THEGAYUK

Tag: Politics

The latest news, interviews, and views from the world of LGBT politics in the UK and internationally.

  • What the UK Government says its going to do for LGBT+ education in the UK

    The UK’s Government has launched an LGBT action plan, in which it wants to deal with issues facing the LGBT+ community in the UK, including in the education system.

    CREDIT: © tomwang Depositphotos

    “This Government is committed to making the UK a country that works for everyone. We want to strip away the barriers that hold people back so that everyone can go as far as their hard work and talent can take them”.

    Big words, so what exactly are they promising?

    Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Women and Equality has outlined 75  points she wants her office to push in order to achieve better rights, equality, safety and visibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people of the UK.

    Education was a big part of the government’s action plan, here’s what Ms Mordaunt said she plans to do:

    “We will take action so that our education system supports every LGBT child or young person”

    We will continue to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools and the wider education system. The Government Equalities Office will complete its anti-homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying programme. This £3 million programme will reach more than 1,200 schools in England by March 2019. From March 2019 to March 2020, the Government Equalities Office will provide further funding for interventions in schools, and consider further projects to tackle bullying in further and higher education institutions. The Department for Education will work with the Government Equalities Office to understand how best to support schools to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying and how to continue this programme of work in a sustainable way through the school curriculum and policies in the medium and to long term. The Crown Prosecution Service will review and update their LGBT Hate Crime Schools Pack in partnership with young LGBT people and identity-based bullying professionals to tackle bullying in schools.

    We will update Sex and Relationships Education guidance to support the Government’s reforms to this subject. As we have previously announced, the Department for Education will update the statutory guidance on Relationships Education in primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools. These updates will ensure that the guidance supports teaching that is age appropriate and relevant to all pupils, whatever their developing sexual orientation or gender identity.

    We will ensure that schools have access to the guidance they need to support LGBT pupils. The Department for Education will publish an update to its guidance for schools about how to apply the Equality Act 2010. In addition, the Government Equalities Office will work with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to publish comprehensive guidance for schools on how to support trans pupils.

    We will support LGBT teachers to be themselves at work and improve the diversity of the teaching profession. The Department for Education is investing £2 million to establish regional hubs to support teachers from underrepresented groups, including those teachers who are LGBT, to progress into leadership. The Department for Education has also already supported the launch of ‘LGBTEd’ – a network for LGBT teachers and allies – and will continue to engage with stakeholders on making the teaching profession more LGBT inclusive.

    We will ensure that support is available for LGBT students who are victims of hate crime and online harassment. The Government has asked the Office for Students to take steps to ensure that higher education providers are places of tolerance for all students. This includes working with higher education providers, for example, by supporting work to ensure that students who have been a victim of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic incidents have the support in place that they need, through access to appropriately trained staff and signposting to local specialist organisations. The Office for Students will investigate and tackle gaps in participation, experience, safeguarding and success for LGBT students in higher education.

    Here’s what the government plans are in other key areas:

    Education | Healthcare | Representation | Workplace | International | Safety

  • What the UK Government says its going to do for LGBT+ healthcare in the UK

    What the UK Government says its going to do for LGBT+ healthcare in the UK

    The UK’s Government has launched an LGBT action plan, in which it wants to deal with issues facing the LGBT+ community in the UK, including health.

    “This Government is committed to making the UK a country that works for everyone. We want to strip away the barriers that hold people back so that everyone can go as far as their hard work and talent can take them”.

    Big words, so what exactly are they promising?

    Penny Mordaunt, the Minister for Women and Equality has outlined 75  points she wants her office to push in order to achieve better rights, equality, safety and visibility for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people of the UK.

    Health was a big part of the government’s action plan, here’s what Ms Mordaunt said she plans to do:

    Put LGBT+ people’s needs “at the heart” of the NHS.

    We will appoint a National Adviser to lead improvements to LGBT healthcare. The National Adviser will focus on reducing the health inequalities that LGBT people face, and advise on ways to improve the care LGBT people receive when accessing the NHS and public health services. They will work across the NHS to ensure that the needs of LGBT people are considered throughout the health system.

    The National Adviser will work to improve healthcare professionals’ awareness of LGBT issues so they can provide better patient care. The National Adviser will work with relevant statutory organisations and professional associations to embed LGBT issues into physical and mental health services.

    We will improve the way gender identity services work for transgender adults. In 2019, NHS England will decide on the future configuration of adult gender identity services in England, and will seek to establish a more modern care model that delivers high-quality outcomes in which clinical capacity can be more flexibly deployed. The Government Equalities Office will produce advice about the Gender Recognition Act for GP surgeries and gender identity clinics.

    We will improve our understanding of the impacts on children and adolescents of changing their gender. The Government Equalities Office will gather evidence on the issues faced by people assigned female at birth who transition in adolescence.

    We will take action to improve mental health care for LGBT people. The Department of Health and Social Care and the Government Equalities Office will jointly develop a plan focussed on reducing suicides amongst the LGBT population. The Department of Health and Social Care will ensure LGBT people’s needs are addressed in the updated Suicide Prevention Strategy, and the new Health Education England suicide prevention competency framework will cover high-risk groups including LGBT people.

    We will enhance fertility services for LGBT people. The Department for Health and Social Care will revise surrogacy legislation so single people (including LGBT individuals) can access legal parenthood after a surrogacy arrangement.

    We will ensure LGBT people’s needs are taken into account in health and social care regulation. The Care Quality Commission will continue to improve how it inspects the experience of LGBT people in adult social care and mental health inpatient wards, and we will begin to inspect all gender identity clinics on a risk basis. The Care Quality Commission will develop guidance for care quality inspectors on the healthcare pathway for people who are transitioning their gender, and embed LGBT equality issues into the methodology used by inspectors.

    We will support improved monitoring of sexual orientation and gender identity in healthcare services to enable better patient care. The Government Equalities Office will develop best practice guidance for monitoring and make this openly available to the public sector, and the National Adviser will work to ensure healthcare professionals understand the benefits of asking patients about their sexual orientation and gender identity. The Care Quality Commission will look at how we can promote the NHS England voluntary sexual orientation monitoring standard for people using health and social care services.

    We will work to tackle body image pressures that LGBT young people face. The Government Equalities Office will consider the specific challenges faced by LGBT people as part of our broader work to build the evidence base on the causes and impacts of body dissatisfaction.

    We will continue to review the blood donation deferral period for men who have sex with men. NHS Blood and Transplant will explore ways that a more personalised risk assessment can be introduced, to allow more people to donate blood without impacting on blood safety; currently, there is very little data on effective ways of carrying out such risk assessments. The initial scoping, evidence gathering and testing may take up to two years to complete.

    We are committed to tackling HIV transmission, AIDS and HIV-related deaths. As part of this, we are currently funding a 3 year trial with 10,000 people to determine how best to deliver ‘PrEP’. NHS England will consider the impact of increasing the PrEP trial further.

    We will take action to improve the support for LGBT people with learning disabilities. The Department of Health and Social Care will review, collate and disseminate existing best practice guidance and advice regarding LGBT issues and learning disability; and will also ensure that training requirements for support staff and advocates who work with people with learning disabilities includes advice regarding LGBT people.

    Here’s what the government plans are in other key areas:

    Education | Healthcare | Representation | Workplace | International | Safety

  • Theresa May ends Downing Street ban for Peter Tatchell

    Theresa May ends Downing Street ban for Peter Tatchell

    Theresa May has become the first Prime Minister to end the exclusion of one of the UK’s most prominent LGBT+ rights campaigners from attending functions at 10 Downing Street.

    10 Downing Street
    CREDIT: TheGayUK/Jake Hook

    Peter Tatchell will now be able to enter 10 Downing Street after Theresa May ended a ban on the human rights advocate from attending any functions at the exclusive address. It’s not known whether his ban was deliberate or just careless.

    For a decade, Peter has found himself uninvited to an annual Pride party held at 10 Downing Street. The exclusion started during Tony Blair’s premiership to David Cameron’s. This is despite Peter’s unwavering fight for rights since 1972.

    CREDIT: Monty McKinnen

    Peter Tatchell said, “Since the inception of Downing Street LGBT Pride receptions a decade ago, I have been banned from attending by successive Prime Ministers – Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

    “Despite my 51 years of campaigning, and my role in the UK’s first Pride parade in 1972, they apparently deemed me to be the unacceptable face of LGBT activism.

    “I was therefore surprised and delighted that Theresa May has invited me to this year’s reception on 3 July – just days after I wrote to her urging compensation for gay men convicted under past anti-gay laws.

    “I am not much fussed about attending such receptions but I am honoured to be asked and have accepted the invitation.

    “I look forward to meeting the Prime Minister and reiterating my call for gay victims of homophobic laws, who suffered so badly, to receive government compensation.

    “She has already acknowledged the grave injustice done to these men, so I hope she will go one step further and recognise that these men deserve recompense for the terrible trauma of criminalisation that they went through.”

    This year’s annual LGBT Pride party takes place on the 3rd July.

  • Peter Tatchell arrested in Russia, while protesting Human Rights – legally

    Peter Tatchell arrested in Russia, while protesting Human Rights – legally

    One of the UK’s most prominent Human Rights campaigners has been arrested in Russia, ahead of the World Cup.

    CREDIT: Monty McKinnen

    Peter Tatchell has been arrested in Moscow after protesting Russia’s mistreatment of LGBT+ citizens as the FIFA World Cup commences.

    ** Updated** go to end of the article for update

    Mr Tatchell was holding a banner supporting gay men who have been violently targeted in a “gay purge” in Chechnya while standing next to the statue Marshal Zhukov close to the Kremlin.

    This is the campaigner’s sixth visit to Russia in solidarity with the LGBT+ freedom struggle there. He was previously arrested twice during protests in Moscow and suffered brain damage after being attacked by Russian neo-Nazis in 2007.

    Peter Tatchell, speaking from Moscow before the protest, said,

    “I was exercising my lawful right to protest, under the Russian constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to protest in Articles 29 and 31. A one-person protest, which is what I did, requires no permission from the authorities and the police.

    “Getting arrested is standard for Russians who protest for LGBT+ rights or against corruption, economic injustice and Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its bombing of civilians in Syria.

    “Unlike brave Russian protesters, I have the ‘protection’ of a British passport, which means I have been treated more leniently than they are.

    “My fate was mild compared to what often happens to Russians who dare to challenge the Putin regime. I am awed by their courage.”

    “President Putin has failed to condemn and act against the homophobic witch-hunts in Chechnya, which have seen scores of LGBT+ people arrested and tortured, with some even being killed.

    “The singer Zelim Bakaev disappeared in Chechnya in August 2017 and has never been seen since.

    “Russia’s 2013 anti-gay law against so-called ‘homosexual propaganda’ has been used to suppress peaceful LGBT+ protests, sack LGBT+ teachers and suppress welfare organisations that support LGBT+ teenagers.

    “Little action has been taken by the Russian government and police to crack down on far-right extremists who target LGBT+ people for violent and humiliating assaults – including the instigators of the current threats to bash and stab LGBT+ football fans at the World Cup.

     

    Released:

    Mr Tatchell received consular assistance during his detention.
    Speaking from Moscow, Mr Tatchell said:
    “I am required to appear in court on 26 June for violating Federal Law 54 and Presidential Decree 202, which prohibit all protests near the Kremlin and during the World Cup.
    “I have written a letter to the Chief of Police of Kitay-Gorod police district, requesting that my court appearance is voided on the grounds that I am flying back to the UK on 18 June. I have been told I will be free to leave Russia on that date as planned. I spent one hour and 40 minutes in police custody, from the moment I was detained near the Kremlin to the moment of my release from the police station.
    “Senior officers were stern but the apprehending officer very helpful, friendly and polite. I presume I was well treated, partly because I am a UK citizen and because a senior British Embassy consular official, Colin Wells, contacted the police. I guess the Russians also did not want to be seen as being heavy-handed during the World Cup.”

  • One of the true political allies of the LGBT community is stepping down

    Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party and long-time MP for Brighton has announced that she will not be running for co-leadership of her party again.

    _DSC0520

    One of the UK’s most prominent LGBT+ ally MPs, Caroline Lucas has announced that she won’t seek to be reelected as the Green Party‘s leader in this summer’s leadership vote.

    She was the first and only MP for Brighton Pavilion, known as the “gay capital” of the UK.

    She currently shares the leadership role with Jon Bartley. She and Bartley took over the leadership position from Natalie Bennett in 2016.

    Lucas along with Theresa May, Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood and Arlene Foster made history in the UK at the last General Election when the majority of the major political parties in the UK had a female leader.

    Ms Lucas has said that she will be spending more time focusing on her work in Parliament and her constituents in Brighton.

    The Green Party’s leadership is voted on once every two years and there was a vote due for this summer.

    Ms Lucas has consistently voted for equal LGBT+ rights since she came to office in 2010 and has spoken out against inequality facing the gay community numerous times.

    The news of her decision not to run as the leader has been met with backing from well-wishers who support her mission to concentrate on her constituents.

  • Want to watch porn in the UK? You might need to ask your newsagent

    The Conservatives are forging ahead with a new law that means that if you want to watch porn on the internet, you will have to prove you are over the age of 18.

    The new system will allow people to buy an anonymous pass to watch porn in the UK.

    Plans are being made to make “porn passes” available at local newsagents, which will allow people in the UK who want to watch porn to bypass inputting personal data which proves their age to various porn sites, according to The Independent. It is a way in which people can access porn anonymously once the new law comes into force.

    The law means that you have to prove you are over the age of 18 before you can access porn sites in the UK and is part of the Digital Economy Act. The rules will apply to any website or platform which offers porn on a “commercial basis”.

    Advocates for the new rules hope that the measures will protect children from online porn.

    “PORN PASS”

    How do you feel about giving over your details to prove your age?

    Buying a “porn pass” means that you will have to hand over personal information to your local newsagent, who will be able to issue you with an anonymous pass, which will allow you access to adult sites in the UK.

    A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for the new legislation, said, “We are in the process of implementing some of the strictest data protection laws in the world.

    “A wide variety of online age verification solutions exist, or are in development, and they will have to abide by these high standards. We expect data security to be a high priority in the BBFC’s guidance on age verification arrangements.”

    In December 2014, pornography produced in the UK was subject to strict rules under the David Cameron’s Tory government. The types of scenes which studios could film were severely restricted with an amendment to the 2003 Communications Act.

    Some of the activities banned by the Conservative government could overtly affect the porn consumption of gay men in the UK – including those who watch BDSM, rimming (facesitting) and fisting.

    Thoughts?

     

     

  • How gay friendly is the UK’s new Home Secretary?

    With the resignation of Amber Rudd, the UK has a new Home Secretary – but how gay-friendly is Sajid Javid?

    How gay friendly is the UK's new Home Secretary Sajid Javid?

    As a relatively new politician, Sajid Javid has got an overall positive voting record on LGBT+ rights. He voted positively for same-sex marriage, however as we noted previously, his absenteeism on certain votes could be a cause for concern.

    Despite voting positively for same-sex marriage in 2013 he didn’t attend a vote to equalise marriage laws or extend the right to marry to our armed forces or to allow our court system to deal with proceedings for the divorce of, or annulment of the marriage of, a same-sex couple.

    Sajid entered the House of Parliament as an MP for Bromsgrove in 2010 when David Cameron led the Conservatives to a partial victory (after all they had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats in order to form a government).

    He campaigned as a remainer in the EU referendum,

     

     

     

     

  • Anti-gay laws are ‘wrong’, British PM tells Commonwealth

    British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday told former colonies anti-gay laws once imposed by her country “were wrong then, and they are wrong now”. The premier raised discriminatory legislation affecting same-sex couples, women and girls, in an address to Commonwealth leaders in London. (more…)

  • Conservative politician who once called homosexuality a “sordid behaviour” made Australia’s deputy PM

    Conservative politician who once called homosexuality a “sordid behaviour” made Australia’s deputy PM

    helen35 / Pixabay

    A conservative rural politician who once expressed strong anti-gay views was Monday chosen to replace scandal-plagued Barnaby Joyce as Australia’s deputy prime minister after he resigned over an affair with his now-pregnant aide. (more…)

  • Bermuda becomes first nation on earth to repeal same-sex marriage

    In a first, Bermuda officially moved toward abolishing same-sex marriage by approving a bill Wednesday despite a supreme court ruling that legalized gay couple marriage in May 2017. Merely eight … (more…)

  • LGBT+ Conservatives backtrack over c*nt Tweet

    The LGBT+ Conservatives have issued a statement on suggesting that MP David Davies was a c*nt.

    The LGBT+ Conservatives have backtracked on a message about the MP, David Davies, after he tweeted that “Somebody possessing a penis & pair of testicles is definitely not a woman”.

    In their initial response, the group Tweeted, “It’s clear that the T in his name stands for transphobe. It’s equally clear what the C stands for.”

    The MP hit back saying that the group were being misogynistic and that he would report them to the party’s chairman, Brandon Lewis.

    The LGBT+ Conservatives issued statement on Twitter saying that the first response was meant to be “light-hearted” and that it might have caused offence,

    “On reflection, yesterday’s tweet at which was meant to be light-hearted, may have inadvertently caused offence. This wasn’t our intention. We’ll continue to express disagreements with David on issues, but will hold ourselves to higher standards in future”.