Over 100,000 UK Gays and Lesbians Refused Goods and Services

London, UK (PRWeb) January 12, 2007 -- Research released for the first time today reveals the extent of the problem of discrimination against lesbians and gay men being refused goods and services, which is the subject of the new Equality Act 2006.

Findings of the 'Out Now Diva and Gay Times Readers Surveys' reveal that well over 100,000 British lesbians and gay men report having been refused goods and services because they are gay.

"This is the first time we have released these findings," says Ian Johnson, managing director of Out Now Consulting -- a specialist gay marketing consultancy that carried out the research.

"We think people will be shocked to learn that so many people during a 12-month period were effectively turned away by organisations that refused to serve them -- because they were gay. That is just wrong," said Johnson. "That sort of thing ought not happen in a modern society if all members of the community are to be treated equally and with respect. It would not be allowed to happen if the consumer were black, but more than 100,000 gay people in the UK know all too well why these laws are needed, and they have at least one first-hand experience that they could not purchase goods or access services -- just because they are gay."

Official UK government Whitehall figures put the total number of gay and lesbian people in the UK at 6 percent of the total adult population, or 3 million people.

The 'Out Now Diva and Gay Times Readers Surveys' reveals that 4 percent of UK lesbians and 5 percent of UK gay men report being refused goods or services on the grounds of their perceived sexuality in the previous 12 months. That equates to 135,000 people that are affected by this type of discrimination.

"These survey results show that far too many UK lesbians and gay men know about the hard edge of the discrimination that has led to the enactment of this new legislation," according to Kim Watson, Deputy Managing Director at MPG -- publisher of Diva and Gay Times magazines.

Notes to editors:
Publication of this information must be credited as the "Out Now Diva and Gay Times Readers Surveys", for copyright reasons.

Six percent of UK adults are believed to be lesbian or gay. Source: Whitehall, December 2005.

The report by Out Now Consulting, was undertaken following independent research with more than 1,000 readers of Diva and Gay Times magazines between March and October 2005. Sample size is 1,118 respondents.

Gay Times and Diva (published by Millivres Prowler Ltd.) are Europe's best selling gay and lesbian glossy news stand magazines. Gay Times was launched in 1984 and Diva in 1994, both titles are distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd. Millivres Prowler Ltd. is Europe's largest media business targeting the gay and lesbian market and celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2004. In that same year the company registered as a Stonewall 'Diversity Champion' and achieved 'Investors In People' accreditation.

The calculations above are based on the UK gay market comprising a total of 3 million people, and reported levels revealed in this research being typical across the market. The data reflects the reported figures from readers of Diva and Gay Times magazines -- the UK's best selling lesbian and gay magazines.

Established in 1992, Out Now Consulting is a leading source for gay marketing research and strategy, and is a global gay market agency relied upon by organisations involved with lesbian and gay people. Services include market research, training, advertising, public relations and strategy development.

Out Now clients include Relate, Barclays Bank, IBM, Toyota, German National Tourist Office, Qantas Airways, Visit Britain, Lufthansa, South African Tourism and Citibank.

For further information please contact:

Ian Johnson, Managing Director, Out Now Consulting    
UK landline: +44-(0)20-8123 5288
UK mobile: +44-(0)7906 553 990
BE landline: +32-2-514 6443
BE mobile: +32-4737 60886

web: http://www.OutNowconsulting.com
Latest gay market news, by Out Now:
http://www.GayMarketing101.blogspot.com

Kim Watson, Millivres Prowler Ltd.
Mobile: +44-7813 475402
Direct Line: +44-20-7424 7460
web: http://www.millivres.co.uk

###