19/05/2010
News sent - 19th May 2010
In this week's e-mail newsletter: Equality Network News: Speak Out: Highlands and Islands; Forums News: Will the new UK government scrap the Human Rights Act?; Philippa Stroud special advisor at DWP; PCC defends its decision on Jan Moir; Documentary: Harassment in the workplace; Talk Scotland Events: Inverness: Girlzone social lunch; Edinburgh: LGBT Garden Club; Clydebank: Re-launch of LGBT Equalities Network; Edinburgh Gay Men's Book Group; Glasgow: The Road to A Living Wage Scotland; Inverness: Swans of Scotland monthly meeting; Edinburgh: LGBT lives; Edinburgh LGBT Film Club; Edinburgh: Digging Deeper, delving below the surface of poverty; Bi Glasgow Monthly Meeting; Edinburgh: Changing Families in a Changing World; UK News: Doncaster: Pride festival loses Mayor, wins Lottery, charges access; ITV Tonight: Afraid to be gay; London: 40th anniversary conference: Equal Pay - Where Next; Rights of Women 35th anniversary conference: Measuring Up?; International: Malawi: Couple found guilty of being gay; Belarus bans gay Pride, police beat defiant marchers; ILGA-Europe 14th Annual Conference; US: DADT - Letters to President Barack Obama; EU: rapid ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Pacific lesbian albatross colony; Working for All: Stirling: SDAMH Trustees; Edinburgh: LGBT Health and Wellbeing Centre Fundraiser; Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; LGBT Families: Portugal: same-sex marriage law to be ratified; London: recruiting LGB foster carers;
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Equality Network News
Speak Out Highlands and Islands
The popular Speak Out programme resumes - six meetings across the region, free and open to all, in Lerwick, Kirkwall, Wick, Elgin, Fort William, and Stornoway, 18th to 28th May. Full details on
National LGBT Forum Events calendar for May.
Forums News
Will the new UK government scrap the Human Rights Act?
Theresa May, the new Conservative home secretary and equalities minister, today confirmed that the Con-Lib coalition government is reconsidering the Conservative manifesto pledge to scrap the
Human Rights Act 1998 (the Act which incorporates the
European Convention on Human Rights into UK statute law). She made the announcement as Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem deputy prime minister, said in an interview with the
Times that any government would tamper with the HRA "at its peril". Ms May told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We did say that we thought the Human Rights Act wasn't working in certain areas and we are now discussing with our coalition partners what we will be doing in that area." (
BBC) The decision about whether to introduce a British bill of rights, supplanting the European convention on human rights, is to be passed to an independent commission. The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has strongly opposed British withdrawal from the ECHR, and was one of the few Tories to
admit publicly prior to the coalition that he had been "broadly comfortable" about its incorporation into UK statute law. (
Pink News,
Guardian)
Philippa Stroud special advisor at DWP
Iain Duncan Smith is now secretary of state in the Department for Work and Pensions. Philippa Stroud, a fellow member of Conservative Christian Fellowship, has been made a special adviser in DWP after failing to gain the seat in Sutton and Cheam.
Andrew Brown in the Guardian theorises that David Cameron will need the "quietly influential" support of Christian organisations if he is to have "a stable and successful government ". The founder of CCF, Tim Montgomerie, asserted in defense of
Philip Lardner that there was nothing hateful about supporting Section 28 or opposing openly-LGBT school teachers.(
Guardian)
Financial Times: February 2010:
Christian Tories rewrite party doctrine
PCC defends its decision on Jan Moir
The Press Complaints Commission has today defended its verdict on
Jan Moir's infamous Stephen Gately article as part of its
Annual Review. Released today, the review has been divided into three sections: an open letter from the PCC Chairman, Baroness Buscombe, a statistical analysis of complaints figures and a look behind-the-scenes of how the work of the PCC is carried out. (
Pink Paper)
Buscombe wrote: "The commission considered that newspapers had the right to publish opinions that many might find unpalatable and offensive, and that it would not be proportionate, in this case, to rule against the free expression of the columnist's views on a subject that was the focus of intense public attention." (
Guardian)
Documentary: Harassment in the workplace
BBC Factual is producing a documentary series all about the British at work and are trying to get in touch with women who suffered from sexual discrimination, harrassment or other forms of sexism in the workplace during the 1960s and 1970s. If you are interested or want more information, contact Alice Jones (alice.jones@bbc.co.uk).
Talk Scotland Events
Inverness: Girlzone social lunch
21st May. Girlzone lunch from 12.30pm - 2pm in the restaurant upstairs in Debenhams (take the lift to the very top floor in the Eastgate shopping centre, don't go to the cafe on the ground floor!) Look for the blue box!
Edinburgh: LGBT Garden Club
Saturday 22nd May, 1.30-4pm; Monday 24th May, 6-8pm. Meets at the Health and Wellbeing Centre, 9 Howe Street.
www.lgbthealth.org.uk
Clydebank: Re-launch of LGBT Equalities Network
25th May 2010, 5-7pm Clydebank Town Hall. Event to re-launch and broaden the membership of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Equalities Network in West Dunbartonshire. If you are interested in attending or want further information, contact Alastair Smith (Alastair.Smith@west-dunbarton.gov.uk).
Edinburgh Gay Men's Book Group
26th May 7-9pm. Meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month, and it's your chance to meet new people and read interesting books. If you are interested in joining the group please contact info@gaybookgroup.co.uk
Glasgow: The Road to A Living Wage Scotland
27th May 2010, Glasgow. The Scottish Living Wage Campaign: Increasing numbers of employers in Scotland are becoming living wage employers recognising that paying their employees a living wage is good for business, good for workers and good for the economy. Living wage campaigns are gaining increasing prominence across the UK taking inspiration from the successes of London, Glasgow and Oxford. Living wage has also featured as an issue in the 2010 election campaign. This conference will look at how the campaign is developing in Scotland and what more needs to be done to secure a living wage for Scottish workers. Free event, book online:
www.povertyalliance.org.uk/events.asp
Inverness: Swans of Scotland monthly meeting
27th May, 7-9pm. The
Swans of Scotland regular group meeting is on the last Thursday of the month - 27th May 7-9pm at the Beaufort Hotel in Inverness. Check their web site for event details.
Edinburgh: LGBT lives seminar
9:30-5:30, 28th May 2010, at the
University of Edinburgh "The biographies and life course of sexual/gender dissidents". This seminar will include papers detailing development projects, campaigns and other aspects of practice relating to the LGBT communities. This is the last seminar in the series and will include input from the Scottish Government regarding their recent response to the Hearts and Minds Agenda Group recommendations. The day will also include a parallel session on LGBT ageing and later life.
Edinburgh LGBT Film Club
28th May, 6:30-9:30pm. The club will meet every other Friday, at the LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing at 9 Howe Street, Edinburgh. A wide selection of documentaries, short films and full-length movies with an LGBT twist will be screened for your viewing pleasure, from old classics to arty new ones. The club is open to anyone with a keen interest in films who wants to meet in a safe, welcoming environment. All screenings are subject to a small donation. For more information, contact Claire at clazzle333@hotmail.com
Edinburgh: Digging Deeper, delving below the surface of poverty
Tuesday 1st June, Pollock Halls, Edinburgh. The agenda will be influenced by those experiencing poverty and social exclusion in Scotland and Europe. Key speakers include Johann Lamont MSP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland. Registration 9.15am, cost £45. Book early as spaces are limited. Contact Laura Barnett (laura.barnett@crossreach.org.uk) at Crossreach to book your place or call 0131 657 2000
www.crossreach.org.uk
Bi Glasgow Monthly Meeting
Wednesday
2nd June, 7:30-9pm. Bi Glasgow meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7.30pm at Castro (formerly the LGBT Centre), 84 Bell Street, Glasgow, G1 1LQ.
Edinburgh: Changing Families in a Changing World
16th-18th June 2010, University of Edinburgh. What happens to families in this changing word? How do they deal with the way in which global changes impact upon their lives? What do we know about these changes and how they play out in and across different parts of the globe?
Book online.
UK News
Doncaster: Pride festival loses Mayor, wins Lottery, charges access
Doncaster Pride has been given a £24,500 grant by the National Lottery but will charge visitors £3 entry for this year's event. The festival will be held at Doncaster Racecourse this summer, which organisers say has resulted in "significant increases in costs". Previously, it was free and held at Doncaster marketplace, funded by the local authority, but the new Mayor Peter Davies (elected last year) cut financial support for minority events shortly after he was elected, including stopping the £3,000 awarded to the festival organisers and denying permission for it to take place in Doncaster's marketplace. (
PinkNews,
The Star,
Yorkshire Post)
ITV Tonight: Afraid to be gay
Earlier this month, a gay couple in their 20s experienced homophobia first-hand - as part of a covert TV experiment to test Britain’s tolerance of gay relationships. Current Affairs Producer Neil Barnes of
ITV Tonight says the whole team were taken by surprise at the ingrained levels of homophobia uncovered while making the programme. "Britain might have some of the most liberal laws on homosexuality in Europe, but hate crime is still growing in Britain.We're proud to bring this to light in a compelling way." (
PinkPaper)
London: 40th anniversary conference: Equal Pay - Where Next
Friday 28th May 2010; 09:30-15.30, Congress House, 28 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LS
The Fawcett Society, TUC, Equality & Human Rights Commission, and UNISON are holding a landmark conference to mark the 40th anniversary: Equal Pay - Where Next? A landmark conference for key stakeholders to collaborate on a progressive new roadmap towards realising equal pay. Speakers include: Government Minister for Equalities, Theresa May; Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON; Ceri Goddard, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society; Kay Carberry CBE, Assistant General Secretary of the TUC; Dr Jean Irvine OBE, Business Commissioner, EHRC; Karon Monaghan QC of Matrix Chambers. To reserve your place at this event/for more information contact (Aisling Mannion A.Mannion@unison.co.uk / 0207 551 1319) by Friday 21 May 2010.
www.womeninlondon.org.uk/2010/05/event-fawcett-4
Rights of Women 35th anniversary conference: Measuring Up?
22 June 2010, 9.30am - 5.00pm, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD
The UK has signed up to all major international human rights treaties relevant to violence against women. This conference will take stock of progress and assess whether the UK has met its commitments under international law in England and Wales. For further information and to download a booking form visit the website or events@row.org.uk
www.rightsofwomen.org.uk
International
Malawi: Couple found guilty of being gay
Amnesty International calls on the Malawian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release a couple convicted on Tuesday 18th May 2010 on charges of “gross indecency” and “unnatural acts”. Their sentence is expected on Thursday 19th May and they face up to 14 years in prison. “Being in a relationship should not be a crime. No one should be arrested and detained solely on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Africa Director at
Amnesty International. “Their human rights, the rights to freedom from discrimination, of conscience, expression and privacy have been flagrantly violated." (
Ekklesia)
Peter Tatchell in the Independent: "The conviction by a Malawian court of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga on charges of homosexuality is the latest example of how, more than four decades after most African nations won their independence, the evils of colonialism continue to wreck lives. The two men face up to 14 years in jail under laws that were imposed on the people of Malawi by the British colonisers in the 19th century. "
The couple's lawyer has asked the Blantyre Magistrates Court to mete a non-custodial sentence mitigating the two men were first offenders and their crimes did not victimise anybody.(
Nyasa Times)
Belarus bans gay Pride, police beat defiant marchers
City authorities in Minsk, Belarus, banned last week's Pride - and when a group of 40 people marched anyway, police attacked "like a group of wild dogs" according to reports. Officials said the march was cancelled because of a law stating protests cannot be held near subway stations, although Pride organisers rubbished this and claimed the route had been used to parades many times before. Alyaksandr Fyodaraw, Syarhey Yenin, Vital Kavalewski, Ulad Harbatski and Aleh Hruvich, as well as two citizens of Russia, Dmitry Milkov and Aleksandr Sheremetyev, were found guilty of participation in an unsanctioned demonstration. They were held in custody for two days before being fined (17,500 rubles/about £167). (
Naviny.by,
Pink Paper,
PinkNews)
ILGA-Europe 14th Annual Conference
The
14th ILGA-Europe's Annual Conference will take place in The Hague on 28-31 October 2010. The theme of year's conference is "Expressing our differences, challenging our prejudices, developing our alliances". Online booking is expected to open from June.
US: DADT - Letters to President Barack Obama
Tracey Cooper-Harris served in the U.S. Army for a dozen years as both a soldier and a non-commissioned officer. Performing her duties with honor and integrity, Cooper-Harris was commended by her peers for her service and reached the rank of Sergeant. During her first duty assignment shortly after
"Don't Ask Don't Tell" was made law, at the age of 19, a few of Cooper-Harris' male colleagues found out that she was gay and sexually harassed and assaulted her, forcing her silence with threats of outing her to the military authorities who would have discharged her for her sexual orientation.
Cooper-Harris shares her story in one of a series of letters published on
Change.org this week courtesy of the
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which is mobilizing a coalition of voices, including former and current U.S. soldiers, calling on President Obama to end the military's discriminatory policy that bans openly LGBT troops from serving.
EU: rapid ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding will urge EU Member States to swiftly
ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities during a May 19 Ministers’ meeting in Zaragoza, Spain. Vice-President Reding, who is responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, will tell EU Ministers in charge of disability policies that the EU must show leadership to ensure that people with disabilities are fully integrated into the economy and enjoy equal rights. Ministers will discuss the EU’s implementation of the UN Convention and provide input for a new European Disability Strategy, which will be released in the autumn and set out concrete actions for 2010-2020. The informal Ministers’ meeting is organised by the Spanish Presidency of the EU.
Pacific lesbian albatross colony
A biologist at the University of Hawaii studying the
120-strong albatross colony at Kaena has discovered that a third of the pairs consist of two female birds. Albatrosses can live until they are 70 years old and it's said they make a lifelong commitment to one bird. They incubate their egg together for 65 days, taking turns to find food. According to Lindsay C. Young, who used DNA analysis to genetically test the birds' gender, some of the female pairs have been together for up to 19 years - as far back as biologists' data extends. (
New York Times,
Daily Mail)
Working for All
Stirling: SDAMH Trustees
Stirling and District Association for Mental Health (SDAMH) are ooking to recruit up to six new Trustees to join the board of management. SDAMH are looking for individuals with a range of skills and experience to support SDAMH, which celebrates 25 years this year, to plan for future strategic development and to help shape future mental health support services in Stirlingshire.
www.stirlingmentalhealth.org.uk
Edinburgh: LGBT Health and Wellbeing Centre Fundraiser
The Centre is seeking to recruit a dynamic, skilled and committed Fundraising Manager to help ensure the organisation has the financial resources to continue to grow and expand its operations. This new Fundraising Manager post is full time, but applications for job share and part time hours will also be considered. Salary is £26,331-£30,006 (SCP 31-36), dependent on performance and experience. Application packs can be downloaded from the website, or call 0131 523 1100 or email admin@lgbthealth.org.uk. Deadline for applications 5pm, Monday 14th June. Interviews Monday 21st June.
www.lgbthealth.org.uk/content/fundraising-manager-vacancy
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Applications are invited for the following fixed term posts to cover the maternity leave of the post holders, which is expected to be until June 2011. The NIHRC is an independent, statutory body set up in 1999. Its role is to promote awareness of the importance of human rights in NI, to review existing law and practice and to advise government on what steps need to be taken to fully protect human rights in Northern Ireland.
Two
Investigations Worker posts (full time and part-time)
Policy Worker (17.5 hours)
Further details and application forms (available in other formats on request) are available from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Temple Court, 39 North Street, Belfast BT1 1NA, Phone 028 9024 3987, or e-mail information@nihrc.org. Deadline 1pm on Tuesday 1 June 2010.
www.nihrc.org
LGBT Families
Portugal: same-sex marriage law to be ratified
Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva says he will sign a law legalising same-sex marriage passed by parliament earlier this year. The ratification will make Portugal the sixth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage after Belgium, Spain, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden. During a heated debate in January, Prime Minister Jose Socrates said the law would put right an injustice that caused unnecessary pain. But parliament rejected proposals to allow same-sex couples to adopt jointly: children adopted by same-sex couples will still have only one legal parent. When visiting Portugal last week, Pope Benedict XVI (who will visit Scotland this September) condemned gay marriage as “among the most insidious and dangerous challenges” to society. (
BBC,
Times,
EuroNews)
London: recruiting lesbian & gay foster carers
London's Ealing Council is launching a new initiative aimed at recruiting lesbian and gay foster carers, this month. The Pink Campaign will be launched at an information evening on Tuesday, 25 May in Ealing Town Hall. Information will be provided about the process to become a foster carer or adoptive parent, and what is involved in taking on this role. Gay and lesbian foster carers and adopters will also be on hand to share their experiences. The event is part of
Foster Care Fortnight, a series of events to recruit foster carers and is being held in partnership with the charity
New Family Social, a UK wide support network run by, and for, lesbian and gay adopters and prospective adopters. (
Pink Paper)
The Equality Network’s website for information on all aspects of LGBT family law – including civil partnership, cohabitation, having children, breaking up – is
www.lgbtfamilies.org
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