Source: The Guardian, PinkNews, Fyne Times
A major survey was released this week in London that shows Britain's 3.6 million lesbian, gay and bisexual people see themselves confronted by huge barriers of prejudice at every level of society.

The poll, commissioned by the equality charity Stonewall, which said some public bodies were too "smug" about their record on discrimination, indicates that the schoolyard is the most entrenched bastion of prejudice.

The YouGov poll of 1,658 gay adults found homophobic bullying in schools is more prevalent now than in previous decades. Around 30% of lesbian and gay people expect to encounter discrimination if they were to try to enroll a child at primary or secondary school, and 80% believe they would have difficulty if they were to apply to become a school governor.

The polling is published in a new report, Serves You Right, supported by financial firm Accenture, which also makes a range of recommendations offering simple ways of improving public service delivery for lesbian and gay people.

The National Health Service (NHS), police and courts are doing better than the education system in combating discrimination. However, a significant minority of gay people expect to be treated less well when seeking medical car, the survey found.

A fifth expect to be treated worse than a heterosexual when reporting any crime to the police.

A third think they would be treated worse by police if suspected of committing a crime, a figure which rises to 41 per cent in London.

Nearly a quarter think they would be treated worse if they appeared before a judge for committing a criminal offence.

One in five expect to find it harder than a heterosexual person to get social housing, and nine in 10 expect barriers to becoming a foster parent.

Across Britain, one in 14 lesbian and gay people expect to be treated less well than heterosexuals when accessing healthcare. Gay women are almost twice as likely to expect discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

There are big regional differences in perceptions of discrimination in the NHS. In Wales, 16% thought they would get inferior treatment if they were admitted to hospital in an emergency, compared with 2% in the south-west.

Ben Summerskill, Stonewall's chief executive, said, "Too many public services are a bit too smug about the progress made towards fair treatment for the lesbian and gay taxpayers who help fund them.

"Last spring we heard from a 14-year-old girl who had - incautiously - shared with a teacher at a faith school the thought that she might be gay. Subsequently the girl has been required to sit outside the changing room at the beginning and end of sports lessons while the 'normal' children get changed."

Of those polled, two-thirds of lesbian and gay people under 19 said they were bullied at school on grounds of sexuality, compared with half of those aged 35-44 and only a quarter of those over 55.

Stonewall said the problem was exacerbated in schools when teachers were banned by Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act from doing anything that could be perceived as promoting homosexuality. Section 28 was repealed in 2003, but the charity says the education system is years behind in its efforts to tackle prejudice.

Summerskill said: "The research highlights the one remaining gap at the heart of Britain's legislative equality framework. There is not yet a duty on public bodies requiring them to promote equality of service for gay people in a way that already exists for gender, ethnicity and disability. We'll now be pressing the government to honour its outstanding manifesto pledge to introduce such a duty."

The report does, however, find that public bodies and companies that make a positive effort to promote fair treatment can reap significant benefits.

Nearly half of lesbian and gay people said they were likely to buy products from businesses that use images of gay people to sell their goods; two thirds are more likely to buy products from a company that shows a positive commitment to recruiting gay people.

The poll also suggested prejudice is endemic in political life, with most lesbian and gay people expecting discrimination if they seek selection by a party to run for parliament. Nearly nine in 10 think they would face such barriers from the Conservative party, 61% from the Labour party and 47% from the Liberal Democrats.

Of those respondents who are party supporters, 71% of Conservatives, 46% of Labour and 28% of Lib Dems thought they would face barriers if they wanted to stand for Parliament.

But politicians were quick to defend their party's record.

Margot James, a Conservative party candidate for the constituency of Stourbridge,  said that in her experience as a lesbian, she has encountered no prejudice from party members, but quite a lot from the press.

"Gay people have to move on a bit," she told PinkNews.co.uk.

"Things have moved on. People need to put themselves forward and they will find there are not the barriers they think."

"Without being complacent, I think there is very little prejudice," James told PinkNews.

However, she acknowledged that the "history of the past 20 years" might have an effect on perceptions of how the Tories (Conservative party member) view gay people.

Speaking about her own selection for the marginal seat of Stourbridge, Ms James, who was number 17 in the PinkNews list of the 50 most influential LGBT people in British politics, said she did not think her sexuality was an issue.

A group within the Labour party that pushes for equality for lesbian, gay bisexual and trans people has has also defended its party's record.

"Labour has done more that all the other parties to increase the representation of LGBT people in public life," said Katie Hanson, co-chair of LGBT Labour.

"Most of the gay MPs are Labour, the only out lesbian MP is Labour and both the openly gay peers are Labour," she said.

She used the opportunity of the survey to take a swing at the rival parties. "LGBT people should rest assured that Labour is not complacent about the need for more out LGBT people in public life, unlike the Tories and the LibDems.

"Tory MPs continue to vote against equality in large numbers, and neither the LibDems nor the Tories have taken measures to improve LGBT representation within their party.

"On a personal note, when I stood for Parliament in 1997 as an openly lesbian candidate, the only people who thought my sexuality was an issue were the journalists on the Daily Mail," Hanson said.

"I had nothing but support from my Labour colleagues, and achieved a huge swing to Labour."

Labour MP Angela Eagle, a junior minister, is the only openly lesbian woman in the UK Parliament, PinkNews reports.

There are no LGB people in the British, Scottish or Welsh Cabinets and just two gay men, Lord Smith of Finsbury and Lord Alli of Norbury, in the House of Lords.

There are two gay MPs in the Tory Shadow Cabinet, Nick Herbert and Alan Duncan.

Full article: Homophobia rife in British society, landmark equality survey finds | Society | The Guardian
More gays need to put themselves forward says Tory | PinkNews
LGBT Labour defend party's record on gay candidates | PinkNews
Gay people still fear widespread discrimination | Fyne Times