THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY IS FAR FROM OVER

Section 28 was an offensive piece of legislation designed to prevent the so-called ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools; as well as stigmatising lesbian, gay and bi people, it galvanised the LGBT community.

The aim from the outset was to create a professional lobbying group that would prevent such attacks on lesbians, gay and bi people from ever occurring again. Stonewall has subsequently put the case for equality on the mainstream political agenda by winning support within all the main political parties and now has offices in England, Scotland and Wales.

The Government lifted the ban on lesbians and gay men serving in the Armed Forces. Before 2000, gay and lesbian people could not serve in the Armed Forces. They would have to keep their sexual orientation secret or they could be fired.

In 2001 the age of consent was lowered again to 16 (having been lowered from 21 to 18 in 1994), making it the same as the age of consent for straight people.

Before this neither same-sex couples nor unmarried straight couples could adopt or foster children.

Section 28 meant that teachers were not able to support lesbian, gay and bi students or provide resources about different sexualities. In 2003 the legislation was repealed, which meant that schools were finally able to support their lesbian, gay and bi students.

On 23 September 2003, we were granted charitable status (Charity Registration Number 1101255).

Stonewall receives no core government funding and funds are instead raised in a variety of ways including donations, sponsorship and fundraising events.

Stonewall is a member of the Equality and Diversity Forum, a network of national organisations committed to progress on age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief and sexual orientation issues.

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 was passed, granting civil partnership in the United Kingdom. The Act gives same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married straight couples in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

VIEW THE CIVIL PARTNERSHIP ACT 2004

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 was passed, giving trans people full legal recognition in their appropriate gender. For the first time, the Act settled in law that trans people can have their gender changed to the one they identify with for all legal purposes, which includes being able to get a new birth certificate; however, the process is complex, intrusive and treats being trans as a mental illness, and gender options are limited to ‘male’ or ‘female’, so it does not allow people who identify as non-binary to gain recognition.

VIEW THE GENDER RECOGNITION ACT 2004

The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 outlawed the discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions on the grounds of sexual orientation.

VIEW THE EQUALITY ACT REGULATIONS 2007

There used to be lots of different laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 made things simpler by bringing all the protections for LGBT people into one law. It also made sure LGBT people were entitled to the same legal protections given to other groups of people who might face discrimination. In addition to this, public service providers like schools and hospitals have to show how their service is accessible to and supportive of LGBT people.

The Department of Health lifted the lifetime ban on gay and bi men donating blood, although a 12-month celibacy deferral period remained in place in order for men who have sex with men to be eligible to donate.

VIEW BLOOD DONOR INFORMATION

Although same-sex couples could enter into Civil Partnerships before 2013, they weren’t allowed to get married. The Marriage Act 2013 gave same-sex couples the opportunity to get married just like any other couple. Same-sex couples already in a Civil Partnership can now convert this to a marriage if they want to.

VIEW MARRIAGE (SAME SEX COUPLES) ACT 2013

In 2015, and following a six-month consultation with trans communities, Stonewall became trans-inclusive. The Stonewall Trans Advisory Group held meetings throughout 2015 and 2016 to agree actions for Stonewall to take to support the advancement of trans equality. ‘A Vision for Change’ is the result of their efforts and is based on a shared mission: that trans people have the right to live full and authentic lives at work, home and in public. The document underpins Stonewall’s work for trans equality until 2022.

VIEW OUR TRANS ADVISORY GROUP

The Government issued a posthumous pardon to all gay and bi men who were convicted under pernicious sexual offences laws in the last century that enabled police to criminalise people for being gay or bi. This was also accompanied by a clear apology to everyone, both living and dead, prosecuted under these laws in the past and a commitment to enable more gay and bi men who are still alive to have discriminatory convictions deleted from the criminal record.

Law passed that makes relationships and sex education mandatory in all schools in England from 2019; Stonewall is calling for guidance developed in 2018 to be fully LGBT-inclusive to ensure all young people have access to age-appropriate education about healthy relationships that includes LGBT relationships and issues.

The UK Supreme Court ruled that the discrimination against same-sex couples on pensions rights needed to end immediately. This followed the lengthy legal case of Walker v Innospec Ltd in which an exemption in the law meant that John Walker, who is married to his same-sex partner, was entitled to much less of his partner’s pension than if he had been a woman in an opposite-sex marriage. We await a response from the UK Government on how they will implement this ruling.

Find Out More About Pension Rights Here

The Department of Health reduced the deferral period for gay and bi men wishing to donate blood from 12 months to three months.