling, Research, Influencing and Policy. To find our more visit naz.org.uk.
• The Equality Network is a leading charity working for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) equality and human rights in Scotland. To find out more visit equality-network.org.
• The Rainbow Project works to promote the health and wellbeing of LGBT+ people in Northern Ireland through research and campaigning and through the provisions of health and wellbeing services including counselling, sexual health testing, hate crime advocacy in addition to peer and social support. To find out more visit rainbow-project.org.
• Umbrella Cymru is a gender and sexual diversity support specialist organisation that provides a range of services to people across Wales. Their teams, managed by qualified registered social workers, work with LGBTQ+ people of all ages individually, in groups or with family and partners, to develop and deliver free tailored support to help them achieve their goals. The organisation provides a range of services from information and signposting to emotional and practical support. Umbrella Cymru has recently partnered with a Health Board to jointly provide the Welsh Gender Service (the only GIC in Wales) working alongside all Health Boards in Wales to deliver local care and support to trans and non-binary people including, medical and psychosocial support and interventions. To find out more visit umbrellacymru.co.uk.
• Yorkshire MESMAC is one of the oldest and largest sexual health charities in the country. They offer services to most at risk communities across Yorkshire, including men who have sex with men, African and other BAME people, people using drugs, sex workers and LGBT+ young people and adults. To find out more visit mesmac.co.uk.
• Birmingham LGBT is the city’s leading charity advocating for and supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities in Birmingham and beyond. They offer a range of services focused on improving the health & wellbeing of individuals. They also believe passionately that Birmingham should be one of the best places in the UK for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) people to live, work and socialise, and work to enable a thriving, visible and PROUD LGBT community in the city. To find out more visit blgbt.org.
• Comic Relief raises money to support people living incredibly tough lives. Through humour and stories of hope, we’ve shown that people can make a massive difference. We fund hundreds of amazing organisations who are working on the ground to support the most vulnerable people and communities in society including many of those hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. This includes vulnerable children and young people, people who are homeless or living in extreme poverty, women and families at risk of domestic abuse and those struggling with mental health issues.

We welcome the news that a partnership of LGBTI organisations including, Equality Network; LEAP Sports Scotland; LGBT Youth Scotland; and LGBT Health and Wellbeing, has been awarded £87,700 from the Scottish Government’s Supporting Communities Fund via The National Lottery Community Fund.

For our share of the funding the Equality Network will be distributing £26,250 directly to LGBTI led community groups and organisations to support their COVID response.

There is an additional £10k to support online Pride and cultural events. This may include support for purchasing software and payment for artists.

And finally there is a £20k fund to support LGBTI community organisations and groups to enfranchise LGBTI people facing digital poverty.

We will be working directly to disseminate this money to the groups that need it as quickly as possible,

This fund is designed to be as easy to access as possible, and as such is not intended for large grants. Groups and organisations needing more substantial support should either apply directly for COVID-19 relief funding, as many organisations have already done. Alternatively for grants of upto £15k groups can register interest in our LGBTQ+ Fund, in partnership with METRO Charity, NAZ, The Rainbow Project, Umbrella Cymru, Yorkshire MESMAC and Birmingham LGBT, which will be cascading £585,000 in Comic Relief money raised during ‘The Big Night In’. More information here.

Funding Criteria

We have set out the following fund criteria to ensure maximum benefit for LGBTI community organisations and groups across Scotland:

• Groups must be not for profit and LGBTI led.
• Individuals cannot apply.
• Requested funds must be for a purpose.
• The fund is not designed for large amounts.
• All money must be committed by the 30^th September 2020.
• We are unable to fund duplication.

There may be exceptions, especially to ensure the representation of under represented groups within the LGBTI community, which we are happy to discuss.

If you are an LGBTI sports group specific funding is available through our project partner LEAP Sports Scotland, more information here.

Neil Ritch, Director, National Lottery Community Fund Scotland said, “We know LGBTI community groups have significant experience in responding to challenges so they are well placed to support people and communities across Scotland as they look to support a local response to COVID-19.

“This Scottish Government Supporting Communities Fund award of £87,700 will make a key difference to many LGBTI people, helping them become more resilient in the face of this crisis.”

As well as direct funding support for LGBTI groups, sports groups, young people and asylum seekers the funding includes support for online prides, LGBTI social and cultural events, and a package of support for LGBTI people facing digital poverty.

Scott Cuthbertson, Development Manager, Equality Network said, “LGBTI people and groups have faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, we welcome this funding that will support many LGBTI groups and people as we move to the next stage in this pandemic. We will work to swiftly disseminate this money directly to those that need it.”

Hugh Torrance, Executive Director of LEAP Sports Scotland said, “It is vital to work to mitigate any disproportionate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has on LGBTIQ+ communities, and community organising efforts are central to that. We are pleased to be a part of this partnership to ensure that sport and physical activity groups and initiatives are able to benefit and able to play their critical role in our journey through this pandemic.”

Dr Mhairi Crawford, Chief Executive of LGBT Youth Scotland said, “We welcome the news of funding to support young people to access technology and data to engage with our services and receive vital 1:1 support from our expert team of youth workers.

“It is often assumed that young people have everything that they need to be able to make digital connections, but this isn’t always the case. We know that LGBT young people can experience high levels of poverty or lack access to the basic resources that they need to access digital support. This funding will allow them to access the support that they desperately need.”

Maruska Greenwood, Chief Executive, LGBT Health and Wellbeing said, “LGBT Health and Wellbeing are delighted to share in this award, which will bolsters our ability to support asylum seekers and refugees. This award will make a real difference to some of the individuals we are working with through our LGBT Refugee Project, many of whom were already very vulnerable, but have now been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and face severe hardship and destitution.”

The work will now commence to distribute the funding to where it is needed. The application was led by the Equality Network, with each organisation receiving funding for areas of work they lead on.

The amount granted to each organisation is £60,550 to Equality Network, £15,650 to LEAP Sports Scotland, £6500 to LGBT Youth Scotland and £5000 to LGBT Health and Wellbeing.

LGBTI organisations and groups in Scotland can express interest in the available funding here. Should you have any questions about the fund please contact scott@equality-network.org

The impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to be felt acutely across Scotland, the UK and the rest of the world. Our Intersectional Team looks at how the easing of the lockdown in England can give us some clues of what to expect when the time comes for Scotland to do the same. People flock back to town centres, cafés and shops. Life gets some level of normalcy. But social distancing rules are still in place, so long queues outside remind us that this new “normal” is not what it used to be.

What can we learn from England’s experience so that when this “new normal” reaches us, we can make sure that everyone can benefit in a safe and inclusive way? Some of us can’t wait to get out to the shops and support our local businesses, or are in desperate need for some new clothes or shoes but can’t buy online for one reason or another. Surely, being allowed to shop and use some services again will be a time of excitement and relief?

People with intersectional identities may be at higher risk of harm

Unfortunately, more people queuing in the streets to enter shops increases the potential risk for hate crime. Queues make everyone stand next to each other for long periods of time. You notice those standing next to you much more than if you were inside the shop crossing paths in an aisle. When tiredness and frustration sets in, tempers can fray.  

The queue, for all the boredom and frustration it brings, is also a place of vulnerability. If you leave, you miss your chance of buying food and other necessary items. So if someone starts being abusive towards you, you’re trapped. You have to endure it, or risk going hungry or missing the activity and losing out on some much-needed social interaction.

While this is true for any minority group, people with intersectional identities may be at higher risk in these circumstances, as targets of multiple discrimination.

If you need a carer or assistance while out and about, others may target you for bringing an extra person along. The carer could also be misread as a partner, which brings risk of being targeted with prejudice if you are then perceived as a same sex or LGBT couple (this is more likely when queuing for LGBT-related services).

Being an LGBT-friendly space does not necessarily mean that service users/customers will automatically feel safe, especially if required to queue outside, exposed to people who are not part of the service and could be hostile towards it.

Additionally, BME people may be at higher risk of discrimination while wearing a mask, so if you are not white, being out and about caries an additional layer of risk. This needs to be taken into consideration, especially when providing a safe space such as support groups and LGBT spaces.

Our 5 top tips for making events and services safe and accessible

Fear of discrimination puts people off going out altogether, and so those most vulnerable get left out when “everybody” is allowed to go out again. With that in mind, what can we do as business owners, club hosts and event organisers to make sure everyone can share the excitement and relief of easing the lockdown? 

1. Have a clear designated space with a chair or two for people who cannot stand for long periods of time.
2. Where possible, provide specific times or a separate line for people who have limited capacity to queue due to access needs.
3. Put signage along the queue space reminding people that discrimination will not be tolerated, along with the measures taken to enforce this (for example, removing those causing disturbances), then make sure your rules are properly enforced.
4. Believe (and support, where possible) service users and customers who report incidents to you.
5. If you have staff at the entrance controlling the number of people coming inside, have them pay attention to what is going on in the queue and proactively de-escalate or disrupt incidents before they need to be reported.

Remember that this is a stressful time for everyone. Anxiety and frustration are high. But by following some of these guidelines, you can ease the stress on both yourself and your service users. And then, hopefully, the eventual easing of lockdown can be for everyone.

The Intersectional Team

Since the crisis emerged we’ve been working to continue our capacity building support LGBTI groups around Scotland.

In the first instance we set up a facebook group for LGBTI groups to join, share good practice and network. If you run an LGBTI group in Scotland please consider joining, the group can be found here.

To help reduce social isolation we have secured funding from the Scottish Government Covid-19 Relief Fund to provide free Zoom Pro accounts, for a period of 4 months, along with training, to a number of LGBTI groups. If your group/sports club/organisation would like a free zoom account please fill out this expression of interest.

So far we have received an expression of interest from almost 50 LGBTI groups. We have also held zoom or phone conversations to assess the needs of 42 LGBTI groups so far. We’ve supported 6 applications for funding, delivered one-2-one training for 8 groups and continue to support pride organisers around the country with contingency planning.

Training for LGBTI Groups

We have four online training events planned in the next few weeks for groups trying to get up to speed on how to use zoom and how to run their online meetings. Please register using the links below.

Zoom 5.0 for LGBTI Groups – Thursday 11th June, 6.30pm

Zoom 5.0 for LGBTI Groups – Tuesday 16th June, 6.30pm

Marvellous Online Meetings – Thursday 18th June, 6.30pm

Marvellous Online Meetings – Tuesday 23rd June, 6.30pm