LGBT agenda advancing but still a long way to go

15 November 2011

Labour MP Chris Bryant has highlighted the gains under the previous Labour Government, such as equalising the age of consent, allowing gays to join the military and gay adoption.

The Rhondda Valley MP told the annual CWU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) conference in Birmingham over the weekend that his one regret was that the Labour Government did not push ahead with gay marriage, rather than stopping short with the establishment of civil partnerships.

"I understand why Tony Blair went with civil partnerships - that got church support," said Mr Bryant, who also commended the Equalities Act for ensuring that public service provision had to be assessed as to whether every part of society was catered for.

Chris pointed out that there was still much to be done in the area of foreign policy, where in other countries such as Russia gay pride events were still illegal. "There are still phenomenal levels of homophobia in Poland, Italy and Greece," said Chris.

The Rhondda MP also regretted the continued generous treatment being meted out to bankers whilst there was the danger of a lost generation of 16 to 24 year olds in the employment market.

General Secretary Billy Hayes welcomed the advances there have been in pushing forward with the LGBT agenda in society. "Despite the opposition I do believe we are getting lesbian and gay equality in marriage laws," said Billy.

Highlighting homophobic bullying in schools and wider society as a major cause of concern, Billy said: "We need to look at our own workplaces in terms of homophobic bullying."

Billy emphasised the importance of proportionality in the union, with women under represented and black people even more so. "We need to consider how we can best ensure that LGBT get representation at every level of the union, what obstacles exist and how best to tackle them," said Billy.

TUC policy advisor for disability and LGBT rights, Peter Purton told of good and bad things resulting from the Coalition Government.

Among the positives were the continued work of the equalities office, some important work on transgender, the move to push LGBT rights in the area of foreign policy and David Cameron's declaration in favour of gay marriage.

On the negative side, was the relaxation of the need to monitor equality duties in the public sector. "The effect of the cuts on our communities will be more dramatic per capita than on any other area," said Peter. "The funding for organisations working on hate crime and domestic violence are being cut."

Looking at British Social Attitudes surveys of recent years, Peter concluded that attitudes to LGBT had changed for the better with only 35% compared to 65%, not so long ago, having homophobic attitudes. The young were found to generally be much more tolerant. "We need to think how to mainstream our issues. We must fight for our place on the agenda," said Peter.

Director of Pride Sports Sue Englefield declared that sport as a sector had not embraced LGBT.

Sue pointed out that there is a stereotype peddled in popular culture that women footballers are lesbians.

She recalled a couple of years ago looking at homophobia on the internet and finding a Facebook page full of homophobic comments from young girls. "The problem with the lack of challenge to homophobia in sport is that homophobic stereotypes remain dominant," said Sue, who expressed concern that this approach was stopping LGBT people taking part in sport in the UK.

Sue said that there are hundreds of LGBT sports groups and clubs in the major cities but they are not affiliated to the national bodies.

She does not believe the media helps with its salacious speculation as to whether sports men or women are gay. Then when a sports person does come out they are always likely to receive second class treatment compared to a heterosexual counterpart. "We need to challenge gender stereotyping in sport," said Sue, who called for training for coaches and administrators in this area. "We have got a charter against homophobia and transphobia in sport. We need an action plan to follow up," said Sue, who pointed out that LGBT history month this year has taken sport as its theme.

Chair of the CWU LGBT advisory committee Dave Daniel commented on homophobic attacks occurring around the country and homophobic chanting against Brighton and Hove Albion football supporters.

Dave also paid tribute to Bradford City Football Club for its pro-active approach to wipe out homophobia, by signing up to government guidelines and joining with the CWU in a day of action at the club on 10 December. For the game against Plymouth Argyle, CWU members will join with others in distributing literature about driving homophobia from the terraces.

CWU national equalities officer Linda Roy highlighted how the situation for LGBT people in Africa has gone from bad to worse, with homosexual acts now criminalised in 38 countries.

Linda spoke of the death of David Kato, who was beaten to death with a hammer in Uganda, because he was gay.

Whilst things have advanced for the LGBT community in the UK over recent years, Linda pointed out that one in five still experience bullying at work due to sexual orientation. Some two thirds of LGBTs in education experience bullying at school. "The evidence shows that where a school responds strongly to homophobic bullying, students feel happier and more secure," said Linda, who said it was annoying to hear of teachers telling those being bullied to behave "less gay."

Linda urged an intensification of the campaign for tolerance toward homosexuality. "We're all human beings regardless, we are not going to stand by and let homophobes bully and kill," said Linda, who referred to the CWU's Idaho memorial raised to remember those who have suffered the effects of homophobia. The memorial was unveiled on 17 May at Alvescott.

In debate, a motion passed calling for the CWU to use its influence to stop the deportation of asylum seekers, who have had to leave particular countries due to their sexual orientation.

Merlin Reader of the CWU LGBT advisory committee quoted the case of Joseph Kaute, who claimed asylum in the UK because he was arrested and beaten for being a homosexual in Cameroon. He was then sent back, after the Borders Agency argued he was not in need of protection. "They are fast tracking LGBT asylum seekers for deportation," said Merlin.

Another motion passed called for the union "to campaign to ensure that the government grants a full pardon to all men convicted of consenting homosexual behaviour that has ceased to be a crime."

The Coalition Government plans to change the law so that historical convictions for gay sex with over 16s will be treated as spent and not show up on criminal record checks; however the plan is not to delete the convictions but tell the police to disregard them. "Our society has changed and come a long way over the past few decades, these convictions can cause problems and also send out a negative message," said Dave Daniel of Grampian and Shetland Amal.

There was a vivid contribution from Vickie Cornelius calling for the union to withdraw its support from Labour MP Joe Benton, due to his supporting Early Day Motion 2081 calling for "public employees to be able to discriminate against members of the LGBT community on religious grounds."

Vicki claimed this position was out of line with union policy. "I'm paying your wages and don't like your performance at work, Joe Benton," said Vicki, who urged that the CWU's money must be spent wisely. "We would not support an MP who favoured the privatisation of Royal Mail."

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