LEAP Sports Chairs First National LGBT Sports Co-ordinating Group
14th March 2013
LEAP Sports chaired the first National LGBT Sports Co-ordinating Group in Glasgow on 12th March 2013. The group had representatives from all national LGBT organisations- LGBT Youth Scotland, the Equality Network and Stonewall Scotland. The meeting was hosted by sportscotland, with the Scottish Sports Association and the Scottish Association for Local Sports Councils also attending. The Co-ordinating Group was one of ten recommendations from the Equality Network’s ‘Out for Sport’ report which was released in June 2012.
Members from the newly formed group are committed to working towards eliminating homophobia and transphobia in Scottish sport. The first meeting was very positive; the group identified a number of areas where work is already progressing well and started to develop an action plan to fill existing gaps. Euan Platt, Project Officer of LEAP Sports and meeting chair, said he was pleased with how the day had gone. He stated that, ‘Everyone had shown a real commitment to tackling the issues raised in the report and I’m very much looking forward to working together to achieve positive outcomes for LGBT people in Scottish sport’. He continued to say that over the next few months the group would be finalizing the action plan and identifying other key partners to ensure practical solutions emerge from the recommendations.
The ‘Out for Sport’ research is the most comprehensive work so far undertaken into homophobia and transphobia in Scottish Sport and into LGBT sports participation, with over 1,700 responses. Some of the key findings include:
79% of respondents think that there is a problem with homophobia in sport
62% of LGBT respondents have witnessed or experienced homophobia or transphobia in sport
57% of LGBT participants would be more likely to participate in sport if it was more LGBT friendly
Penelope Peacock, sportscotland’s Partnership Manager said “The National LGBT Sports Co-ordinating Group was a great opportunity to get the right people around the table to discuss how to take forward the Out for Sport recommendations. The meeting was extremely positive and sportscotland is looking forward to further developing our LGBT equalities work with the additional support from members.”
Scott Cuthbertson, the Equality Network’s Community Development Co-ordinator said- ‘Out for Sport’, the first report of its kind into homophobia and transphobia in Scottish sport highlighted the barriers for LGBT Scots on the sports field. The National Coordinating Group is key to furthering the recommendations from that report. We are delighted to be working with LEAP Sports, sportscotland and other sector partners to make a real difference for LGBT Scots looking to take part in sport.”
The group will meet every two months to progress with the action plan.
