This report aims to improve UK policy and practice in relation to bisexual people as part of the wider lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equalities agenda. It is directed particularly at national and local government, at practitioners and policy-makers, and at LGB and LGBT groups and organisations.
Policy and practice in this area generally considers LGB and/or LGBT issues together. While there are many shared experiences and needs across the LGBT spectrum, there are also significant differences.
As detailed in the full report, there are strong grounds for singling out bisexual people as a specific group:
- Bisexual people’s experiences differ in important ways from those of heterosexual people, and from those of lesbian and gay people.
- Biphobia is distinct from homophobia.
- Bisexual people often face discrimination and prejudice from within heterosexual, and lesbian and gay, communities. This can be obscured by LGBT amalgamation.
- Bisexual populations have significantly higher levels of distress and mental health difficulties than equivalent heterosexual or lesbian/ gay populations.
