Skip to main content

Sexual orientation (including civil partnership)

The ‘protected characteristic’ of sexual orientation as stated in the Equalities Act 2010 refers to those individuals who are attracted to those of the opposite sex, the same sex or either sex. There is evidence demonstrating that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and/or any other sexual orientation (LGB+) experience discrimination and marginalisation in their daily lives compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

The Census conducted in March 2021 included for the first time a question asking respondents to indicate their sexual orientation. In addition, the Annual Population Survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics every five years provides data on sexual orientation in the UK comparing 2023 with 2018, however this data is not provided on a regional or more local basis as the findings did not quite reach statistical significance. The collection of this information will provide a much clearer picture of the profile of this community going forward and the issues that they face. We anticipate that this will go some way in allowing us to understand the data at a local level.

Census 2021

88.95 per cent (of people aged 16 years and over) in Plymouth identify their sexual orientation as straight or heterosexual compared to 89.4 per cent in England and Wales. 4.45 per cent of people aged 16 years and over in Plymouth describe their sexual orientation as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or use another term to describe their sexuality. This compares to 3.3 per cent in England and Wales. Of these:

  • 1.97 per cent (4,297) people are gay or lesbian. (England and Wales 1.5 per cent)
  • 2.06 per cent (4,509) are bisexual (England and Wales 1.3 per cent)
  • 0.42 per cent (924) have another sexual orientation (England and Wales 0.3 per cent)

The Census found that nationally, people aged 16 to 24 years (6.91 per cent) were the age group most likely to have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or used a different term to describe their sexual orientation.

Annual Population Survey 2023

  • Of the UK household population aged 16 years and over, 93.6 per cent identified as heterosexual or straight in 2023; this is down from 94.6 per cent in 2018.
  • Of the UK household population aged 16 years and over, 3.8 per cent identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) in 2023; this is up from 2.2 per cent in 2018.
  • Younger people were more likely to identify as LGB than older people; around 1 in 10 (10.4 per cent) of those aged 16 to 24 years identified as LGB, compared with around 1 in 100 (0.9 per cent) of those aged 65 years and over.
  • Most people who identified as LGB in 2023 had never married or formed a civil partnership (77.2 per cent), compared with 36.8 per cent of people who identified as heterosexual or straight.

Health

The 2022 Plymouth City Survey asked respondents wellbeing questions across four different areas. Plymouth residents’ mean scores for the four indicators were:

  • 6.6 points out of 10 for life satisfaction
  • 7.0 points out of 10 for feeling that what one does in life is worthwhile
  • 6.9 points out of 10 for happiness yesterday
  • 3.8 points out of 10 for anxiety yesterday

The City Survey 2022 found that residents who identified as LGB had a lower average score (6.6) compared with those that identified as heterosexual or straight (7.1).

Participation in Public Life

The OutYouth Group continues to support young people from the LGBT+ community; particularly those struggling with homophobic bullying at school, coming out to family and/or those seeking a safe space to identify without judgement or discrimination.

Crime

In the 12 months to January 2025, there were 518 hate crimes recorded in Plymouth, an increase on the 435 hate crimes recorded in the 12 months to January 2024. Of these, 75 were attributed to sexual orientation compared to 91 in the previous year.