London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard provides a range of services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The services include our helpline, online chat through instant messaging, email support, information on sexual health and the Turing Network database, a public access search facility that enables anyone to look for support or services catering for the LGBT community.

Whatever way you choose to contact us, our fully trained volunteers will be there to help and can offer you support and information on any subject to do with sexuality.

Our volunteers are helpful, friendly and supportive, and every one of them identifies as either lesbian, gay or bisexual.

You don't have to be lesbian, gay or bisexual to contact us – we talk to friends, parents and family members too.

I'm coming out... – Call us if you want to talk about your feelings, are frightened, confused or isolated.

I'm going out... – We can give you listings and details of bars, clubs, saunas, social and sports groups and support groups. We can also tell you what’s going on and where in the rest of the UK.

I'm staying in... – Ask us anything you like about sex: wanting sex, having sex, safer sex, sexual health and where to go if you have an itch or a sore. If you're worried about HIV and AIDS, we can tell you what the risks are and what precautions you can take.

Oh, by the way – no matter how you choose to contact us, this is what we won't do:

• We won't tell you what to do
• We won't judge you
• We won't tell anyone else about what you talk or write about

The London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard award-winning helpline is open between 10am and 11pm every day of the week, 365 days a year. Our helpline number is now 0300 330 0630, although the old number (020 7837 7324) remains active. 0300 numbers are charged at the same rate as local calls, even from mobiles, and are included in both landline and mobile bundles.

Sexual health is an important issue for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and generally for men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women. Most sex education in schools and public health campaigns focus on heterosexual sex, but gay and bisexual men are one of the groups most affected by the sexual transmission of HIV in the UK.

Lesbians and bisexual women also need to access the same high quality health services as other women, but may be less likely to because they are concerned about coming out to healthcare providers.

In the 1980s, London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard were the leading source of information on the then new and unknown disease HIV/AIDS. Our volunteers went on to set up some of the UK's leading HIV charities, such as THT and NAM.

Thanks to our funding from the Pan London HIV Prevention Programme (PLHPP), we can give advice and information to men on HIV prevention. We provide information on safer sex and how to manage high-risk behaviour such as drug and alcohol use, which increases the risk of HIV transmission.

As with every single one of our calls, we provide confidential information and support around sexual health, including HIV and AIDS, regardless of gender or reason for the call. Our service provides you with the environment to ask questions that you might not feel comfortable asking a doctor or sexual health professional face to face.

Our helpline volunteers may refer you to other HIV prevention services, all of which, like LLGS, are also funded by PHLPP:

GMFA
The UK's leading gay men's health charity, with particular focus on sex and sexual health.

GMI Partnership
A partnership of Positive East, the Metro Centre and West London Gay Men’s Project - developing, delivering and evaluating HIV prevention and sexual health promotion services targeting men who have sex with men.

PACE
A London-based charity promoting the mental health and emotional wellbeing of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Camden PCT
The local NHS organisation responsible for providing healthcare for people who live in Camden. The Camden Good Sexual Health team runs the Freedoms scheme, providing free condoms and lube to gay bars and clubs across the capital and low price name-brand condoms (www.freedoms-shop.nhs.uk).

African HIV Policy Network
An umbrella organisation of mostly African-led community-based organisations that enables Africans to speak with a collective and representative voice on matters of HIV and sexual health.

National AIDS Manual / AIDSMAP
An organisation which shares a large amount of information on HIV and AIDS.

Terrence Higgins Trust
The leading and largest HIV and sexual health charity in the UK, offering a range of services throughout England, Scotland and Wales – many of them tailored to suit the varied needs of diverse communities.

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Broken Rainbow

0300 999 LGBT (5428)

‘Domestic violence' is a general term to describe a range of behaviour often used by one person to control and dominate another with whom they have, or have had, a close or family relationship and in which the abuser operates from a position of perceived power.

It includes forms of violent and controlling behaviour such as: physical assault, sexual abuse, rape, threats and intimidation, harassment, humiliating and controlling behaviour, withholding of finances, economic manipulation, deprivation, isolation, belittling and constant unreasonable criticism.

Broken Rainbow is an LGBT charity whose objective is to relieve the distress and suffering caused to lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender people by domestic violence and abuse, raising awareness in the LGBT community and elsewhere of the impact of homophobic, transphobic and same sex domestic violence on the lives of LGBT people.

If you are experiencing domestic violence in a same-sex relationship you can still call LLGS and receive the high standard of support that our volunteers provide. However domestic violence can be a complex issue, and volunteers answering calls on the Broken Rainbow helpline have undergone additional training on the subject of domestic violence.

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If you have experienced or know of any anti-LGBT hate crime or incident but do not feel able to report this directly to the police, LLGS provides a Hate Crime Reporting Service in partnership with GALOP (London's LGBT community safety charity).

The service enables people who have experienced, witnessed or know of a hate crime incident in the Greater London area to report it to our volunteers. We can report the information you tell us to the police on your behalf whilst keeping your details confidential and, if you wish, you can remain anonymous. Additionally details of the incident are shared with GALOP, to help them identify patterns in hate crime activity and campaign for a better understanding of hate crime. If you would rather report an incident online you may do so by clicking here.

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Our comprehensive database, collected over the years and continually updated by our volunteers, is available for you to search whenever you need it at www.turingnetwork.org.uk.

Maybe you need information about a local lesbian or gay venue, or you need to find a gay friendly solicitor; maybe the address of your local Sexual Health clinic, or you may just want to know the date of your local Pride.

Our Turing Network provides a lot of answers to these questions, including listings of forthcoming LGBT events, a comprehensive list of venues around London and the UK, detailed information on other LGBT organisations and agencies, as well as contact details for many gay friendly companies.

If something needs updating or if you cannot find the information that you need then please email us or call the helpline to let us know.

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