Bermuda Launches First-Ever National LGBTQ+ Survey, ‘This Is About Listening’

Bermuda looks to examine the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people connected to the island through the first national LGBTQ+ survey.

Bermuda is giving local LGBTQ+ residents a platform to share their experiences through the island’s first-ever national LGBTQ+ survey.

Announced Feb. 17, the newly launched national survey looks to examine the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people connected to the island, TNN reports. Led by Global Research in partnership with OUTBermuda, the survey invites participants, both openly LGBTQ+ individuals and those who may not feel safe being out, to anonymously share their lived experiences in Bermuda.

“This survey is about listening,” said Joshua Samuels, Executive Director of OUTBermuda. “It creates space for people to share their experiences in their own words, including those who have not always felt safe enough to be visible.”

The survey examines key aspects of daily life, including safety and belonging, access to health and mental health care, experiences in schools and workplaces, community connection, and instances of support or discrimination. Its findings aim to provide a clearer understanding of LGBTQ+ experiences and help shape advocacy efforts, guide policy discussions, secure funding, and inform the ongoing development of OUTBermuda’s Policy Manifesto as the group works toward a more inclusive future across Bermuda.

The survey marks another step forward for LGBTQ+ advocacy in Bermuda, where the island’s first Pride parade in 2019 drew thousands before smaller gatherings followed during the pandemic. In 2022, OUTBermuda, a charity focused on supporting the local LGBTQ+ community, took over organizing Pride events.

Ahead of the 2023 celebration, executive director Tiffany Paynter noted that while LGBTQ+ residents participate in everyday island life like anyone else, many still question whether they can fully be themselves in every space.

“Our culture is very casually homophobic in ways that people don’t even know or truly appreciate, and we’re overtly homophobic as well,” she told the Royal Gazette at the time. “So these are the things that we have to navigate as we plan for our community to come together and celebrate.”

“We’re doing this for our community to feel a sense of pride and belonging because the idea of homecoming is, this is our island too, we belong too.”

Bermuda’s national LGBTQ+ survey is open to participants age 18 and older, including residents on the island and LGBTQ+ Bermudians living abroad. Take the survey HERE.