February marks LGBT History Month in the United Kingdom, which has the overall aim of promoting equality and diversity for the benefit of the public, not just the LGBT+ community.
Michael Briggs, an employment partner and the chair of our PROUD Network, reflects on some of the stand-out moments and notable people to have had a significant impact in the LGBT+ community.
This is the first article from Michael for LGBT History Month - read his second by clicking here.
As we continue through February, we should take time reflect on some of the many achievements gained for the LGBT+ community, as well as remembering and celebrating the people that came before us to achieve them.
Just some of the many significant moments in time in this area include:
- 1951: Roberta Cowell, a trans woman, for the very first time, underwent reassignment surgery and later had her sex legally changed to female.
- July 1967: The passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967 which partially decriminalised the sex between men, allowing those over 21 to do so consensually and ‘in private’. It was not, however, until 2000 that the age of consent was equalised for both homosexual and heterosexual behaviours throughout the UK.
- June 1969: Members of the LGBT community fought against a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The Stonewall Riots served as a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world, and each year the month of June is celebrated as Pride month. The first Pride march in London was held in June 1972.
- 1988: The formation of Stonewall UK, which is now the largest LGBT+ organisation in Europe. It was founded by Sir Ian McKellen, Lisa Powell MBE, and Lord Cashman CBE in response to Section 28 (see below) and to campaign for LGBT+ rights.
- 1992: The World Health Organisation declassifies same-sex attraction as a mental illness. This was a huge step forward, as LGBT+ people had previously received controversial and often detrimental treatments to try and ‘cure’ their sexuality.
- 1994: Channel 4’s soap opera, Brookside, broadcast the first female same-sex kiss before the 9pm watershed, opening hearts and minds.
- 2000: The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force, which was instrumental in the development of employment protection for the LGBT+ community. LGBT people soon after were able to serve openly in the Armed Forces.
- 2002: Same-sex couples are able to adopt.
- 2003: The abolition of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 which previously made it unlawful for local authorities to:
- intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality; and
- promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.
In 2017, the Children and Social Work Bill was amended, making relationships and sex education mandatory in all schools in England and Wales as of 2019.
- 2004: The Gender Recognition Act was passed, which allows transgender people to fully and legally identify with their chosen gender, as well as acquire a new birth certificate. Right now, gender options are still limited to ‘male’ and ‘female’, so non-binary and gender-fluid people are not currently recognised under the Act.
- 2004: The Civil Partnership Act was passed, giving same-sex couples the same rights as married opposite sex couples.
- 2010: The Equality Act 2010 came into force, which prohibits direct sexual orientation discrimination, indirect sexual orientation discrimination, sexual orientation harassment and victimisation in the workplace, for both job applicants and those in employment (under a contract of employment, a contract of apprenticeship or a contract personally to do work). Similar protection is also afforded in the area of gender reassignment, for those who are proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.
- 2011: The lifetime ban on men having sex with men from donating blood is lifted in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland until 2016). However, a one-year ban was initially put in place instead, meaning they could not donate blood if they had been sexually active in the last 12 months. Nowadays, further progress in this area means that men who have sex with men and who have had the same partner for three months or more (and meet other eligibility criteria) are able to give blood.
- 2014: The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act came into effect in England and Wales, finally making same-sex marriage legal. Scotland followed suit later in the same year.
At Shoosmiths we all aim to foster an inclusive working environment, regardless of sexual orientation, gender orientation, gender or otherwise. We must live in a society that is respectful and mindful of each other’s lifestyle and wellbeing.
One of the key facets of our PROUD Network Charter is education – raising awareness of some of the challenges the LGBT+ community still face, and helping all of us at Shoosmiths understand how we can be better supporters and allies.
