Section 28 Must Stay in the Past

It is twenty years since Section 28 was fully repealed in the UK. It was a piece of legislation that banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by schools and councils across the UK and led to a total suppression of LGBTQ+ identities in education settings.

It was particularly devastating for a whole generation of LGBTQ+ young people who never had an adult role model like them at school.

But, we are still impacted by the legacy of Section 28. LGBTQ-phobic bullying is still happening with 45% of lesbian, gay, bi pupils and 64% of trans pupils reporting they have been bullied for their identity.

After years of campaigning, every child in most of the UK learn about our lives, families and relationships as part of the national curriculum and this has been a huge leap forward.

However, we must demand more because there is a growing tide of opposition to LGBTQ+ inclusive education. Over 200,000 people in the UK have signed a petition to remove LGBTQ+ content from the curriculum and this is set to be debated in parliament.

Be The Change

The the Peter Tatchell Foundation has launched episode one of its new podcast - Be The Change.

The topic of the inaugural episode centres on the origins of LGBT+ history month in the U.S. in 1994, and why it's important.

Available on all major platforms via the folliwing links depending on the device you are using.

Amazon & Audible Podcast Apple Podcast Google Podcast Spotify Podcast

Historic Royal Palaces

14 January to 12 March 2023

Twelve members of Westminster LGBT+ Forum recently set off for Hampton Court Palace where Robert Taylor and Matthew Storey, introduced them to the beautiful and moving Permissible Beauty exhibition.

Robert's photography captured six fiercely Black Queer creatives as a counterpoint to Lely's Windsor Beauties from the court of Charles II.

Matthew is LGBTQ+ programme lead for Historic Royal Palaces and Westminster LGBT Forum and The Curious Club are now members of the Historic Royal Palaces Community Access Scheme.

So, watch out for more exciting outings as we explore the hidden stories behind these iconic buildings. 

LGBTQ+ Sex Education Resource

Stonewall has partnered with Durex to create an LGBTQ+ sex education resource as part of their mutual ambition to provide positive and inclusive sex education for all. 

Read the Resource Now

Queer Britain Museum Award

The We Are Queer Britain! exhibition has won the Museums Association's Awards 2022.

Director, Joseph Galliano-Doig, Trustee, Robert Taylor and our Head of Learning and Engagement, Dan Vo accepted the award for the Best Small Museum Project. 

They send special congratulations to their curator Dawn Hoskin, Project Manager, Emma Shepley and Assistant Curator, Matthew Storey.

They also thank the whole Queer Britain team, our donors, sponsors and you, our supporters, for being a part of the our family.

Winning this is just the beginning. They have much more work to do to help preserve our histories and shine a light on them. They can't run a museum like this without the generous support from our donors and members.

If you want to help this new museum thrive, please consider donating or becoming a Queer Britain Member today.

Pride in London 2022

A video by Michael, a friend of Westminster LGBT+ Forum, and our tribute to Pride in London 2022.

This year’s parade featured many of the wonderful community groups who work so hard in keeping us all feel connected and cared for.

It was also its 50^th anniversary. See the Slide Show and a Video of the event.

Soho Mosque Application

Westminster LGBT Forum was happy to support the proposal from the Aziz Foundation for a Mosque at the Trocadero in Piccadilly. If this application had been successful we would have welcomed them and their organisation to Soho, the heart of London’s LGBT+ community.

The application was later withdrawn but we would have been very happy to work with the Aziz Foundation to promote acceptance, respect, and tolerance across all of Soho’s diverse and wonderful communities.

Soho has a proud and historic tradition of accepting and welcoming people of all kinds from all over the world, and its communities are open minded and tolerant of all religions. We believed this proposal was very much in keeping with that tradition, and would have helped support Muslims living, working and visiting our very unique part of Westminster where they are currently poorly served.

Elton John & David Furnish Talk with Peter Tatchell

The Battle for Covent Garden

A video made by Year 6 of St Clement Danes Primary School with digital:works. 

The video is 25 minutes long and interviews some familiar Covent Garden faces about the history of the area. It also includes some original photos and videos of Covent Garden through the decades.

First LGBT+ Retirement Community

Tonic has launched the sales of their older person’s shared ownership properties at Tonic@Bankhouse, marking a historic moment in LGBT+ housing history.

This is a significant milestone for LGBT+ community-led housing for older people, which has before now, struggled to get a permanent foothold in the UK. Read More

The official opening took place on 20 September 2021.

Paapa Essiedu Takes Lead in FEMME

Femme is a crime thriller that details the unique yet precarious position of a queer, femme man living in a heteronormative and at times misogynistic world.

Originally used in lesbian subcultures, where the terms ‘femme’ and ‘butch’ are used to acknowledge feminine and masculine identities, femme has become popularised for usage among gay and trans as well as non-binary people.

Paapa Essiedu, known for his roles in I May Destroy You and a stunning turn as Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company, stars as the protagonist Jordan, who wears his femme label proudly. Read More

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Metropolitan Police & Hate Crime

During an interview by BBC London the Forum representative stressed the importance of our relationship with the Metropolitan Police. 

Tackling hate crime directed at our community, particularly trans women, is a major issue and we feel the key areas for the Met’s policing to be effective relies on engendering trust and confidence within our community, so we feel we can come forward to report hate crime.

Our suggestions are:

• The police should have ongoing training to address and understand how to tackle transphobia, homophobia and misogyny.
• Maintain the same police officers on the beat with whom our community can get to know and recognise.
• The police need to listen to the concerns of our community.
• The police need to act on the information we give them.
• The police need to report back to us and be more accountable.
• The Home Office needs to put more funding and resources into supporting the officers who are working with our Forum and the LGBT+ community.

The Black Curriculum

We must remember and teach our Black history throughout the year, not just every October.

The Mayor of London has announced a new partnership between City Hall and The Black Curriculum, an education which aims to address the lack of Black British history on the UK curriculum.

Plan to end new HIV cases by 2030

Dame Inga Beale, chair of the HIV Commission and Michael Gove MP, minister for the Cabinet Office.

Senior government ministers have backed a plan developed by an independent group, the HIV Commission, to eliminate HIV transmission in England over the next decade.

At a launch event on 1 December 2020, Health Secretary Matt Hancock committed to reducing new cases by 80% by 2025 and to less than 100% a year by 2030. He claims that these goals are achievable.

Lisa Power awarded DIVA award

Lisa Power, a British sexual health and LGBT rights campaigner, has been awarded a prestigious DIVA Award.

See the Awards Ceremony held on 29 April 2021.

The More in Common Network

The More in Common Network is a collection of groups across the UK working to promote Jo Cox's powerful more in common message in their communities.

Read More

The House of St Barnabas

The House of St Barnabas is one of the Forum's partners but during the Covid-19 pandemic they have experienced the retreat of essential Services, with GP appointments scarce, housing and benefits departments scaled back, and foodbanks overwhelmed. Their graduates have experienced sudden job losses, furlough on insecure income and anxiety about losing their homes.

They have seen the digital divide get much wider and deeper overnight. Digital has become the only way of accessing services at times and friends, family and even pub quizzes quickly moved online.

However, they need help to continue their vital work in breaking the cycle of homelessness, following the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The relationship between secure work and homelessness has never been more apparent.
See how you can help them.

Trans Hate Crime Statistics

As part of Trans Day of Remembrance 2020, the London LGBT Forums Network and the Met LGBT Independent Advisory Group have published an article about the Met's recent decision to publish Trans Hate Crime statistics to the community for the first time.

Whilst we welcome this move from the Met and celebrate that it is a win for the community, we also remember that hate crime is a serious matter affecting many lives.

The Trans Hate Crime Report by Galop shows that:

• 4 in 5 respondents had experienced a form of transphobic hate crime
• 1 in 4 had experienced transphobic physical assault or the threat of physical assault
• Nearly 1 in 5 had experienced transphobic sexual assault or the threat of sexual assault

From Here to Eternity

Sunil Gupta has been using photography as a critical practice since the 1970s.

Subversive, impulsive, personal, and political, Gupta's socially engaged projects have focused on issues such as family, race, migration and the complexities and taboos of sexuality and homosexual life.

His work has been an inspiration for generations of photographic activists and LGBTQ+ rights campaigners.

His book From Here to Eternity traces Sunil Gupta’s life through his personal archive: the snapshots, postcards, letters, posters, and news clippings collected during his long career in photography and activism. See Autograph for further details and how to purchase this inspiring book investigates the question What does it mean to be a gay Indian man?