Raising Queer Voices
We work with our community to challenge inequality and drive long-term change for LGBTQ+ health and wellbeing in Scotland.
Why change is needed?
LGBTQ+ people continue to face serious health and wellbeing inequalities across Scotland. These inequalities are linked to discrimination, stigma and LGBTQ+phobia experienced throughout life often described by researchers as minority stress.
The impact is clear. The 2022 LGBT+ Health Needs Assessment found:
- Almost half (44%) of respondents had experienced discrimination in the past year.
- More than half (54%) reported poor mental health, including depression, anxiety and stress with the highest rates among bi+ women, and trans and non-binary people.
- Three in four (73%) experienced loneliness or isolation, and almost two in five (38%) felt lonely all the time.
These inequalities are preventable. We are committed to building a Scotland where every LGBTQ+ person can live well, feel safe, and be included.
How we work for change
For over 20 years, LGBT Health and Wellbeing has worked alongside LGBTQ+ people to promote wellbeing and create safe, inclusive spaces where everyone feels valued and understood. As an organisation led by and for our community, we support grassroots groups and collective action to protect and advance LGBTQ+ rights. Our work is intersectional, intergenerational, and rooted in solidarity with human rights movements around the world.
We create meaningful opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to share their experiences directly with those who can drive change. Through partnerships with community groups, public bodies, and policymakers, we work to challenge the structural inequalities that impact LGBTQ+ people across Scotland.
Our key areas of work include:
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Self-harm and suicide prevention
- LGBTQ+ Elders
- LGBTQ+ New Scots (refugees and people seeking asylum)
- Trans healthcare
- LGBTQ+ healthcare
Discover resources co‑created with LGBTQ+ people, including research, consultations, and community discussions shaped by lived experience.
Conversion Practices in Scotland: Support Guide
LGBTQ+ New Scots: supporting LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum in Scotland
Fit For Purpose: inclusive housing and social care for older LGBT+ people
Trans People and Work in Scotland
Consultations
Read our consultation responses to government proposals directly influenced by LGBTQ+ people through our engagement work.
Get involved
Want to hear more about our work for change?
Contact our Policy and Research Manager, Rebecca (she/her), at rebecca@lgbthealth.org.uk or phone 0131 564 3970 and leave a message.
LGBTQIA+ Focus Groups
We’re inviting LGBTQ+ people to take part in focus groups exploring health, wellbeing, inclusion, community experiences and priorities for change.
We’re collaborating with the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH) on research to better understand what Scotland’s Census findings tell us about LGBTQ+ communities, and what they might be missing.
We want to hear directly from people about their lived experiences and the issues that matter most.
We’re hoping to hear from:
• LGBTQIA+ people from racialised, Black and minority ethnic communities
• Disabled LGBTQIA+ people
• Trans and non-binary people
• LGBTQIA+ people aged 50+
• LGBTQIA+ people from the wider community
Sign up for updates on the change we’re creating with our LGBTQ+ community