Migration Project

Did you leave home for the big smoke? Did you leave Scotland altogether and head for London? If so, then we at Stonewall Scotland want to hear from you.

We are just about to launch an exciting new research project on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) brain drain.

With funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), we're studying the migration patterns of LGBT people.

We all know LGBT people who have left rural Scotland for the big cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, or even left Scotland altogether for London.

At Stonewall Scotland we want to know why LGBT people leave their hometowns and move to the Central Belt - or leave Scotland altogether.

The research is vital because once we have reasons, then we can do something to fix it - helping to make sure the jobs and support are in place for young LGBT people, so that for the next generation, leaving home is a choice - not a necessity.

This is where we need our supporters' help.

We need to recruit a group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who were attracted by the bright lights, big city.

This autumn, we'll be holding a series of focus groups in London and Scotland, and we need volunteers - in London, we need ex-pat Scots, and in Scotland, we need people who moved to Edinburgh and Glasgow - to tell us why they moved.

Your sexual orientation or gender identity might have had nothing to do with why you moved - or it might have had everything to do with it. Perhaps it was one of a whole number of factors. It doesn't matter.

Let us know if you're interested, and we'll keep in touch and tell you when the focus groups are taking place. Email us at migration@stonewallscotland.org.uk to find out more.