THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • FRANCE: 18-Year-Old Gay Rights Champion Left Brain Dead After ‘Skinhead’ Attack.

    Clément Méric, an 18-year-old student and well known gay rights activist in Paris was violently attacked by a group of three ‘far-right skinheads’, including one women near the Saint-Lazare train station on Wednesday evening, the Local is reporting.

    Four arrests have been made in connection to the attack including the individual suspected of delivering the final blow to Méric’s head in Wednesday’s attack.

    The Local also reports that at least one of the attackers wore knuckle-dusters according to initial reports.

    An eyewitness, named only as Aurelia, described to French journalists the horrendous scene she had witnessed.

    “I was out doing some shopping, when I found myself face to face with the attackers,” who she told reporters had shaved heads and wore leather jackets.

    “I saw the young man falling, and his head hitting a bollard. There was blood coming out of his ears and nose, and then he went into convulsions.”

    “He had a huge lump at the back of his head, and his face was covered in blood,” she added.

    Anti-gay crime has soared in the last few months, as France became the 14th nation to equalise same-sex marriages.

    In April a gay dancer, Raphaël Leclerc was beaten unconscious in Nice, and Wildred de Brujin was attacked in Paris. Also in the same month four people were detained by police on suspicion of carrying out an attack at a gay bar in the French city of Lille.

    A vigil will take place this evening for the victim.

  • Tavistock Centre for LGBT Couple Relationships awarded silver chartermark

    The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships (TCCR) is delighted to announce that it has recently been awarded an eQuality chartermark by PACE (a leading Charity promoting LGBT mental health and wellbeing). TCCR received this award for demonstrating its commitment to inclusive practice in its work with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) couples.

    The eQuality Award is a quality mark for mainstream relationship services that show they have high standards of service for LGBT clients.

     

    On 25th April, TCCR was presented with a special Silver Award at a celebration event held at the House of Commons.

    TCCR’s CEO, Susanna Abse speaking at the event said, “We are delighted to have received this award and have been working closely with PACE to ensure that we offer quality therapy services tailored to the needs of all people, including LGBT people. PACE has provided us with a great deal of support and we are grateful for their suggestions and the thoughtful way in which they have worked with us. ”

    Through the process of consultation offered by PACE, TCCR was able to develop robust policies that reflect its commitment to the eQuality agenda at all levels of the organisation. This is reflected in the dramatic increase in referrals from same-sex couples to the organisation over the past year.

    To find out more about the eQuality chartermark visit: www.e-qualitymark.net

    To find out more about TCCR services visit: www.tccr.org.uk or www.tccr.ac.uk

  • 18-Year-Old gay campaigner dies after “skinhead” attack in Paris

    18-Year-Old Gay Campaigner Dies After ‘Skinhead’ Attack In Paris.

    Clément Méric, an 18-year-old student and well known gay rights activist in Paris has died after he was was violently attacked by a group of three ‘far-right skinheads’, including one women near the Saint-Lazare train station on Wednesday evening.

     

    Four arrests have been made in connection to the attack including the individual suspected of delivering the final blow to Méric’s head in Wednesday’s attack.

    The Local also reports that at least one of the attackers wore knuckle-dusters according to initial reports.

    An eyewitness, named only as Aurelia, described to French journalists the horrendous scene she had witnessed.

    “I was out doing some shopping, when I found myself face to face with the attackers,” who she told reporters had shaved heads and wore leather jackets.

    “I saw the young man falling, and his head hitting a bollard. There was blood coming out of his ears and nose, and then he went into convulsions.”

    “He had a huge lump at the back of his head, and his face was covered in blood,” she added.

    Anti-gay crime has soared in the last few months, as France became the 14th nation to legalise same-sex marriages.

    In April a gay dancer, Raphaël Leclerc was beaten unconscious in Nice, and Wildred de Brujin was attacked in Paris. Also in the same month four people were detained by police on suspicion of carrying out an attack at a gay bar in the French city of Lille.

    Images have emerged of Méric marching against anti-gay violence on 17 April. The banner he held read: ‘Homophobia Kills’.

    Hundreds of people attended a vigil in Paris last night in memory of Méric

  • Birmingham Mail columnist asks Pride attendeees to lisp and mince

    Columnist Mike Lockley at the Birmingham Mail writes a series of homophobic remarks about people attending Birmingham Pride.

    In a column entitled: ‘Mike Lockley ‘I didn’t mince my words at festival’ hosted on the Birmingham Mail website Lockley made a series openly mocking, offensive and homophobic remarks to describe revellers at Birmingham Pride this year.

     

    Speaking to one reveller Lockley writes that he asked: “Would you mind awfully facing our video camera and lisping ‘I’m free’ while flicking your wrist?

    “Then if you could mince out of….”

    “That,” hissed the reveller, “is exactly the outdated and offensive image of gay men we are attempting to break free from.”

    “Fair enough,” I nodded. “How about a petulant ‘Shut that door’?”

    The lines refer to various catch phrases that a number of TV entertainers used in the 1970s and 80s, which is now seen by many as a dated and offensive view of gay people.
    Lockley described as ‘Midlands Columnist of The Year, was clearly upset by being asked to cover the festivities in Birmingham, writing,

    “Why I, a reporter who cut his teeth in the 1970s, a time when there was a role for openly gay men (Widow Twankey in the local amdram society’s Christmas performance of Aladdin), was chosen to provide coverage at the lavish event remains a mystery.”

    When his editor said,

    “The gay community has had a terrible cross to bear.”

    Lockley replied with:

    “They didn’t have to listen to that crap music,”

    I argued.

    “I mean, I’d be loathe to come out if meant an eternity of Kylie’s greatest hits.”

  • Nearly half a million new sexual infections in 2012

    Worrying statistics from Public Health England reveal that new sexual health infections are up 5%, whilst the Terrence Higgins Trust calls the news a ‘wake up’ call for gay men.

    From a statement on the gov.uk website:

    “New sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnoses rose 5% in 2012 according to Public Health England (PHE) data published today (5 June, 2013), mostly due to improved data collection. However, the continuing high STI rates in England suggest too many people are still putting themselves at risk through unsafe sex, especially young adults and men who have sex with men (MSM).

    “Chlamydia remained the most commonly diagnosed STI (206,912; 46%), but considerable numbers of genital warts (73,893; 16%) and genital herpes (32,021; 7%) cases were also reported last year. New gonorrhoea diagnoses rose 21% overall (from 21,024 in 2011 to 25,525 in 2012), and by 37% in the MSM population (to 10,754).

    “Those aged under 25 experienced the highest STI rates, contributing 64% chlamydia and 54% of genital warts diagnoses in heterosexuals in 2012. Young adults are advised to test for chlamydia annually or on change of sexual partner, as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme to control the infection and its complications. In 2012, over 1.7 million chlamydia tests were undertaken and over 136,000 diagnoses made.”

     

    Lisa Power, Policy Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said,

    “The rising numbers of almost every STI among gay men should act as a wakeup call to us all. Unlike heterosexuals, where most infections are in young people aged 15-24, gay men are most likely to get STIs in their late 20s and 30s and high levels continue into their 50s. This is due to differing patterns of sexual behaviour, and more frequent partner change.

    “We need to remind ourselves that treatment as prevention works to reduce transmission of HIV, but it doesn’t do anything to prevent other STIs – and sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhoea and chlamydia actually increase the risk of HIV transmission, even when someone is on treatment. As such, condoms remain a key ingredient not just in protecting against STIs, but also in controlling the spread of HIV.”

    “Gonorrhoea in particular has increased by a third in the last year in gay men and has tripled since 2009. In the context of new reports of drug-resistant strains of the infection, it is vital that gay and bisexual men use condoms and go for regular sexual health check ups to control the outbreak.

    “On a more positive note, these numbers also highlight the success of improved testing for gonorrhoea, with throat swabs detecting many previously untreated infections. But if we are going to see these figures to begin to drop, we need local authorities to invest properly in prevention measures and testing for STIs. The national campaign from HIV Prevention England is promoting condoms and testing among gay men, but without sustained local investment alongside it cannot be enough.”

  • “Gay Cure” app still available on Google Play despite 91,000 signatures

    Setting Captives Free, a controversial smartphone App, which offers to ‘cure’ people of their homosexuality is still available to download on the Google Play store despite a growing petition asking Google to remove the app.

    91,000 people have signed an online petition at AllOut.org asking Internet giant Google to remove an offending App, that offers users a ‘freedom from the bondage of homosexuality’

    The App which claims to have already helped over 500,000 people ‘escape impurity, over-eating, substance abuse, gambling, smoking and more’, was removed last week from the Apple iTunes store, but Google has yet to remove the App.

    A statement from AllOut.org writes,

    ‘UPDATE: After just 24 hours the app has disappeared from the iTunes store! Only Google is left with the harmful app still available in their online marketplace. It’s working – keep up the pressure by signing and sharing!

    Gay ‘cures’? There shouldn’t be an app for that. But, there’s a new one called “Setting Captives Free,” available in both the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores, meant to teach you how to stop being gay.

    It’s a 60-day course that tells gay people they are not “born this way” and offers to help them find “freedom from the bondage of homosexuality.”

    These so-called treatments can cause terrible harm to lesbian, gay, bi, and trans people, or anyone forced to try to change who they are or who they love.

    Apple and Google have policies against these kinds of apps but so far this one has escaped their notice. Sign now to tell them to drop this and all other gay ‘cure’ apps!’

    The App, was available from Apple’s iTunes however the company removed the App after just one day of petitioning.

     

    To add your name to the petition CLICK HERE

  • Lords vote in Favour of Gay Marriage

    In an unprecedented and historic move, Peers in the House of Lords have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the same-sex marriage bill.

    After two days of heated debate in the House of Lords, Peers voted in favour of same-sex marriage, after Lord Dear, former Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police Force tabled a ‘wrecking’ and ‘fatal’ amendment potentially denying the same-sex marriage bill its second reading.

    Peers voted 390 votes to 148, a majority of 242 votes meaning that the Lords allowed the passage of the bill to the committee stage.

    Taking to Twitter human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell wrote,

    “Lords vote a landslide victory for love, marriage & equality: 390 in favour, 148 against. YOUR lobbying efforts helped us win. HUGE thanks

    “With this huge Lords victory, we are on schedule for the first same-sex weddings late this summer. Hurrah”

    The debate initially commenced on Monday at 3:00pm and continued until 10:45pm, it resumed on Tuesday afternoon and concluded with Peers voting.

    Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill said,

    “‘We’re absolutely delighted. We always expected a tough challenge in the House of Lords, and Lord Dear’s “fatal motion” – very rarely used – demonstrates the lengths to which a minority of peers are, sadly, still prepared to go to deny full equality to lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

    “In the last 24 hours alone, opponents of equality in the House of Lords have compared loving, committed relationships to incest and polygamy. Britain’s 3.7 million gay people don’t deserve to be second class citizens in their own country. A tough fight lies ahead and we’ll continue to work tirelessly every single day to get equal marriage through the Lords. At Stonewall, we fight to win.”

  • Gay producer creates iPhone sitcom

    Fancy a comedy break from the gym or light relief on the Tube? GOING NOWHERE, a new British sitcom from enterprising young gay media executive Robert SJ Lucas, is set to get global audience laughing when it is launched as an app next month. The series has been created for iphone users and will have plenty of appeal to gay and lesbian audiences.

    Written, produced and directed by Robert, the series consists of eight episodes in total, each lasting 15 minutes, and stars rising young actors in the lead, Stephen McLeod and Rebecca Livermore, who play two young marketing execs, reservedly gay, punctually uptight Martin and loudly confident Sandra. They find themselves stuck together in a number of awkwardly confined situations, such as a taxi, a lift, a bar, even a cupboard. Despite working as a team, they dislike each other and as they teeter on the edge of turning 30, careers and relationships are moving them forwards but taking them nowhere, fast.

    Born in Tufnell Park, London, 28 year old Robert has always aspired to be a scriptwriter. His parents, a Scotland Yard detective and a graphic designer divorced when he was young, and it was his grandparents who nurtured his love of theatre, music and drama, and his obsession with Dr Who. Determined to follow his creative ambitions, he abandoned his psychology studies and set up Disclosure Group in 2010 which has become the production outlet for a number of his self-penned projects. These include London-based relationship drama, LADIES + GENTLEMEN, which explores a seemingly random group of relationships between boyfriends, girlfriends, lovers and strangers brought together by one shocking event; and a web-based soap, PA’s.

    His current project, PORN brings together five hot guys and girls in a comedy series that mixes muscles with mirth, libido with laughter, tanned torsos with testosterone. He has also worked with Channel 4 developing the ‘For3minutes’ initiative for their 4talent scheme and also provides advertising content for clients such as Zipcar.

    With Netflix having already successfully launched new content as an online subscriber-only service with major dramas such as House of Cards and Hemlock Grove, it is hoped that the independent spirit behind GOING NOWHERE will find Robert going somewhere towards fulfilling his dreams.

    GOING NOWHERE is set to be launched at the end of June.

  • Birmingham LGBT opens sports and fitness studio in Southside

    Birmingham LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans) has added a new sports and fitness studio to its thriving Health and Wellbeing Centre in Birmingham’s Southside district.

    The sports and fitness studio, named The Vault, opened to the public on Thursday 2 May and is located in the basement of the centre on Holloway Circus in Southside. It is the first dedicated LGBT sports and fitness studio in the UK and hopes to empower the community by increasing involvement in physical activities like Yoga, Pilates, table tennis and more.

    With growing evidence of significant health inequalities suffered by LGBT communities in Birmingham, The Vault has been introduced to combat against barriers that prevent these communities from accessing mainstream sports facilities such as discrimination, stereotyping, lack of inclusion in policies, procedures and marketing and most worryingly, fears for safety.

    Sport England Inspired Facilities programme helped facilitate the opening of The Vault by providing £43,000 of funding. Some of the classes at the studio will be funded through Birmingham City Council’s Be Active scheme. The Vault will also have a changing facility and dedicated Trans changing space.

    David Viney, Birmingham LGBT health and wellbeing manager, said,

    “The sole aim of The Vault is to provide the LGBT community with a welcoming and safe environment to enjoy sports activities. A worrying 65%* of young LGBT people have admitted to experiencing homophobic bullying and almost half of those do not engage in sports for this reason. We hope that by making The Vault accessible to the Birmingham LGBT community we are able to nurture their passion for fitness.”

    Julia Chance, Southside BID Manager, said,

    “The Vault is a fantastic asset to the LGBT community and we’re pleased to be able to house it within Southside. Birmingham LGBT Health & Wellbeing Centre has gone from strength to strength since it opened its doors in January and we’re excited to see how The Vault will make a difference to the LGBT community.”

    Birmingham LGBT has recently been awarded an Investors in People Standard. Investors in People specialises in transforming business performance through people and objectives. The Standard is a framework of best practice that helps organisations meet their goals by supplying advice, providing access to specialists and networks, monitoring progress and benchmarking performance against world class standards.

    To find out what else Birmingham’s Southside district has to offer, please visit www.enjoysouthside.co.uk

  • Hope for a HIV vaccine

    The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) announced last week that they are starting a clinical trial for a HIV vaccine, based in London and two centres in Africa.

    Laboratories in London – UK, Kigali – Rwanda and Nairobi – Kenya will recruit 64 healthy HIV-free adults for phase one of the trial that is expected to last for two years. Volunteers will receive two vaccines and not be at risk of catching HIV.

    HIV affects 34 million people worldwide, of which there are 96,000-100,000 in the UK. HIV is found in bodily fluids and people are usually infected by: unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive, reusing injecting equipment that has been used by someone who is HIV positive or transmission from mother to baby.

    HIV attacks the immune system in the affected individual, weakening the body’s ability to fight other infections and diseases. You can find out more about HIV on the NHS Choices Website. Over the last few decades there have been massive advances in treatment; that have focused around slowing down the damage HIV causes to the immune system.

    IAVI have admitted that the clinical trials are in their early stages. Clinical trials usually take at least 10 years and usually cost billions of pounds. There are many on-going research projects focused on trying to create a HIV vaccine. So it’s likely that there wont be an effective HIV vaccination for at least a decade.

    Jason Warriner, Clinical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, when asked about IVAI’s clinical trial said,

    “We welcome investment in the search for a vaccine against HIV. This research is in its very earliest stages. Clinical trials take several years to complete and, even if the vaccine passes this first stage of tests, more research will be needed over the course of many years.

    “Although an HIV vaccine has so far remained stubbornly out of reach, we now understand how to prevent transmission better than ever before. A combination of widespread condom use, regular testing for HIV, and getting those with the virus onto the right treatment, could drastically reduce HIV within a generation.”

    A HIV vaccine would protect people from catching HIV and would most likely be administered to those in high-risk groups including gay men. The ability to prevent people from catching HIV would be a significant step forward in the fight against HIV; as it would stem the number of people becoming infected.

    For those that are already HIV positive, the vaccine will not be a cure. It is likely that they will have to continue with their treatment. However people who are HIV positive should take hope from the fact that there’s a number of on-going research projects looking into potential cures for HIV, and ways to reverse some of the damage HIV causes to the immune system.

    While we wait for a HIV vaccine, health professionals continue to recommend that gay people use condoms when having sex and that they are regularly tested for HIV at least once a year.

  • London a step closer to winning Gay Games 2018

    London was announced as a shortlisted city for the Gay Games in 2018 along with Paris and Limerick.

    London’s bid to host the 2018 Gay Games was given a boost today when it was announced it had been shortlisted to go through to the final round.

    The London 2018 Committee submitted their bid in February this year after 18 months of hard work to secure the support of a range of LGBT groups up and down the country.

    High profile backers of the bid include the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Hugh Robertson Sports Minister, London’s Mayor Boris Johnson and John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, who have all issued statements in support of the bid, highlighting London’s worldwide reputation for tolerance and diversity.

    The London team will prepare for the arrival of site evaluation inspectors in July from the Gay Games organisers. The evaluators will be shown the venues for London’s Games which will include facilities in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and will meet the team and communities supporting their bid.

    The cities shortlisted alongside London are Paris and Limerick. The announcement was made via a video message from the Federation of Gay Games in San Francisco.

    The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said,

    “This is fantastic news and a testimony to the hard work of the London Gay Games bid team. London could host a world-beating event in 2018, underlining our city’s reputation as a tolerant place to live and visit. I wish London’s organising team every success as they progress to this next crucial stage of the selection process.”

    Alex Davis, Chair of the London 2018 bid said,

    “We are thrilled that London has been shortlisted to host the Gay Games in 2018. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase London, and our vibrant LGBT community and we look forward to showing all that London has to offer to the FGG site inspectors in July.”

    Voting was carried out by 30 member organisations of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) along with eligible board members.