World HIV Day Vigil

If you would like to join the Vigil it is open to everyone and you are welcome to bring friends and family along.

As a reminder, the Vigil takes place on Monday, 1 December at Sackville Gardens, Sackville Street, Manchester M1 3WA. Arrive from 6.00pm for a 6.15pm start.

You can expect powerful speeches and contributions and a performance from the fabulous Proud Chorus.

The AIDS Monument

The AIDS Monument is a beautiful new memorial in West Hollywood Park, California to remember those we lost to HIV/AIDS and the resilience of LGBT+ and allied communities. 

One Institute will become stewards of The AIDS Monument before the end of the year, and will lead programme development including monthly tours, artist installations and special events during Pride, LGBT+ History Month and World AIDS Day.

Queer Little City

Matthew Walker made this short film about Section 28 featuring interviews with members of Out In The City.

Rising negative sentiments towards homosexuality peaked in 1987, the year before Section 28 was enacted. According to the British Social Attitudes Survey, 75% of the population said that homosexual activity was “always or mostly wrong”, with just 11% believing it to be “not wrong at all”.

Section 28 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.

In February 1988 a demonstration in Manchester in protest against Section 28 was attended by 25,000 people. However, the legislation came into effect during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership on 24 May 1988. The night before, several protests were staged by lesbians, including abseiling into Parliament and an invasion of the BBC1’s Six O’Clock News, during which one woman managed to chain herself to Sue Lawley’s desk and was sat on by the newsreader Nicholas Witchell.

Section 28 caused many organisations, such as LGBT student support groups to either close, limit their activities or to self-censor. In addition, Section 28 had a widespread impact on schools across the United Kingdom. This was due to uncertainty around what constituted the “promotion” of homosexuality, leading many teachers to avoid discussing the topic in any educational context.

Section 28 was first repealed in Scotland in 2000 and subsequently repealed in England and Wales in November 2003.

Watch the film here.

Out On The Radio

This new monthly radio show – aimed at older members of the LGBT+ communities – will go live on Tuesday, 2 December from 2.00pm to 3.00pm on ALL FM 96.9.

Don’t worry if you miss it, as it will be uploaded to Mixcloud so you can listen at your leisure.

Research project – ‘Holding All’

The aim of this research is to scope the experiences and needs of carers (friends, partners and family) of people living with suicidal thoughts and feelings in LGBTQ+ communities. The carer, the person they care for, or both the carer and loved one should identify as LGBTQ+.

We’re hoping to inform carers with relevant lived experience about opportunities to get involved.

We are looking to interview 30-40 carers and to support 5-10 carers to keep diaries for three months about their experience of supporting someone living with suicidality. We’ll also interview 10-15 representatives of mental health social care, LGBTQ+ organisations and carers groups and hold workshops with carers and local authority, mental health and VCSE social care practitioners.

More information about the study can be found on the webpage here.

The research team are two university-based researchers, a researcher/practitioner, and three researchers who are experts by experience. We’re based in the London School of Economics and are collaborating with Derbyshire LGBT+ with the support of a Research Advisory Group that includes carers and mental health social care practitioners.

Please see attached poster which gives some contact details for more information about what it would mean to get involved.

Birthdays