PLANS have been drawn up to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the borough, after a survey indicated Rugby is ‘not a friendly place’ for them.
The Rugby LGBT+ Action Plan, which includes a proposal for a Pride event in the borough, was drawn up by Rugby Borough Council (RBC), Warkwickshire Pride and the Equality and Inclusion Partnership (EQuIP) after the survey found almost half of the 81 participants had experienced hate in Rugby due to their sexuality – well above the national average of 21 per cent.
On behalf of RBC, Warwickshire Pride surveyed people who are LGBT+ – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or transsexual, with the ‘plus’ representing other groups such as asexual, intersex, queer and questioning.
The survey recommended introducing more LGBT+ services and activities, and education programmes to challenge discrimination.
The report states: “It is alarming to learn hate aimed at LGBT+ people in Rugby is more than double the national statistic.
“The feedback shows a clear need for strategies that will drive down the level of hate, empower the community and enable them to access safe spaces.”
Proposals in the Action Plan include arranging a Pride festival event in Rugby, and raising the Pride ‘rainbow’ flag at the Town Hall on key dates – as the council did in February for LGBT+ history month.
It also includes plans for developing support services and safe places for LGBT+ people, awareness training for all frontline RBC employees, and raising awareness of hate crime and how to report it.
Raj Chand, RBC’s Head of Communities and Homes and lead officer for Equalities, said: “We were alarmed to hear the borough has not provided LGBT+ communities with the warm welcome or support we would like.
“RBC will provide community leadership to help make Rugby a welcoming place for everybody.
“The actions we have agreed will involve partners such as the police, community wardens and town centre rangers, along with businesses and other organisations. Together we can make sure that Rugby is a safe, supportive place for all of our communities.”
The council attracted criticism for rejecting a motion which would provide RBC staff with rainbow lanyards – neck-worn cords which hold ID cards or security passes – at its budget meeting last week.
But an RBC spokesman rejected claims that LGBT+ people were censored when their comments were removed from council social media pages.
He said comments displaying political allegiances were deleted, because the law requires local authority social media posts to be non-political. Homophobic comments were also removed.
