Fear, stigma and exclusion prevail for LGBT+ welfare claimants, study finds

Fear of discrimination means LGBT+ people can delay claiming benefits.

person walking into job centre
Claimants experienced poor interaction with staff and intimidating processes and surroundings, the study found.

Britain’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT+) population endures fear, stigma and exclusion when trying to claim social security benefits, according to a study led by the University of Stirling. 
 
Analysis of almost a decade of data from over 10,000 UK households, and more than 100 interviews with people who had claimed benefits, found that fear of discrimination means LGBT+ people can delay claiming benefits, and that they can still face barriers to employment due to discrimination. It found that administrative systems based on heterosexual and cisgender norms can be a barrier and add to their anxiety. 
 
The study - thought to be the first of its kind in the UK and funded by the Nuffield Foundation -highlights a “punitive, highly conditional” social security system, in which claims are delayed, or made complex and difficult because of a claimant’s sexual and/or gender identity. 
 
The findings come as the Government gets ready to undertake an overhaul of employment support. Its Get Britain Working White Paper was published last week.  
 
Social scientists from the University of Stirling, the University of Nottingham, and Sheffield Hallam University, analysed data collected across three major surveys in Great Britain – the Family Resources Survey, the Wealth and Assets Survey, and the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS, known as Understanding Society). 
 
The research found that while universal, non-conditional benefits such as the State Pension are straightforward for LGBT+ people to claim and manage, accessing other social security benefits was much more difficult. Claimants faced a system that discriminated against them, with poor interaction with staff and intimidating processes and surroundings. 
 
Among the report’s other findings are: 

  • gay men are more likely than heterosexual men to claim social security benefits available to people aged between 16 and 64;  
  • lesbians, gay men and bisexuals aged 50-64 are more likely to claim benefits than their heterosexual counterparts;
  • bisexual people are more likely to claim disability-related benefits; 
    LGBT+ parents can believe they are ineligible for support from the social security system; 
  • LGBT+ people with disabilities can suffer extra distress when applying for benefits, on top of the discrimination that can surround their sexual identity and gender;  
  • the administration of social security claims systematically excludes trans people;  
  • trans children are not recognised within the system, leading to discrimination against them;
  • the current system creates difficulties for how trans people’s transitions are managed, for example name changes.
Dr Peter Matthews, Faculty of Social Sciences
Peter Matthews
Professor of Social Policy and LGBTQ+ Studies
What is needed, and urgently, is a move away from a system that is punitive and exclusionary to one that is supportive, inclusive and individualised.

Phoebe, 25, a bisexual trans woman from Manchester and participant in the study, said of the social security system: “I think if they even like got the slightest whiff of queerness then they’d not know what to do, so just absolutely zero idea of how to handle a trans person, honestly.”  

Bellamy, 32, from Manchester who identifies as queer and they/them, said: “A person I had to deal with at the job centre made some quite unpleasant comments about my sexual identity during the time that we were working together ostensibly, so that is something that I really remember being quite upset about.”  
 
The study recommends that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and other social security agencies and organisations make sure staff attend LGBT+ inclusion training, and that agencies gather, analyse and publish appropriate data on sexual and gender identities as part of ongoing equalities monitoring. 
 
The authors suggest that name changes for trans claimants are treated in the same way as name changes for married women, and that all social security systems should allow people to choose a non-binary gender. 
 
The research also highlighted positive experiences for LGBT+ people. This included work coaches in JobCentre Plus treating LGBT+ claimants with respect, and ensuring their privacy when appropriate, and inclusive disability charities helping disabled LGBT+ claimants with social security benefits. Applying for disability benefits in Scotland – which has devolved powers for this – was regarded by participants as a more positive experience than in England and Wales.  
 
Peter Matthews, co-author of the study and Professor of Social Policy and LGBTQ+ Studies at the University of Stirling, said: “Our study reveals some distressing findings - a social security system with inequalities and stigma towards Britain’s LGBT+ community and claimants who are worn down by that. 
 
“We spoke to people intimidated and put off not only by the bureaucracy of the system, but by the surroundings, staff and lack of privacy in job centres. We found people operating with two identities – a ‘legal’ self who claims the benefits and another self who assumes their preferred sexual or gender identity. There were people who lied about their relationship status or hid them from the DWP to avoid intrusion and complexity. 
 
“It is wrong that anyone feels shame, or is forced to lie, in order to access the social security benefits to which they are entitled. What is needed, and urgently, is a move away from a system that is punitive and exclusionary to one that is supportive, inclusive and individualised.” 
 
Analysis from the same study revealed earlier this year that Britain’s lesbian, gay and bisexual population experiences inequalities in accessing housing. The research was carried out in partnership with the University of Nottingham and Sheffeld Hallam University.  
 
The final report of LGBT+ Welfare and Assets in Great Britain is available online at https://lgbtqwelfare.stir.ac.uk/ 

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