<div class="fr-view"><p>February is LGBTQ+ history month. It&#8217;s a time to reflect on what has come before us and the struggles our community have endured so we can have the life we have now.</p>
<p>Looking back makes me grateful for the sacrifices of those who came before us but it also makes me realise what a long way we still have to go.</p>
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<h5>Here are some dates that might make you think</h5>
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<p><u><strong>In the 1950s it was still illegal to &#8216;perform homosexual acts&#8217;</strong></u></p>
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<p>Infact it was 1957 before The Wolfenden Committee published a report recommending that &#8216;homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence&#8217;.</p>
<p>It was actually 1967 before sex between two men over 21 and &#8216;in private&#8217; was decriminalised and this was only for England. It was still illegal in Scotland, Northern Ireland, The Channel Islands and The Isle of Man.</p>
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<p><u><strong>Most of you will know what happened in 1969. Of course, I refer to The Stonewall Riots</strong></u></p>
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<p>These riots were seen as the catalyst for change for the LGBTQ+ community.</p>
<p>The Stonewall Inn was seen as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community. Trans people could be themselves without fear of retribution here.</p>
<p>On June 28th 1969 police raided The Stonewall Inn in New York City, thus sparking a riot between the police and the local neighbourhood. This went on for 6 long days.</p>
<p>These riots were a large force behind the gay rights movement in the US and it soon spread to the UK.</p>
<p>How many people reading this were alive in 1969, or have parents who were alive. It often seems a lifetime ago when our community literally had to riot to be heard. In actual fact it was only 52 years ago.</p>
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<p><u><strong>The Stonewall Riots kick started the gay rights movement and things finally started to change.</strong></u></p>
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<p>In 1971 same-sex marriage was banned in England and Wales, under the &#8216;Nullity of Marriage Act&#8217;.</p>
<p>Following this, in 1972 London had its first Pride parade, with approximately 2000 participants. Brighton followed the following year.</p>
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<p><strong><u>It was 1980 before Scotland decriminalised sex between two men, over 21 and &#8216;in private&#8217;.</u></strong></p>
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<p>As you can see the age of consent was still higher for gay men as opposed to straight couples (which is 16).</p>
<p>It was also in 1980 that the BBC showed &#8220;A Change of Sex&#8221; which told the story of Julia Grant, the first transgender person to have their transition told on TV.</p>
<p>1981 saw the first case of AIDS recorded in the UK. Terry Higgins died of AIDS in 1982 and the <a href="https://www.tht.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Terrence Higgins Trust</a> was formed.</p>
<p>It was 1982 before Northern Ireland decriminalised same sex acts.</p>
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<p><strong><u>1988 saw the creation of &#8216;Section 28&#8217;</u></strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/cacc0b40-c3a4-473b-86cc-11863c0b3f30" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Section 28</a> was legislation which stated that a local authority &#8220;shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intent of promoting homosexuality&#8221;.</p>
<p>Stonewall UK was formed as a consequence of section 28 and they campaigned tirelessly until Scotland abolished in in 2000. Unfortunately the bill was not abolished in England and Wales until 2003, a carily short time ago.</p>
<p>The 1990s saw the creation of support networks and groups such as <a href="https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mermaids</a> (1995 &#8211; a charity which supports gender diverse youth) and <a href="https://www.equality-network.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Equality Network</a> (1997 &#8211; a Scpttish charity campaigning for LGBTQI equality).</p>
<p><u><strong>And on to the 2000s&#8230;</strong></u></p>
<p>It was 2002, only twenty years ago, before a trans person could be issued a new birth certificate in their correct gender.</p>
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Good things started to happen.</u></strong></p>
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</u></strong>2004 saw the Civil Partnership Act being passed, granting same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married straight couples in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.</p>
<p>2004 also saw the passing of The Gender Recognition Act. Thus giving trans people full legal recognition in their appropriate gender.</p>
<p>Howver, it was 2010 before The Equality Act added &#8216;gender reassignment&#8217; as a protected characteristic.</p>
<p>It was 2017 before the UK Government issued a posthumous pardon to all gay and bi men previously convicted under sexual offence laws. Scotland followed suit in 2018 but went a step further by pardoning those still alive.</p>
<p><u><strong>So what now?</strong></u></p>
<p>As you can see from the dates and facts I have described, the community really has come far but with rumblings from the government of changes to the Gender Recognition Act and the possibility of a new &#8216;section 28&#8217; now is not the time to stop fighting for our rights.</p>
<p>We don&#8217;t want any different or any more than everyone else. Equality should be just that. Equal for all.</p>
<p>You can find articles on The Hoot spotlighting some LGBT pioneers, past and present, below.</p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-spotlight-marsha-p-johnson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marsha P Johnson</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-spotlight-sappho-of-lesbos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sappho of Lesbos</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-x-disabled-students-group-bobbie-lea-bennett/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bobbie Lea Bennett</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-x-disabled-students-group-stephen-fry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Stephen Fry</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-x-disabled-students-group-audre-lorde/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Audre Lorde</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-alexander-the-great-and-bagoas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alexander The Great and Bagoas</a></p>
<p><a href="https://thehootstudents.com/lgbt-history-month-spotlight-elisabeth-winterhalter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elisabeth Winterhalter</a></p>
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