Businesses sign up to adopt Liberate’s Rainbow Mark
Several Guernsey businesses have already signed up to adopt the Rainbow Mark, which was launched yesterday by Liberate Guernsey as a way for firms to display their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community.
At a launch event at the Chamber of Commerce, a short presentation included Liberate Jersey’s CEO Kaye Nicolson talking about its campaign for inclusivity, Difera, although Ms Nicolson said that, unlike the Guernsey group, Jersey’s included people with disabilities and other minorities as well as the LGBTQ+ community.
She said she would be watching the Rainbow Mark campaign.
‘We’re very keen to work pan-island and to collaborate,’ she said.
Among the audience was Guernsey Chest & Heart Guernsey manager Caroline Ogier, who said she was keen for the charity to adopt the mark.
‘Personally I think the LGBTQ+ community hasn’t always had a great experience of accessing health care and I think it’s really important that when they come through our doors it feels like they are in a safe space,’ she said.
Using the mark would make this safe space more visible.
But Mrs Ogier hoped the charity could go further.
‘I’d very much like Chest and Heart to become part of the LGBTQ+ business network,’ she said.
Healthcare Group GP Dr Lucy Joslin, who is based at the St Martin’s Practice, said that as well as taking on the mark she hoped more could be done.
‘We’ll probably liaise with Ellie [Jones, Liberate Guernsey CEO] to look at some training for front of house and then disseminate it through the rest of the staff.’
She was very interested in the practice using the mark and said it had a lot of LGBTQ+ patients.
Mx Jones was delighted at the response and said the event could have been filled several times over.
Several big businesses had already signed up, 20 more firms had come forward as a result of the meeting and 200 packs had been put together for distribution.
There was a greater need for something like this now, given the public comments being made by some senior national and international politicians about LGBTQ+ issues.
‘There’s been a bit of a push-back in terms of LGBTQ rights globally,’ she said.
Comments made by such public figures had started to be reflected by an increase in derogatory and homophobic remarks heard by people in the community.
‘A straight person would never walk into any business and not feel they were safe.
‘This initiative is purely about knowing that if you face discrimination [in a place of business] that people in there are not going to accept that kind of language.’
For more information on the Rainbow Mark contact Ellie Jones at ellie@liberate.gg.
