Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia

Homophobia bruises, batters and kills people every day. People we know. People we love. Homophobia is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. It has never been more important than right now to take action.

Screen and stage legend Sir Ian McKellen and Coronation Street star Antony Cotton, have already signed up to take action against homophobia and both feature in the Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia video see below. Over the coming months Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia will be at Pride events and Festivals, asking people to sign up to join the movement against homophobia

The hard facts
Lesbian, gay and bisexual people still live with the daily reality of homophobia, and many of us live our lives in secret, not publicly acknowledging our sexual orientation for fear of reprisal, ridicule or attack.
In the UK, we have seen a number of high profile homophobic attacks in recent years.
Ian Baynham, 62, died from fatal injuries sustained in a homophobic attack in London, he wasn’t only a gay man,he was a son, a partner, a friend, and a workmate. He was loved.
Homophobia can be felt all over the world.
In South Africa Eudy Simelane, one of the first women to live openly in her community as a lesbian, was gangraped and brutally beaten before being knifed 25 times in the face, chest and legs. Eudy wasn’t only a lesbian, she was a daughter, she was a partner, and a team mate. She was loved.
In 75 countries across the world, being gay is punishable by imprisonment and hard labour, and in 7 countries across the world being gay means you face the death penalty because of who you love.
On our streets, in our homes, in our schools and at work, homophobia is hurting those who are seen as different from the “norm”. Lesbians, gay men and bisexual people are a target of hatred because of who they love. It’s called homophobia, and it needs to stop.

Messages of support
“Your support means we can continue to spread the word that enough is enough, we won’t stand for homophobia in any form. There’s just one more thing you can do today. Ask your friends and family to sign up too.”
Sir Ian McKellen

“I’m proud to say Enough is Enough! because homophobia in any form or context is unacceptable and needs to stop. Sadly, it is still a daily reality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people and also their family and friends – on the streets, at school, at work and in the home. Sign up to the campaign and take positive action against homophobia.”
Antony Cotton

Take Action

The first action people can take is to sign up to join the movement against homophobia. We want ordinary people; mums, dads, sons, daughters, grans, grandads, husbands, wives, partners, friends, and workmates – to stand shoulder to shoulder and take positive action against homophobia. Go to www.lgf.org.uk/enough to sign up.

Whatever the action, www.lgf.org.uk/enough will be celebrating it; from same sex partners taking a picture of themselves holding hands in public, to people forming gay/straight alliances and LGB groups, to marching against homophobia at Pride festivals across the country.

Why the time is now?
It has never been more important than right now to take action against homophobia.
Too often the victims of hate are forgotten, now is the time to say Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia, the stories of Ian Baynham, James Parkes, Michael Causer, Eudy Similane and all those killed or battered by homophobia must be kept alive, and the campaign for justice for each and every one of them will continue.

Too often lesbian, gay and bisexual people tolerate prejudice, now is the time to say Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia, we will have the confidence to use our rights, to report homophobic hate crime and demand equality.
Too often homophobia is dismissed solely as a lesbian, gay and bisexual issue, now is the time to say Enough is Enough! Action Against Homophobia, homophobia touches all communities, we must stand together to take positive action against hate.

Join the movement to take action against homophobia now!

“At what point do we say Enough? At what point do we stand up, as a total group, and say we will not allow it to happen anymore? Enough is Enough!” Harvey Milk, 1978

http://www.lgf.org.uk/enough

WATCH THE VIDEO

LGBT Jigsaw is a London initiative aimed at reducing homelessness amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) young people. In addition a large part of what Jigsaw is funded to do is preventative work, we work with hundreds of young people each year.

The event on the 17th May 2010 will take place in Islington any young person who is agesd under 25 and identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans. the event will run from early afternoon to early evening. Its a great chance to meet other LGBT young people from London. The event has three key aims.

To raise awareness of IDAHO
* Hold an event to mark IDAHO and ensure that a younger audience (under 25) is made aware of this day and its importance to the LGBT community.

To explore the options available to people experiencing homophobia or transphobia:
* To share first hand experiences of homophobia and the effects this can have on our school, home, work and community life.
* To hold a range of workshops throughout the event exploring the types of homophobia people face and the agency that can support them to tackle this.

To produce a guide for young people:
*The young people will produce a guide for other young people offering them advice about homophobia/ transphobia, LGBT hate crime and homelessness.

if you are intrested in taking part please email info@lgbtjigsaw.net

The bill, which gives new protections to gay people, was sent for royal assent last night.

It is designed to consolidate and simplify existing equality laws, encompassing characteristics such as race, gender and sexual orientation.

A flagship feature of the bill is equality duty on all public bodies, which will require institutions such as schools, councils and the NHS to actively promote equality.

Employers will be permitted to use positive action to select candidates from under-represented groups when two people applying for a job have the same qualifications.

The bill will also prohibit private members’ clubs from discriminating against members or guests based on their sexual orientation or gender reassignment and introduce the concept of “dual discrimination”, where people can show they were discriminated because, for example, they are both gay and of an ethnic minority.

An amendment added last month will allow gay couples to have their civil partnerships in church.

However, the bill has been criticised by gay groups, opposition politicians and secular groups for a number of “grey areas”.

One contentious issue is harassment protection for gay people, which critics say does not exist in the bill. The government has said gay people are already protected from harassment due to direct discrimination laws and that there was a duty for schools to continue the existing ban on discrimination.

Trans campaigners argue that there is not enough protection for the many people who live as the opposite gender but have chosen not to seek medical treatment.

The government said last month it would not continue to fight the House of Lords over an amendment clarifying who churches can refuse employment to.

Provisions in the bill would have clarified the law requiring churches only to discriminate in terms of sexual orientation when hiring those who will teach doctrine or lead worship.

But after the Pope publicly criticised the bill, equality minister Harriet Harman backed down. She is thought to have made the climbdown to avoid a continuing dispute with church leaders.

The new laws will begin to take effect in the autumn. The public sector equality duty will be introduced in April 2011, while provisions to ban age discrimination and force companies to reveal pay packets will come into force in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

This Article was published by Pinknews.co.uk you can visit it here

The Lesbian and Gay Foundation have also written a good article on this which can be viewed here

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