This is a report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, (the Wolfenden Report) Published in 1957 it was commissioned in response to evidence that homosexuality could no longer be regarded as a disease, as previously categorised and aimed to bring change in the law by making recommendations to the Government including

The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, better known as the Wolfenden Report, was published in 1957, three years after the committee first met in September 1954. It was commissioned in response to evidence that homosexuality could not legitimately be regarded as a disease and aimed to bring about change in the current law by making recommendations to the Government.

Ten years after the publication of the Wolfenden Report, the Government took recommendations and introduced the Sexual Offences Act 1967. The act had the backing of the Church of England and the House of Lords. The Sexual Offences Act partially legalised same-sex acts in the UK between men over the age of 21 conducted in private. Scotland and Northern Ireland followed suit over a decade later, in 1980 and 1981 respectively. The Sexual Offences Act represented a stepping stone towards equality.

In 1969 the solicitation of homosexual relations in public remained an illegal act in many parts of the world including the UK and New York City in the USA. Gay bars were places of refuge where gay men and lesbians and other individuals who were considered sexually suspect could socialize in relative safety from public harassment, although were continually raided by Police.

Stonewall riots, also called Stonewall uprising, series of violent confrontations that began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, between police and gay rights activists outside the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village section of New York City. As the riots progressed, an international gay rights movement was born.

Although this particular event took place in New York, the event sparked the formation of scores of gay rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, OutRage! (U.K.-based), GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).

The London Gay Liberation Front organised the first UK Gay Pride march in London. The march ran from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park with around 1,000 people marching through the capital.

1 July 1972  was chosen as the nearest Saturday to the anniversary of the Stonewall riots of 1969 with approximately 2,000 participants.

The first UK case of AIDS was recorded when a 49-year-old man was admitted to Brompton Hospital, London suffering from Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia. He died 10 days later.

Throughout the decade panic grew around AIDS, gay people were pushed further into the shadows by a homophobic press campaign endorsed by the Prime Minister at the time Margaret Thatcher. Terms like the "gay plague" were widely used, and people believed HIV could be transmitted by any kind of proximity to those with the virus.

Sadly the stigma of AIDS and HIV live on. Even into the 1990's and early 2000's gay men applying for a mortgage would still be refused if the lender knew of their sexuality, linking it to AIDS and therefore high risk to loan money to.

Section 28 of the Local Government Act was enacted in May 1988. It was brought in to "prohibit the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities". This meant homosexuality could not be talked about in places such as Schools and social care settings.

The law was partly inspired by a 1983 story book called Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, which aimed to give children information about different types of family relationships

Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said at the time: "Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay. All of those children are being cheated of a sound start in life".

This caused a long lasting affect on a generation of young people who had no support from local councils or schools around their sexuality, with children bullied at school for identifying as LGBT not being able to talk to access the support they needed as teachers feared they would be breaking the law.

Before this time, anyone identifying as gay and lesbian could not serve in the Armed Forces. Serving members would have to keep their sexual orientation secret, or they could be fired. The ban was not lifted on those identifying as trans, this would not happen until over a decade later in 2014.

After three defeats in the House of Lords, the Labour Government forced through legislation lowering the age of consent for gay men to 16. The Scottish parliament also voted to adopt this legislation.

The Adoption and Children Act 2002 allowed gay and lesbian single people, as well as same-sex couples, to adopt a child in the UK. Before this, neither same-sex couples nor unmarried heterosexual couples could adopt or foster children.

Section 28 led to so many insecurities around how people looked, how they behaved, how they developed. Although Section 28 was repealed in Scotland in 2000, it wasn't until 2003 that England, Wales and Northern Ireland, lifted the ban on local authorities from the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality.

This Act came into effect on 4 April 2005, giving trans people full legal recognition in their appropriate gender. It allowed trans people to acquire a new birth certificate, although gender options were still limited to male or female.

Although since 2004 same-sex couples could enter into Civil Partnerships, you were not permitted to marry. This Act gave same-sex couples the opportunity to get married just like any other couple. Same-sex couples already in a Civil Partnership could also now convert this to a marriage.

The change came into effect in 2014 in Scotland, England and Wales. The first same-sex marriages took place in England and Wales on 29 March 2014. It wasn't until 2020 that same-sex marriage was to be recognised in Northern Ireland.

As an older member of the LGBTQ+ community I have over the years learnt the importance of understanding our past and the struggles of many.

Fortunately some of this history has been highlighted in the mainstream recently through well received TV series such as 'It's a Sin' that focussed on the 1980's AIDS epidemic; also Golden Globe winning 'POSE' recounting the gender nonconforming drag ball culture through the 1980s & 1990s; these are available now on All4 and BBC iplayer. But there is much more to LGBT history that we in the community need to claim.

We should also celebrate the present and where we are today. Life can be difficult for a person who identifies as LGBTQ+ and I firmly believe in the work we strive to do to make all workplaces a safe place where an individual can bring their true self to work. This leads for me to a need for education and understanding so creating our futures together.

So this History Month I thank our Allies for their support and remind them of their importance. As an Ally please ask questions, listen and be visible to your circle of communities. This really will help others and make a true difference.

For any individual struggling with their identity remember you truly are not alone; others feel as you do and have survived. Talk to someone, join a network and start to love yourself. Love wins.

I am a member of the LGBT network because I want everyone to feel truly comfortable in being themselves.

LGBT History month reminds me to be grateful of all those who have made my own path a little easier.

Schools “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality“. (Local Government Bill, 1988).

Schools shall not "promote the teaching… of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship“. (Local Government Bill, 1988).

In 1988, Thatcher’s Conservative government enacted Section 28 of the Local Government Bill to ‘prohibit the promotion of homosexuality by local authorities’. This meant that by law, teachers were not allowed to teach or talk about homosexual relationships. This was the year I did my GCSEs. This legislation remained law until 2003. I joined the teaching profession in 1997. For me, it meant that I could never be myself in school. Even after Section 28 had been repealed, it left a legacy. I remember worrying about the rumours between parents in the playground that I was gay. In addition, I fought for the children in staff meetings who we knew were struggling to come to terms with their own identities, only to be silenced.

Things are definitely improving but there is still more that we need to do to support our young people. In many schools now (though not all), teachers are able to be open and to be role-models, that is still a big step to take. The PSHE curriculum is changing, there are characters in mainstream books, TV and films from the LGBTQ+ community, as well as IRL (in real life) so attitudes are moving.

Therefore I am a member of the LGBTQ network because by having increased visibility through educators, like me, more people will be able to become role-models and we can bring about change faster so that all young people feel safe and validated.

I am proud to be an ally of the LGBTQ+ network. I was keen to join the network to show my support and be a visible member of staff on campus. Having a background in working with young people around relationship and sex education, I have always advocated for inclusive education, and believe all children and young people have the right to see visible representations of themselves, their families, or their relationships – but most importantly, have the right to feel safe on campus.

I grew up and went to school under section 28 and saw first-hand, the damage and shame it caused to my peers. LGBTQ+ history, is part of all our history… I endeavour to be a proud and visible advocate in my teaching and ally.

I am an Ally of the LGBTQ network because I believe that everyone should, have the same opportunities and rights in life. Any discrimination comes from fear and has no place in society.

In my secondary school days I was taunted for being the gay kid, despite not being out and not even knowing if that was my identity. Growing up during the time of section 28 made it difficult for teachers to support through this experience.

During my university years I was beaten up and hospitalised after leaving an LGBT venue. I don't want the next generation going through school now, or the next generation of queer university students living through these experiences.

It is because of this that I am a member of the LGBTQ Network and supporting LGBT History Month. Being the institutions first same sex adopter I also want staff to feel the same level of acceptance I have in my time here and show where our journey has come as a community for me to be able to even have the rights to become a same sex parent. We can all work together to make our university community a safe, tolerant and inclusive environment for the now and for the future.

I am an Ally / member of the LGBTQ network because I believe that all people, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation, should be treated with dignity, respect and compassion.

I am an ally and a member of the LGBTQ+ network because I believe in inclusivity and equal opportunities not only within the workplace, but within the wider community.

I hope that one day, we can all look back at what we have accomplished together and feel really proud that we have created an environment where people are accepted and do not have to hide behind who they really are or want to be.

I am an Ally of the LGBTQ network because I believe in equality and inclusion. I think everyone should be treated equally and given the same opportunities whoever they are.

I am an Ally of the LGBTQ network because I don’t want to stand by and watch the LGBTQ colleagues be attacked or treated differently because of who they are, in the same way as I don’t want black people treated differently because of the colour of their skin.

I am an Ally of the LGBTQ network because I know I have a role to play . Privilege exists at the same time as marginalisation; if I want equality and inclusion, I have to use my privilege to support those who are marginalised.

I am an Ally of the LGBTQ network because I don’t want to be part of the problem, I want to be part of the solution – and I know Allyship is a big part of the solution.

Dr Louise Grant, Executive Dean Faculty of Health and Social Sciences

I am an Ally & member of the LGBTQ network because I strongly believe in equal rights for all.

Being an ally for me means taking action to ensure I educate myself, check my privilege and assumptions and call out actions which alienate, make fun of or exclude others.

But most of all my life has been enrichened by the LGBTQI people that I know as friends and colleagues, so I owe them this in return for their kindness and support of

I am an ally and member of the LGBTQ network because I would like to help all understand the importance of equality, fairness, acceptance, and mutual respect.  I do not know enough about LGBTQ+ issues and concerns and by being an ally I cannot only openly let LGBTQ+ colleagues know I am a supportive friend, but also expand my own knowledge and awareness.  For me it is vital my daughter learns and accepts how everyone is different but equal from a very early age as this will help create a far more integrated generation than my own and the ones that came before me.   

LGBT History Month means to me a fantastic opportunity to learn, grow, acknowledge and support.

I am an Ally / member of the LGBTQ network because .... I am grateful that we live in society where we are now protected against persecution and discrimination and we can enjoy freedom to be who we are. I am also grateful to all of those who have fought and campaigned for the rights we enjoy today.

I have been creating a new "Books Unlocked" with an LGBTQ+ theme for February 2022. This is timed to connect with LGBTQ+ History Month. Aside from any value for the students, it is rewarding for me to research and prepare our display material. We hope to have several related new books in the display, enriching and updating our stock in this ever-changing field. With gay and transgender people in my family, I heartily support the contribution of the university network. 

Creating LGBTQ+ displays in recent years, here in the library, has been valuable for myself as an individual and I hope also for our students. Awareness is key to understanding. Knowledge and Respect. 

I am a member of the LGBTQ Network because it is one step in my journey to acknowledging and being open about a part of my identity that has long been masked.  The Network is a supportive environment to be myself and gives me the opportunity to connect with others who may have had similar experiences. 

LGBT History Month means to me: hope for a future where we are all valued without prejudice and accepted with kindness🌈

I believe that we should all be able to be proud of who we are.  I hope that during our LGBTQ+ history month we can reflect on how far LGBTQ+ rights have come.  However, we have all seen and heard about examples of segregation and intolerance throughout history, we still have a way to go until we live in a world without intolerance. 

I challenge us all to work hard at fostering a spirit of inclusion and embrace a culture of belonging and diversity throughout our University.

I am an Ally to the LGBT group because I strongly believe we should celebrate differences and aim for fairness in opportunity and treatment of others within the world we all live in. On a lighter note, from my own experience, I find communication with a mix of people far more interesting and fun than groups where everyone is very similar.