{"id":134323,"date":"2021-02-04T11:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=134323"},"modified":"2021-02-04T11:29:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:29:29","slug":"lgbt-history-month-where-we-are-now-and-what-comes-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/lgbt-history-month-where-we-are-now-and-what-comes-next\/","title":{"rendered":"LGBT+ History Month: Where we are now and what comes next"},"content":{"rendered":"

February is LGBT+ History Month, making it an appropriate time to review the progress made so far with LGBT+ rights in the UK and also some of the issues where action is still needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a helpful summary<\/a> by the House of Lords Library shows, the last two decades have seen a sustained push forward at Westminster with legislation to deliver LGBT+ rights. This started with the equalisation of the age of consent in 2000, moving through the 2003 repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988<\/a> (this forbade local authorities from \u2018promoting homosexuality\u2019 and schools from teaching \u2018the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship\u2019) and the 2004 introduction of civil partnerships and Gender Recognition Certificates, to the introduction of same-sex marriage in 2013.<\/p>\n

There has also been action to right historic wrongs, most recently shown by the inclusion of posthumous pardons for army personnel convicted or cautioned for buggery under legislation dating back to 1688 in the Armed Forces Bill<\/a> introduced last week.<\/p>\n

Westminster has changed a lot since the era of the first openly lesbian MP Maureen Colquhoun<\/a>, whose death was recently announced<\/a>. 55 MPs identify as LGBT<\/a> and the UK Parliament has been described as \u2018the gayest in the world<\/a>\u2019, though there are no trans MPs.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Government policy has moved on from the era of Section 28 \u2013 it has an LGBT Action Plan<\/a>, which says its \u2018vision is for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics, to be able to live safe, happy and healthy lives where they can be themselves without fear of discrimination.\u2019<\/p>\n

Census and data
\n<\/strong>In another sign of progress, next month\u2019s census will contain questions<\/a> on sexual orientation for the first time. Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics, says this will improve a situation in which \u2018decision-makers are operating in a vacuum, unaware of the extent and nature of disadvantage which LGBT people may be experiencing in terms of health, educational outcomes, employment and housing\u2019.<\/p>\n

However, as Bell indicates, it is certainly not true to say that this progress means that LGBT+ people in the UK don\u2019t continue to face significant challenges. The findings<\/a> of the Government\u2019s National LGBT Survey conducted in 2017 make for stark reading:<\/p>\n