TUC lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender annual conference
Several hundred lesbian and gay workers are gathering in central London over the next two days to debate a series of key equality issues at the annual TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender conference.
Delegates attending the event at the TUC's Congress House HQ will hear speeches from TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, Commission for Equality and Human Rights Chair Trevor Phillips and MP Angela Eagle.
Motions to be discussed by delegates include the portrayal of lesbian and gay people in the media, the monitoring of sexuality in the workplace and the potential conflict between religious belief and sexual orientation.
Addressing the conference today (Thursday), TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Sometimes it's easy to forget just how far we've come in the past decade. Ten years ago, gay rights were seen as a minority pursuit - now they're part of the political mainstream. Ten years ago, the debate was about Section 28 - now we celebrate civil partnerships. And ten years ago, discrimination against the gay community in the provision of goods and services was quite legal - now, at long last, it has been outlawed.
'But as we celebrate that progress, we cannot afford to relax our guard. This is not the time for us to take of eye of the ball. Despite all the legal gains - despite our largely liberal, tolerant society - the ugly scar of homophobia continues to blight the lives of so many people in your community. The young student bullied at college, the lesbian taunted about her sexuality, the gay couple hounded from their home.
'However welcome they may be, changes on the statute book count for little unless they are matched by a corresponding change in attitudes. Think about our workplaces. We know from our own research that four in ten LGBT workers have faced abuse at work because of their sexuality.
'And let's not forget the challenges faced by LGBT people worldwide. From the casual murder of gay men in Jamaica to state-sponsored persecution in Iran, from the alarming rise in homophobia in Russia to the death squads of Iraq, members of your community are under attack as never before. None of us can afford to turn a blind eye - an injury to one is an injury to all. But where there is discrimination, unions will seek to remove it. Where there is inequality, we will tackle it. And where there is injustice, we will wage war on it.'
Labels: bisexual, diversity, gays, hidden barriers, homophobia, lesbians, LGBT, transgender
posted by Ian Dodds Consulting @ 4:20 pm
3 comments
3 Comments:
I believe that the relationship of gays and lesbians is acceptable, just as long as marriage doesnt come into the picture. Marriage is something done between a man and woman, the man being the head of the family and the woman being the body.
Marriage is not always between one man and one women. Polygamous cultures allow marriages between a person and several spouses. The issues is that you are only considering the traditional north american and Christian connotation of the word marriage. in Today's society a member of the church is not even needed to get married it can be done by a member of city council, therefore marriage is basically just a legal agreement between two people. Therefore why would gay or lesbians not be able to make an agreement to devote their lives to another person of the same sex.
I agree 100% with Kyle on this one. As long as the 2 people getting married are in love it should not matter if they are straight, lesbian, gay or bisexual. I do have to say that todays society has made a big change towards accepting all sexual orientation. Although, there are still many people who are not accepting of the different sexual orientations the only thing we can do as a society is encourage those who are being discriminated to stay positive and remember they have the right to be who they are and the right to choose there own sexual orientation.
Chelsey CYW
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