LGBT Failures of this outgoing Tory Government
Here are just some of the failed commitments to the LGBT community made by this last Conservative administration:
Prejudice: - No trial of innovative ways to tackle deep-seated prejudices in our communities.
LGBT Advisory Panel: - The LGBT Advisory Panel never met with a senior government representative.
LGBT Health Adviser: - No national LGBT health adviser to provide leadership on reducing the health inequalities that LGBT people face.
Schools: - No extension of the anti-homophobic, anti-biphobic and anti-transphobic bullying programme in schools.
Gay Conversion Therapy: - No proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy in the UK have been passed by the Government.
LGBT Hate Crime: – No improvement in the recording of, reporting of, and police response to LGBT hate crime.
Gender Recognition: - No reform to Gender Recognition reducing the long and bureaucratic processes or any focus on the dignity and rights of those who are trans.
LGBT Fertility Services: - No significant improvements to LGBT fertility services and mental health care.
LGBT Homelessness: - No scheme to address disproportionate levels of homelessness among LGBT people.
Non-binary and Intersex People: - No Government research on the experiences of non-binary and intersex people.
Global LGBT Rights: - A conference on global LGBT rights has never been organised by this Governmemt.
Historical Gay Sex Offences: - Those convicted of historical gay sex offences were promised they could apply for a formal pardon
from the Home Office but fewer than 200 people have received pardons.
Blood Donation Restrictions: - Blood donation restrictions have been eased but anybody who has had anal sex with new or multiple partners
in the last 3 months cannot donate which effectively rules out many gay men.
Homophobic Abuse: - Reports of homophobic abuse in the UK have skyrocketed during this Conservative Government, increasing from 5,807 in 2014–15 to 13,530 in 2018–19 with overall hate crime levels reaching more than 100,000 for the first time ever.
Homophobic Abuse: - Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Gay Men "tank-topped bum boys" and he has repeatedly refused to apologise for saying it.
Abysmal LGBT+ Asylum: - The UK Home Office continues to be notoriously inhospitable to LGBT+ asylum seekers whose asylum claims are refused at a higher rate than the national average.
Reform of the Gender Recognition Act: - Crucial reforms to the Gender Recognition Act, the bedrock of trans rights in the UK, have been consistently delayed by the Conservatives before being dropped altogether this year.
Rise in Anti-trans Rhetoric: - The Conservative Government's inaction following the GRA consultation has been cited as a driving force for the rising transphobia in the UK, which has grown so severe that the country was singled out in a recent Council of Europe report on anti-LGBT+ hatred.
LGBT Rights League Table: - The UK has dropped down the annual ranking of LGBTQ+ rights across Europe for the third year running.
Conversion Therapy: - There is still no conversion therapy ban in the UK which remains legal more than six years after the Government first pledged to ban the practice and confirmed again in 2019, 2022 and 2024.
Legal Recognition for Non-binary People: - Non-binary people are still unable to gain legal recognition in the UK, and the Conservatives have continued to ignore the growing demand despite a several countries in the EU, New Zealand, several US states and Canadian territories all offering ‘X’ gender options on legal documents.
Falling short on HIV: - More than 5 years after committing to ending the UK’s HIV epidemic by 2030, the government has yet to take any affirmative action on this issue according to 35 major HIV charities, LGBT+ groups and health bodies.
Falling short on HIV: - The government pledged £600,000 to Public Health England’s HIV Prevention Innovation Fund, earmarked for innovative UK schemes to help reduce the risk of people getting the virus and reducing stigma, but more than two years later the HIV Action Plan still has not been fully funded.
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