Digital engagement with the LGBT community

The Digital Engagement team has run two major engagement projects in 2019 for debates on LGBT rights and the LGBT community.

The MP leading each one was approached in advance by the team, and offered bespoke engagement opportunities to involve the public in their debate.

These gave the MPs a chance to hear insights from relevant charities and individuals about the issues that were being debated.

It also acted as a means through which the LGBT community could get their voices heard and experiences represented in Parliament.

The rights of LGBT people in Brunei

Following the implementation of laws in Brunei that punished same-sex relationships, adultery and abortions with corporal and capital punishment, Thangam Debbonaire MP led a Westminster Hall debate calling on the UK Government to issue a response.

The Digital Engagement Team ran a Facebook discussion card, inviting those with experience of LGBT issues to suggest how the Government should react.

Reach

• People reached: 37.5k
• Comments: 292
• Shares from relevant accounts like LGBT Foundation, National Secular Society and APPG on Global LGBT Rights: 142

Feedback

• Thangam Debbonaire MP: "I would like to thank the House of Commons Digital Engagement Programme who have brought members of the public into this discussion in a way I never knew was possible."
• Louise Tiller: "Thank you for the coverage and for this medium of communication."
• Day Riley: "@HouseofCommons, thanks so much for raising this :) 🌈"

Teaching LGBT acceptance in schools

Following the protests at Anderton Park primary school in Birmingham which received nationwide coverage, Daniel Kawczynski MP led a Westminster Hall debate on teaching LGBT acceptance in schools. He stated that:

“Teaching all children at an early age that there is nothing wrong with being gay is important in order to improve mental health, reduce bullying and abuse.”

Ahead of this debate, the Digital Engagement Team offered members of the public the chance to have their insights and experiences heard by a Member of Parliament.

Reach

• People reached: 28k
• Comments: 377
• Shares: 194 - including from local Pride groups, secularist campaigns, children's advocacy charities and national accounts like Pride (47k followers)
• A private survey was provided for those who weren’t comfortable sharing their experiences in public. 88 people contributed in advance of the debate, and a further 3.7k made contributions thereafter.

Example comments

• "I had no formal education of LGBT issues during my schooling here in the U.K. (I grew up during the time of the enforcement of Section 28 legislation). I identify as gay and during my childhood I expressed feelings of self-harm and attempted suicide twice because of a fear and lack of understanding about my own sexuality. No child should ever have to go through what I went through. No child should try to take their own life because of a fear of their own feels of love and desire. Teach our children that Love=Love and that hate is not an acceptable response to difference in the 21st Century." - Lee Webb
• “When I think of how the knot in my teenage heart could have been loosened if I had even one lesson at school telling me I wasn’t broken or put together wrong...I realise that this isn’t a religious or even spiritual debate. It’s a matter of human rights.” - Deenah al-Aqsa from Lacuna Magazine. See the article they published about this debate: "Parliamentary debate on LGBT acceptance in schools quotes Lacuna Magazine"
• "This is not about sex education but about instilling in young people the importance of equality for all." - Anon
• "As a gay man i think it wholly appropriate that kids are taught that nature means some of us prefer to love and marry people of the same sex, and that there is nothing wrong with this. There is no need at all to talk about sex - I knew I was gay from about 7 but hid it till I was 21 due to my catholic upbringing and the shame I felt. It’s about time we taught children how the real world actually is not how we believe it should be" - Anthony Lewis

Impact

The Digital Engagement Programme represents an important channel through which Parliament can be more inclusive, and we actively pursue opportunities to involve diverse and sometimes marginalised audiences in the democratic process.

This is particularly important in the year that we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, in which Parliament is extending and deepening its engagement with the LGBT community.

Through these digital engagement projects, our team has built strong relationships with charities, APPGs and external organisations who focus on LGBT issues.

They share our discussion cards through their social media channels, ensuring that the content reaches people with lived experience and in-depth understanding the issues at hand.

The process has enabled us to build our profile among relevant MPs, partner organisations and the public at large. This means that when similar Parliamentary business arises in the future, we'll be in a strong position to successfully engage relevant members of the public and encourage them to share their experiences.

Over time, we hope to show people that their contributions can shape the views and actions of MPs, and have an impact on the direction of government policy.