The month of February is dedicated to LGBT+ History Month in the UK. The month-long campaign observes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) history, and raises awareness of the challenges LGBTQ+ people face in everyday life.
LGBT+ History Month originally started in the US in 1994 to coincide with National Coming Out Day. The event was started in the UK in 2005 by teachers Sue Sanders and Paul Patrick, as part of the Schools OUT project to educate young people on issues that the LGBTQ+ communities face.
Although LGBT+ History Month is celebrated in October in the US, February was chosen for the UK’s event to coincide with the abolition of Section 28, which formerly stated that local authorities weren’t allowed to ‘intentionally promote homosexuality’. The theme of this year’s event is Poetry, Prose and Plays.
Fair Play Talks will also be honouring LGBT+ History Month, through a series of guest columns and interviews over the next few days and weeks.
AWARENESS EDUCATION
This year’s LGBT+ History Month is dedicated to journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot and killed during riots in Derry last year. According to the UK’s Home Office statistics, just published in October last year, anti-LGBT hate crimes have risen over the last year. It reported the biggest spike in transphobic hate crimes – an increase of 37% compared to the year before. It also found that homophobic and biphobic hate crimes had shot up 25% over the same period.
The UK event’s primary focus is to teach young people about the gay rights movement, and put a stop to homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. It does this through:
- Increasing the visibility of LGBT+ people, their history, lives and their experiences in the curriculum and culture of educational and other institutions, and the wider community.
- Raising awareness and advancing education on matters affecting the LGBT+ community.
- Working to make educational and other institutions safe spaces for all LGBT+ communities.
- Promoting the welfare of LGBT+ people by ensuring that the education system recognises and enables LGBT+ people to achieve their full potential, so they can contribute fully to society and lead fulfilled lives, benefiting society as a whole.
Thousands of events are taking place across the UK throughout the next few weeks. Click here for more details.
Sign up for our newsletter
