Nationally we have political
parties such as UKIP who
appear to be anti-LGBT and
say some really quite
disgusting things about us.
The scariest thing about
that is the fact that these
parties, particularly UKIP,
are gaining a following.
This will mostly be based
on the apparent racist
views of the party, but there
will be people who agree
with the anti-LGBT views
too.
In schools homophobic
bullying is still rife. I know
this first hand as I work
with young people and
regularly engage with
schools in the area, or at
least attempt to. Most
schools don’t want to hear
about sexuality and gender
identity issues. You
mention the acronym LGBT
to them and they go into
panic mode as if it’s
something they want to
avoid discussing. It’s here
that the problem lies. I
don’t necessarily think it’s
down to schools not
wanting to tackle
homophobic bullying. I’d
say it’s more a case of
schools not being equipped
to tackle it. What’s needed
is a big change in the
curriculum when it comes
to PSHE/RSE lessons.
Schools must be required to
discuss sexuality and
gender identity with all
students. And to do that, I
believe all teachers must
attend diversity training,
that includes an LGBT
section.
to be social change in this
country. By educating our
youth, I believe our society
becomes more open and
discrimination based on
sexuality and gender
identity lessens.
The Police have a big
responsibility too. Hate
Crime is seen to be a
priority, but when
homophobic or transphobic
crimes are reported there
seems to be little done
about it. This results in a
lack of trust in the Police
and puts people off
reporting the crimes. What
we need is for the Police to
better engage with LGBT
people and offer some
reassurance; that reports of
Hate Crime will be taken
seriously and actually dealt
with. The reporting process
for Hate Crime itself also
needs to be made easier
and allow for a third party
reporting the crime on
someone else’s behalf if, for
example, they are too
scared to come forward.
We love a glass in the
garden, so make some
time to share the love
with i heart Brasil
Sparkling Moscato (alc
8.5% vol).
Eating Brazilian inspired
food? Lovely with chicken
with molho de maracujá,
a traditional Brazilian
passionfruit sauce.
How about nibbles? Great
with antipasti.
Or dessert? Try with fresh
fruit like peaches or
melon, or fresh
strawberry tart. ∎
I have arranged a meeting
with my MP to discuss
these issues in detail and
ask for his assistance in
bringing positive social
change locally. It’s a big
ask, but I’ll continue
lobbying the powers that be
until it is a safer and more
open society for LGBT
people.
I wish all the happiness in
the world to any same-sex
couple taking advantage of
our new found freedom and
choice to get married, but
These are necessary things please do keep in mind that
that must happen if there is the battle is not over yet . ∎
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