For facts and figures on various aspects of Scottish life, click on the links below
Living in Scotland
- There are 300,000 gay people in Scotland, 6% of the population.
- 80% of gay young people have experienced discrimination (NHS Greater Glasgow survey "Something to tell you")
- 57% of young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) people believe Scotland is good place to live - but 90% believe homophobia and transphobia is still a problem (LGBT Youth Scotland, 2007)
- The Pink Pound is worth £7billion a year to the Scottish economy.
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Attitudes in Scotland
- 73% of Scots have a positive opinion of gay and lesbian people
- 73% of Scots think prejudice against gay and lesbian people in Britain should be tackled
- 63% of Scots think religious attitudes are to blame for public prejudice against gays and lesbians.
- 90% of Scots think gay bullying in schools should be tackled
- 93% of Scots support the fact that it's illegal to discriminate against people at work on the grounds of sexual orientation
- 67% of Scots support civil partnerships
- 85% of Scots support future legislation against discrimination in provision of healthcare and social services
- 90% of Scots believe it should be illegal to incite hatred on the basis of sexual orientation
- 94% of Scots would be comfortable if they had a gay colleague, 90% if there was a gay footballer on their team, 89% if they had a gay close friend, and 77% if their child was gay.
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Being out
- 56% of LGBT people are out to all their family, 72% to all their friends and 55% to all their work colleagues.
- But 10% aren't out to any family members or work colleagues
- 68% are out to their GP
- 64% are out to their employer
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Crime
- Just 37% of the victims of homophobic crime in Edinburgh in 2006 reported the incidents to the police
- 68% of LGBT people had been verbally abused or threatened by someone who assumed they were LGB or T, 35% in the past year. 61% had felt unsafe in the street, 30% in their own home or neighbourhood, 20% at school, college or university and 16% at work.
- 67% of LGBT people have experience verbal abuse - 80% never reported it to the police (LGBT welfare centre needs assessment)
- There were more than twice as many reported incidents of homophobic hate crime as faith based incidents in the Lothian and Borders area last year - 75 homophobic incidents compared to 36 faith based. But there is a statutory aggravation for faith based hate crimes, and none for those based on sexual orientation.
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Domestic abuse
- An estimated 1 in 4 LGBT people experience domestic abuse from family members, partners or ex partners
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Homophobic bullying
- 68% of young Scottish lesbian, gay or bisexual people have been homophobically bullied at school
- 21% of Scottish schools teach that homophobic bullying is wrong. In schools that say homophobic bullying is wrong, gay pupils are 60% less likely to be bullied
- 90% of Scots think homophobic bullying in schools should be tackled
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The workplace
- 93% of Scots support the fact that it's illegal to discriminate against people at work on the grounds of sexual orientation
- 74% of LGB customers and 42% of straight consumers are less likely to buy products from companies that hold negative views of lesbians and gay men
- 36% of gay employees will change careers in the face of discrimination - so improving workplace equality reduces staff turnover
- One in three of gay staff conceals their sexual orientation at work, yet out employees in safe environments earn 50% more than their closeted peers
- At least 55% of gay employees facing workplace discrimination report direct negative work impact
- 20% of gay employees facing workplace discrimination will consider suicide
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Health and the NHS
- 25 per cent of respondents in a Scottish survey of LGBT people had experienced inappropriate advice or treatment due to their sexual orientation or gender identity and 24% had experienced homophobia from NHS staff
- 31% of Scottish lesbians and 13% of Scottish gay men have children, yet there is limited service provision and targeted information
- Young gay and bisexual men are 6.7 times more likely to attempt suicide than the general population
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