Bisexual Awareness week

22nd September, 2021

smellings

Community

Bisexual Awareness week, also known as Bi Week is an important part of the LGBT+ calendar. This year it takes place between 19th and 25th September 2021. Bi is an umbrella term used to describe romantic and/or sexual attraction towards more than one gender. Bi people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including, but not limited to: bisexual, pan, queer.

There is currently no nationally representative survey of the LGBT+ population in Britain but the Office for National Statistics estimated that in 2017, 2% of the adult population (1.1 million people) identified as LGB. Of these, 0.7 per cent (385,000 people) identified as bi.

Research shows consistently that the LGBT+ community face harassment. Research by the University of Surrey found that LGBT+ residents who had reported harassment reported feelings of ambivalence on how this was tackled by housing associations. It found that 34% of LGBT+ people felt that housing providers have more work to do in dealing effectively with complaints about harassment and some reported that their complaints were not taken seriously or were investigated very slowly. Researchers also found that many LGBT+ people were concerned about inviting people into their home who they didn’t know, with 21% being uncomfortable with repairs people and 25% feeling uneasy with their landlord entering their property. A significant number reported changing their home to conceal their gender identity or sexuality, for example moving pictures, books or DVDs.

When we talk about sexual orientation, people love a label as it can often be easier to categorise people or put them in neat boxes. However, by doing this we can unintentionally judge or be critical, and sometime people just don’t fit into neat boxes!
A wealth of research shows us that bisexual people have historically faced negativity; and some straight people think bisexuals are secretly gay; some gay people think bisexuality is a sign of being in denial. At Connexus we understand that people are individuals, and we are actively raising awareness about equality, diversity and inclusion with our colleagues. We are doing this to enable them to work more effectively with all of our customers and with one another.

Jo Tracey, Director of People

At Connexus we provide homes for everyone and welcome customers from the LGBT+ community who we know are around 30% more likely to face homelessness. As an organisation we are working hard to be a more inclusive landlord.

Richard Woolley, Chief Executive.

Bisexual Awareness week

Bisexuality in the workplace: Including the B in LGBTQ+