The Queer Compass team are all members of the LGBTQ+ community. That does not remove the need for policy, structure, or accountability, but it does shape how seriously we take inclusion, dignity, and the practical impact that discrimination can have on everyday life.
We want Queer Compass to reflect the breadth of LGBTQ+ life across the UK while maintaining clear standards against discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and exclusionary conduct.
1. Core commitment
Queer Compass is committed to treating people fairly and respectfully, and to operating the platform in a way that does not tolerate unlawful discrimination, harassment, or victimisation.
We aim to foster a directory environment that is inclusive of the full diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, while also recognising that many users and listed organisations may hold multiple protected characteristics and may face overlapping barriers.
2. Legal context in the UK
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 protects people from unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation connected to protected characteristics. These characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
For a business or service operating publicly, this matters not only in employment settings but also in how services are provided, how people are treated, and how complaints or concerns are handled.
This page is intended as a practical policy statement, not a substitute for formal legal advice. Organisations should obtain legal guidance where they need advice on how the law applies to a specific situation.
3. What this means in practice
Our operating standard is that people should not be treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic, nor because they raise concerns about discrimination.
In practice, this means we aim to avoid and challenge:
- direct discrimination, where someone is treated worse because of a protected characteristic;
- indirect discrimination, where a rule, practice, or requirement disadvantages certain people without adequate justification;
- harassment, including unwanted conduct that violates dignity or creates a hostile, humiliating, degrading, or offensive environment;
- victimisation, including negative treatment because someone has raised, supported, or is believed likely to raise a discrimination-related complaint;
- retaliatory or exclusionary behaviour aimed at discouraging complaints, feedback, or safeguarding concerns.
4. Inclusion across the LGBTQ+ community
We recognise that LGBTQ+ inclusion is not satisfied by surface-level branding or vague statements of welcome. A business, organisation, or venue may present itself as inclusive while still creating barriers in practice.
We therefore take inclusion seriously across lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, queer, intersex, asexual, and other community experiences, and we pay attention to how inclusion intersects with disability, race, faith, age, migration experience, socioeconomic barriers, and other protected or marginalised identities.
We do not claim that Queer Compass can perfectly evaluate every organisation. We do, however, aim to make grounded editorial decisions and to respond when credible concerns are raised.
5. Expectations for listed businesses and organisations
Inclusion in the directory is not an endorsement of every action a business has ever taken. However, we expect listed organisations to avoid discriminatory conduct and to operate in a way that is broadly consistent with lawful, respectful service provision.
That expectation includes, where relevant:
- treating customers, visitors, service users, and enquirers with dignity and respect;
- not refusing or degrading service on discriminatory grounds;
- not using abusive, exclusionary, or hostile language toward LGBTQ+ people or other protected groups;
- taking complaints seriously rather than punishing people for raising concerns;
- making reasonable efforts to communicate accurately about accessibility, inclusion, or community-specific provision where those matters are material to users.
6. Accessibility and reasonable inclusion measures
Inclusive practice is not only about avoiding overt discrimination. It is also about reducing barriers where possible. For disabled people in particular, UK equality law can require reasonable adjustments in relevant contexts.
Queer Compass encourages listed organisations to think seriously about access, communication, and practical barriers. That may include physical access, sensory considerations, staff awareness, booking processes, toilet provision, pronoun respect, and how information is explained publicly.
We may include access or inclusion-related notes on listings where those details are relevant to helping users make informed decisions.
7. Complaints, concerns, and reports
If someone tells us that a listed business or organisation has behaved in a discriminatory, exclusionary, unsafe, or seriously misleading way, we may review the listing and any supporting information available to us.
Depending on the circumstances, we may request clarification, amend listing copy, update status information, pause visibility, or remove the listing. We may also decide that the available evidence does not justify a listing change at that time.
We do not promise that every complaint will result in removal, but we do aim not to dismiss serious concerns casually.
8. No retaliation for raising equality concerns
We do not support retaliatory conduct against people who raise genuine concerns about discrimination, harassment, or exclusion. Concerns raised in good faith should be handled seriously, not met with hostility.
That principle matters both for our own conduct and for how we assess the behaviour of organisations listed on the platform. If a business responds to accountability concerns by threatening, humiliating, or punishing complainants, that is relevant to how we assess its suitability for inclusion.
9. Internal conduct and editorial responsibility
We aim to apply this statement across our own editorial decisions, communications, and platform management. That includes how we review submissions, how we respond to community feedback, and how we decide whether a listing should remain live.
Editorial discretion still sits with Queer Compass. We may decide that a listing is not suitable for publication even where there has been no formal legal finding, if we believe inclusion would undermine trust, safety, or the quality of the directory.
10. Review and contact
We may update this statement over time as Queer Compass develops. If our standards, processes, or legal references change materially, we will revise this page.
If you want to raise a concern about inclusion, discrimination, or harmful conduct connected to the platform or a listing, email hello@queercompass.co.uk.