The study, conducted by Pride Wide in collaboration with Barefoot Wine, surveyed 1,063 LGBTQ+ people in the UK between 22 September and 9 October 2023. It found just over three-quarters of people (67 per cent) have avoided holding hands in the past 12 months, for fear of a negative response. This finding comes amid rising LGBTQ+ hate crime rates across the UK and follows several high-profile hate crime incidents, including a lesbian couple being harassed on the London Underground, Drag Race UK star Pixie Polite being threatened with a “whisky bottle stabbing” and the attack on two men outside the Two Brewers in Clapham. In the summer, queer people told PinkNews how they are now hiding their identities in public out of fear of being violently attacked on the street. The research also found that of those surveyed, they reported feeling loved, proud, and in sync or connected when holding hands. However, holding hands also made some feel self-conscious, anxious, and unsafe. Alongside this, eight in ten LGBTQ+ people agreed that hand-holding can be a powerful act of visibility and nearly half said they feel validated and safer when they see others holding hands. A huge 85 percent also said they want to see more LGBTQ+ people holding hands in public. #Queer Up Gay Culture