ISSUES
: Sexuality and Gender
Chapter 3: LGBTQ+ issues
27
attacker thought they were gay
then it was treated like any other
crime. The Criminal Justice Act
changed that so that these were
classed as ‘hate crimes’ and were
treated more seriously.
2007: It becomes illegal
to discriminate against
people because of their
sexual orientation or gender
identity when providing
them with goods or
services.
Before 2007 any service provider
could discriminate against an LGBT
person who bought something
from them or used their service.
For example, a hotel owner could
refuse to allow a gay couple to stay
in their hotel, or a local authority
could refuse to house a same-sex
couple together. Today, people
can’t be refused goods or services
because they’re lesbian, gay, bi or
trans.
2008: The Criminal
Justice and
Immigration Act
makes “incitement
to homophobic
hatred” a crime.
Before 2008 there
was no law against
behaviour or materials
that stirred up hatred
towards gay people.
There
were
many
publications
and
websites that said
hateful things about gay
people and encouraged
damaging and unhelpful
myths about them. All
of these things are now
illegal.
2009: A new law
gives better legal
recognition to
same-sex parents.
Until this law came
into force, same-sex
couples were treated
differently by the law
to other couples when
it came to having a
baby through fertility
treatment. This law
made it easier for same-sex
couples to be recognised as the
legal parents of their child.
2010: The Equality Act is
passed.
There used to be lots of different
laws protecting LGBT people
from discrimination. The Equality
Act 2010 made things simpler by
bringing all the protections for LGBT
people into one law. It also made
sure LGBT people were entitled to
the same legal protections given to
other groups of people who might
face discrimination. In addition to
this, public service providers like
schools and hospitals have to show
how their service is accessible to
and supportive of LGBT people.
2013: The Marriage (Same-
Sex Couples) Act is passed.
Although
same-sex
couples
could enter into civil partnerships
before 2013, they weren’t allowed
to get married. The Marriage Act
2013 gave same-sex couples
the opportunity to get married
just like any other couple. Same-
sex couples already in a civil
partnership can now convert this
to a marriage if they want to.
For further information please call
Stonewall’s Information Service
on 08000 502020, tweet to
@StonewallUKInfo or e-mail info@
stonewall.org.uk.
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The above information has been
reprinted with kind permission
from Stonewall Youth. Please
visit
uk for further information.
© Stonewall 2016
