LGBT+ Report

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In the wider world this year has been a milestone one as far as Gay rights are concerned. The forthcoming year will be an even greater one as far as rights at work are concerned.

As at the end of this year the government is committed to implementing the European Work Directive. This means that it will become an offence to discriminate against Lesbians and Gays in Employment. However more of that later in the year, once the government has finalised their plans.

As to what has been happening this year well at the beginning of last year the London assembly introduced a partnership registration scheme which various cities around the country have copied first Manchester in April and then in June Liverpool. Since then Brighton and others have followed suit. Although these schemes offer little or nothing in the way of rights they have, perhaps, led to the Government recently announcing that it would bring forward proposals for a Civil Partnership Scheme that will confer rights for Lesbians and Gays in line with Marriage rights. We will have to see what is proposed.

Also on the Rights front a Court of Appeal ruled in November that gay couples should receive the same rights as heterosexual couples in tenancy cases. This ruling means that a same sex partner will be able to take over a tenancy when their partner dies rather than risk eviction on the whim of the landlord.

And Gay rights were in the also in the news last month when the Government’s Adoption Bill passed the House of Lords. This was mainly as a result of the Tory leadership deciding on a low profile following worries of the party splitting after trying to enforce a three line whip in the commons. The Labour party allowed a free vote on what was seen by many in the Commons as an issue of conscience. In fact the change only allowed couples to adopt rather than single gays and lesbians. 

Gay kisses were in the news this year, in August ITV received over 300 complaints after the screening of a gay kiss in ‘The Bill’. But more worryingly a gay couple were physically thrown out of a rural train station after they exchanged a kiss in the waiting room at Paisley Gilmour Street station. The incident was captured on security cameras however and ScotRail has apologised to the couple for the workers' behaviour and sent them a rail travel voucher, though only worth £20, as compensation. 

More seriously this year; in South Africa a gay couple were attacked in Cape Town after kissing in a restaurant in December. They were celebrating their civil union in Cape Town when they were beaten up on a restaurant patio. Also this year; in Hollywood’s gay area, American Actor Trev Broudy was attacked along with a friend and ended up in a coma after being beaten by two men. 

Even the Mayor of Paris, who is openly gay, was stabbed as he greeted visitors at an all-night City Hall party. These are just three of the headline grabbing occurrences of violent behaviour towards Lesbians and Gay men from last year. These type of things happen to someone somewhere every day, and show how far we have to go. 

Another less physically harmful, but inconvenient and embarrassing, was the incident where two gay men were evicted from a Lake District hotel after the owner took offence to their sexuality. The two men had chosen the hotel because it was advertised as pet friendly, but were asked to leave whilst they sat in the crowded dining room. The dog could have stayed apparently, but not being as homophobic as the hotel owner, choose to leave with his friends.