New support for LGBT people at work on International Day Against Homophobia

The TUC has published new guidance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people at work to coincide with International Day Against Homophobia today (Tuesday).

The report – LGBT Equality at Work – covers changes in the law for LGBT people, workplace issues and training, recognising diversity, bullying and harassment, and the public sector equality duty.
It also includes guidance on challenging prejudice and discrimination, and promoting equality at work.
International Day Against Homophobia is held on 17 May each year, and the TUC is urging union members and the general public to use this day to remember LGBT people who have been killed around the world simply because of their sexuality.
Homosexuality is still illegal in 77 countries around the world, and in seven countries women, men and children are punished for their sexuality with death sentences.
In January in Uganda David Kato, a gay rights campaigner who sued a local newspaper which outed him as homosexual, was been beaten to death. The Ugandan parliament recently attempted to re-introduce an anti-homosexuality bill that could sentence LGBT Ugandans to death for “aggravated homosexuality”. There has been mass international lobbying against the bill – which has now been dropped – and the UK government has told the Uganda government of its outrage.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “While unions have successfully campaigned for equal rights for LGBT people in the UK, around the world the situation is sadly very different.
“In many countries LGBT people face harassment, intimidation, violence, ostracism, hate crimes – and even death, just because of their sexuality.
“International Day Against Homophobia is an opportunity for unions to highlight the suffering of LGBT people all around the world, and demand that the way they are treated is improved – both in the workplace and in the wider community.”
To mark International Day Against Homophobia, the Cutting Edge Consortium is running a seminar this evening (Tuesday) at the TUC’s headquarters in London on how the government’s free schools and academies programme could threaten LGBT equality.


The new publication LGBT Equality at Work is available at: www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-19413-f0.cfm

Only Hours to stop Uganda's Gay Death Penalty

In a few hours, the Ugandan Parliament may vote on a brutal new law that carries the death penalty for homosexuality. Thousands of Ugandans could face execution -- just for being gay.
We've helped stop this bill before, and we can do it again. After a massive global outcry last year, Ugandan President Museveni blocked the bill's progress. But political unrest is mounting in Uganda, and religious extremists in Parliament are hoping confusion and violence in the streets will distract the international community from a second push to pass this hate-filled law. We can show them that the world is still watching. If we block the vote for two more days until Parliament closes, the bill will expire forever.
We have no time to lose. Almost half a million of us have already joined the call -- let’s get to one million voices against Uganda's gay death penalty in the next 12 hours - click here to take action:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl

TUC publishes its' new negotiators guide for LGBT equality in the workplace

The TUC has just published its' new negotiators guide for LGBT equality in the workplace . This can be accessed at the main TUC website here: http://www.tuc.org.uk/equality/tuc-19413-f0.cfm

There are seven sections covering:

• Section 1 LGBT equality today: the context
• Section 2 Using the right language
• Section 3 The Law: (1) Equality Act 2010 (2) GRA (3) Civil partnership (4) pensions
• Section 4 Workplace issues and good practice: policies and training; workplace benefits; pension schemes; provisions for time off; bullying and harassment; domestic violence; Public sector equality duty; Trans workplace issues
• Section 5 Monitoring
• Section 6 Challenging prejudice, promoting equality - recognising diversity, training and networks
• Section 7 Resources

Please pass this message on to all union negotiators who may find it of use.

Celebrating Black and LGBT Experiences

By Pav Akhtar and Jay Bedford, PCS Proud Black Members representatives
The late Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said:“I still hear people say that I should not talk about the rights of lesbian and gay people and should stick to the issue of racial justice, but I remind them what Martin Luther King said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.' I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King's dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.” (Reuters, 31 March 1998)
February is Black History Month in the USA, celebrated since 1926. It is also LGBT History Month in the UK, celebrated since 2005. This month of two histories is an opportunity to draw lessons from the contributions Black and LGBT people have made to the cultural developments of our nations.
Sadly, like many mainstream narratives, the lives and experiences of Black LGBT people are often depicted through the lens of racism. An under-explored aspect of Black history is the presence of lesbian and gay people.
For example, George Washington Carver has a story right out of the history books. Born into slavery, he went on to graduate from high school, earn a master’s degree, and invent peanut butter. Most history books omit to mention that Carver was also Black and gay.
Dr. King’s compatriot, Bayard Rustin, organised the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It is with some irony that while Dr. King’s dream is coming true, almost 50 years later the theme of this year’s Black History Month in the US is ‘The History of Black Economic Empowerment’. While political emancipation may be close to achievement, the shackles of economic injustice and inequality remain firmly upon us, as Black people struggle against workplace prejudice. Before the 1963 march, Rustin championed the Freedom Rides, in which Black and white anti-racists took buses into the South to challenge the US Supreme Court decision to segregate public transport. Rustin also happened to be gay. In his later years, he spoke openly about LGBT rights and when died in 1987, the dream of sexual orientation equality was not fulfilled, but inching closer.
In 2003, aged 15, Sakia Gunn was murdered in New Jersey, USA, after rejecting sexual advances and telling the perpetrator that she and her friend were lesbians. Sakia was a young woman who chose to dress in ‘male’ attire. While more than 2,500 people attended her funeral, the broader public reaction to this hate crime did not compare with the outcry and actions following the tragic murder in 1998 of Matthew Shepard in rural Wyoming because of his sexual orientation. It is conceivable that race — Matthew was white and Sakia was Black — was the difference in the public’s response to these two shocking hate crimes.
Alvin Ailey; James Baldwin; Alexander Goodrum; June Jordan; Audre Lorde; Virginia Loving and Bessie Smith, are just a few of the Black LGBT people who have contributed writing, music and civil rights gains that were once only dreams. By confronting discrimination on two fronts — race and sexual orientation — these icons faced daunting, sometimes fatal, challenges in their paths toward freedom and acceptance.
When we fail to recognise everyone in our community, be they Black, disabled, lesbian or gay, or all of these, we surrender the narrative to someone else. We cannot transform or overcome hate and discrimination when we force individuals and entire communities to pick one identity and cast the rest aside.
Therefore, in honour of Black and LGBT History Month February 2011, the challenge to each of us is to consider our whole community, whomever that includes, to discover who has been overlooked or forgotten, and take action to remember and talk about them.
As Black and LGBT people we face big challenges in society today. It is vital that we recall how our forebears overcame theirs, when there were no models. They had to break new paths, so must we.

"Life in Trans: To develop best practice for Transgender issues in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire"

The LGBT Network Staffordshire is a local charity based in Hanley, giving support and advice to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people around Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire .

LGBT Network Staffordshire is organising a conference, "Life in Trans: To develop best practice for Transgender issues in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire" on the 4th of February 2011 at The North Staffordshire Conference Centre in Hartshill Stoke-on-Trent.
The aim of the is conference to highlight and address many of the issues Trans people face in day to day life. This includes Hate Crime ranging from being called names in the street to, in its most extreme form, Trans people being killed just for being themselves. Employment for many people in today's climate is hard, but for many trans people the extra pitfalls and problems being faced can make finding a job an impossible task.
One of the greatest and hardest tests for Trans people is navigating the long and difficult transition pathway which, from the first GP's visit, can take 6-7 years. This is a difficult experience for every Trans person as they undertake real life experience, find their body changing through hormone treatments and surgery. This process is often being exasperated by a pathway which is very difficult to access, GP's who do not understand the issues, and long waiting times. These problems and many others can lead to crippling depression which makes all of these issues even more difficult.
The conference will address all of these issues and offer best practice from leading specialists from around the country. Key Note speakers Bernard & Terry Reed OBE from GIRES (Gender Identity Research and Education Society) will be delivering a talk on based on in-depth research on best practice for PCT's in the transition process and the sustained rapid growth in Trans people seeking medical care. They will be joined by a representative from the Police who will be discussing Transphobic Hate Crime and our role in combating it and Carol Robson who will be talking about the best practice in employing Trans people for organisations.
For this unique event we are asking for the small donation of £20 per delegate to attend. However as we hope many members of the Trans community can attend delegates from this community can join us for free. With the recent additions the Equality Act 2010 has made to the law and the additional roles and responsibilities on service providers, employers and businesses, this conference is not to be missed.
For more information or to book one of the limited spaces please call 01782 266998 or email info@gaystoke.com