Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Official Report 924KB pdf

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LGBT History Month

The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S5M-15694, in the name of Jenny Gilruth, on LGBT history month. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament welcomes the 13th LGBT History Month; notes that this is marked every February across Scotland with events that celebrate LGBT culture and history and that consider the future of activism; acknowledges that the theme for 2019, Catalyst: 50 Years of Activism, recognises the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York City; understands that the events at Stonewall spread to several other cities in the United States and sparked the modern equal rights movement for LGBT people around the world; welcomes the efforts and achievements by the Fife-based LGBT charity, Pink Saltire, and wishes all of the groups celebrating and marking the month every success with their events and ongoing endeavours.

17:04  

I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this members’ business debate on LGBT history month. It is also a privilege to do so in a Parliament that Professor Andrew Reynolds of the University of North Carolina has described as

“the gayest Parliament in the world.”

I am delighted to see that the Minister for Older People and Equalities, Christina McKelvie, will respond to the debate, as she has always been a true ally of the LGBT community.

“Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”

That was George Orwell, writing in the novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. In the year of the title of that book, Chris Smith, the Labour member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury, became the first openly gay MP, 10 years after Maureen Colquhoun, the MP for Northampton North, came out as the first lesbian MP. The year before I started school, in 1989, the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, introduced section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated:

“A local authority 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.”

That was to remain the case until the year 2000, when I turned 16. For all but my final year at school, my teachers were told not to teach about being gay. They were not to promote it as being acceptable. Being gay was wrong, and the system enshrined it in law.

Thankfully, we now live in more enlightened times. Back in 2000, who would have thought that the Scottish Parliament would back laws to create equal marriage, to support inclusive education in our schools—which is the absolute antithesis of section 28—or to pardon gay men and, importantly, apologise to them for their ever being criminalised just because of whom they loved? It is undoubtedly the case that we live in better times.

However, I wonder whether, as the Prime Minister braced herself for an impromptu game of pool with the Italian Prime Minister on Sunday night, she paused to consider Mohamed al-Gheiti, a television presenter who was charged with promoting homosexuality, fined 3,000 Egyptian pounds and sent to prison for a year last month? Perhaps she had a glass of prosecco with the Italian Prime Minister after the TV cameras had left. I wonder whether Giuseppe Conte mentioned his minister for families, Lorenzo Fontana, who was against civil unions, the law on which Italy passed in 2016, because—he said—

“next they will ask to marry dogs.”

I am not convinced about our Prime Minister’s commitment to the LGBT community, because she already leads a Government that is propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party.

If the history of the LGBT community from the time of Margaret Thatcher to the time of Theresa May has taught us anything, it has taught us that our activism must continue. That is why the theme of this year’s LGBT history month—“Catalyst: 50 years of activism”—is so important. In my constituency, Glenrothes high school is the living embodiment of that activism. Staff in the school have been trained to raise awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex issues and their impact on pupils. The school is celebrating LGBT history month through displays and presentations around the school, and, within departments, subject-specific LGBT content is being taught. Added to that, pupils have been delivering assemblies on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. Things have definitely changed for the better in our schools.

I remember, 10 years ago, attending an in-service day in this city that was focused on discrimination in the classroom. It was around the time of the Stonewall campaign “Some people are gay. Get over it!” It was also not that long after the BBC Radio 1 presenter Chris Moyles had attracted controversy by describing a mobile phone ringtone as “gay”. He said,

“I don’t want that ringtone. That’s gay”

live on air. I remain unsure about how a ringtone can have a sexuality, but what Moyles’s intervention did was spark a debate about the use of the word “gay” pejoratively, which was acceptable practice when I was at school and in the early days of my teaching. Indeed, I was working in a profession whose members had been instructed—in law—not to discuss sexuality with pupils in any way, shape or form. They were not used to calling it out, and many did not know that they could. That is why the work of the time for inclusive education campaign has been transformational in Scotland’s schools over the current parliamentary session alone.

The TIE campaign achieved its campaign goal last November, when the Scottish Government fully accepted the recommendations of the LGBTI inclusive education working group. Throughout February—LGBT history month—the TIE campaign has been championing LGBT icons every day. One of those icons is fellow Fifer and former paraswimmer, swimming coach and triathlete Stefan Hoggan. Ahead of today’s debate, he told me:

“LGBT History month means so much to me because it is a way for me to celebrate the hard work and sacrifice our community has gone through in the past—so that I can marry the man I love in the present. As a community we need to celebrate this month to make sure that young people today know what our community had to go through only a short 25 years ago.”

Stefan is right—we should celebrate. Almost exactly a month ago, I was delighted to host Fife’s Pink Saltire in the Scottish Parliament at a reception to mark LGBT history month. It was a particularly powerful event, at which people shared their personal stories of what LGBT history month meant to them. They included a couple from Fife, a student from Dundee and a transgender woman. They had all fought battles, but they were all activists.

George Orwell told us that

“who controls the present controls the past.”

The same writer also used the words “nancy” and “pansy” in his disdain for what he called “the pansy Left” and “Nancy poets”. I hope that the Daily Record would not today print the headline

“Gay sex lessons for Scots schools”

as it did in 2000. The Daily Mail was happy to run with the warning

“Gay rights lessons in all schools”

in November last year. Time has moved on, but ingrained prejudice remains. It may be 2019, but I still cannot marry my girlfriend in the church I was brought up in. If I had a boyfriend, that love would be welcomed.

LGBT history month is about celebrating our history, but we should never seek to shy away from the darkness that history also tells us about. From section 28 and criminalising men just for whom they loved to a seemingly harmless round of pool, the need to challenge homophobia, biphobia and transphobia has never been greater.

We should celebrate the lives of the LGBT icons who lived and fought battles before our time, but we should also commit to that enduring legacy of activism and work to be the catalysts for LGBT equality every month of the year, remembering that we control the present.

17:10  

I thank my friend and colleague Jenny Gilruth for securing this debate on an issue that I feel pretty strongly about. The reason for that is that I want to express my solidarity with people who feel erased from history, because history as written does not give voice to all the influencers and agents of change.

No group is more erased than gay women. I certainly would not claim any right to speak on their behalf; rather, I want to express my long-felt solidarity with gay women in particular, who are woefully underrepresented in culture and history.

I feel this about women in history in general. It is difficult to find key women who changed their world, but it is doubly difficult to find gay women who did so, because history has just not been written by women or gay women. Stories of those catalysts need to be told and brought into the main stream.

When talking about women in elected positions, I often use the phrase, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it”. In the case of young women realising their sexuality, if they do not see it, they may think that they have to hide it. The mainstreaming of LGBT characters and specific films, television series and literature recognising the sexuality of historic figures, and the unearthing of the stories of LGBT figures in history, are epically important ways of ensuring a society that does not discriminate and are a platform for ensuring that our telling of history reaches a truth that includes every agent of change. If the catalysts who fought for LGBT rights are not agents of change, who is?

I will use the rest of my time to talk about the importance of cinema in rebalancing gay women’s erasure from history and reflecting history from the perspective of gay women. I am a former film student, so forgive me for indulging myself.

Sadly, many of the films that people have heard of detailing gay female relationships were directed by men—“Blue is the Warmest Colour” springs to mind, as does “Carol”, which, although based on the work of the lesbian Patricia Highsmith, was directed by Todd Haynes. I cannot think of many English language films in which the protagonist is a gay female of significance. There is one in the Swedish language about Queen Christina of Sweden, but surely there are great films to be made about Gladys Bentley, Tallulah Bankhead or any of the many women in the suffragette movement who were gay.

There are many great gay female directors out there, including Lisa Cholodenko, Kimberley Peirce, Lisa Gornick, Kanchi Wichmann and Cheryl Dunye, and we must not forget the work of the Scottish queer international film festival, which showcases work by LGBT artists.

We have watched television change from that momentous appointment viewing of the kiss between two women on “Brookside” in the 1980s to gay female characters being present in drama almost as the norm. Films about LGBT relationships are multiple and, in many cases, mainstream. Casting our attention backwards into history and retelling history with the airbrushing of female gay sexuality removed is vital if we are to get closer to the truth of what really happened. It needs to be in our cinemas, in our living rooms and—as Jenny Gilruth eloquently said—in our classrooms.

There needs to be a recognition that stories about gay women in history are as relevant as stories about white upper-class men in history. They are not of niche appeal. Just as “Hidden Figures” righted a wrong over the part that African American women played in the space race, I want to hear stories in which gay women changed the face of the earth. I want the gay women in my family to see something of themselves on screen—something of themselves that is not just, in its core, about struggle for acceptance, important as that is, or the nature of sexual relationships but that is also about how women led the change and were protagonists of their own time.

I thank Jenny Gilruth again for the opportunity to make my points on the importance of mainstreaming LGBT film and to stick my oar in as a sister and an ally.

17:15  

I thank Jenny Gilruth for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is always a huge privilege to speak in the debates that celebrate LGBT history month. Each year, I am reminded of how far we have come from when I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and of how drastically the lives of LGBT people have changed. LGBT history month provides the perfect opportunity to celebrate that and to reflect on what comes next for activism.

As Jenny Gilruth said, this is a significant year. The theme for 2019—“Catalyst: 50 years of activism”—marks 50 years since the Stonewall uprising in New York City, which kickstarted the equal rights movement for LGBTI people across the globe. Fifty years of hard work and personal sacrifice by dedicated activists have resulted in a sea change. We have equal marriage, the right to adopt, LGBTI inclusive education and, last year, the passing of the landmark Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018. The lives of LGBTI people have changed immeasurably and, with them, society’s views.

I know how proud I am to be in the LGBTI community, about which I have spoken before. It was a real journey to get to this point. That is why I feel so strongly about the need to celebrate LGBT history month and why I am encouraged by the level of activity in Scotland, from Stornoway to Dumfries.

As LGBT Youth Scotland has highlighted, the popularity and awareness of the history month is increasing quickly. This year, 125 events are listed, which is up 25 per cent from 2018, and the dedicated Twitter account—@LGBTHistoryScot—has 10,000 followers.

In Glasgow, many events have marked the month. It is not just individuals who are getting involved: communities, third sector organisations and businesses are, too. Last week, the Scottish national gallery of modern art held a round-table event to discuss future strategies for documenting and collecting objects that would increase the visibility of LGBTI history. Earlier this month was the annual rainbow run. Unfortunately, I was unable to take part, but I will do so in 2020. Glasgow also hosted LEAP Sports Scotland’s corporate tenpin bowling tournament, which gave businesses the opportunity to mark the month and to show their support. Those are just a few examples of the many events that were hosted. I thank everyone who was involved in organising them.

As well as celebration, LGBT history month provides an opportunity to address where our priorities should lie. LGBTI people are still affected by discrimination, prejudice, hate crime and social isolation, and in rural areas in particular there is still much more to be done by way of making progress. In 2015, 18 per cent of the Scottish population still believed that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex is always wrong. Prejudice about trans rights is even more prevalent, with little public awareness of what it is like to be a trans person. In 2015, 32 per cent of people said that they would be unhappy if a close relative married or formed a long-term relationship with someone who had undergone gender reassignment. It is clear that there is still some way to go.

Using politics as a marker, we see that although inroads have been made with the representation of gay people in the Scottish Parliament, we are yet to see an openly trans or intersex politician in Scotland. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 still needs discussion in Parliament in terms of reforming the process by which a person can change their legal gender without intrusive medical assessment.

I praise and wish every success to the LGBTI groups across Scotland that are organising events up and down the country. It is so important that LGBTI rights remain firmly on the agenda, and in the Scottish Parliament. I believe that we can continue to work together to achieve positive and life-altering change.

17:19  

I thank Jenny Gilruth for lodging her motion to raise awareness of LGBT history month in Scotland. I also thank LGBT Youth Scotland for co-ordinating that incredible nationwide event. Now in its 13th year, LGBT history month is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate LGBT culture, to look back at LGBT history and to look forward to the future of LGBT activism.

As we have heard, this year’s theme—“Catalyst: 50 years of activism”—marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprisings in New York in 1969 and the birth of the modern pride movement. The Stonewall riots were a decisive and era-defining moment in the struggle for LGBT equality and were the catalyst for the modern fight against LGBT oppression across the world.

In the early hours of 28 June 1969, a gay bar in the West Village in Manhattan became the epicentre of an event that changed the course of LGBT history. One year later, in June 1970, on the first anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion, the first gay pride march was held in Manhattan. Since then, millions have attended the LGBT pride marches, parades and festivals that have taken place all over the world.

Fast forward 50 years, and many great strides have undoubtedly been made in LGBT equality. We all know that Scotland has become a leader when it comes to LGBTI equality. We are considered to be among the most progressive countries in Europe, and Scotland has regularly been ranked as among the best countries in Europe in relation to legal protections for LGBTI people. Last year, in an historic move, Scotland became the first country in the world to embed the teaching of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights in the school curriculum. By teaching our children about sexual diversity, we can help to tackle discrimination and promote acceptance of different lifestyles.

In Fife, we are extremely lucky to have many fantastic ambassadors for LGBT equality. I want to highlight the positive contributions of just a couple of those groups. They are Pink Saltire and the LGBT+ group at Kirkcaldy high school.

Since its formation in 2014, Pink Saltire has been an inspiration to the LGBT+ community in Fife and wider Scotland. The team’s commitment and dedication to breaking barriers and promoting equality and diversity is amazing. A couple of weeks ago, I visited its pop-up heritage hub at the Mercat shopping centre in Kirkcaldy and met some of the team. The exhibition featured the most detailed LGBT history timeline ever produced in Scotland, showing key facts and major highlights in the fight for equality, including same-sex marriage and the abolition of discriminatory laws against gay and bisexual men. The event provided a real insight into the struggles that the LGBT community has faced through the years, and the bravery of activists throughout those years.

Figures from the “Pink Saltire Annual Report 2017-18” show an astonishing 1,350 hours of voluntary work and 13,626 miles travelled in delivering community work. Fife has a lot to thank Pink Saltire for, from the inaugural Fife pride event to its positive engagements with community consultations across Scotland, and the continued development of its LGBT awareness training and support. I, for one, look forward to seeing what the future holds for it.

The Kirkcaldy high school LGBT+ group was established to tackle negative attitudes, discrimination and bullying across the school, and to improve the mental health and life chances of LGBT+ young people. The group meets weekly and comprises people who identify as LGBT+ or as “allies” who have an interest in equality and promoting human rights. In the relatively short time since its formation, the group has very quickly become a leading group in the fight against discrimination and in the promotion of equality, and it is a proud recipient of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities’ tackling inequalities and improving health award. One of its members—Cameron Bowie—was named young volunteer of the year at Fife Voluntary Action’s 2018 awards. Collectively, the group has shown that it is a force to be reckoned with, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

It was great to see purple Friday feature so heavily across social media last week, and it was wonderful to see the level of engagement from all across Fife. From Kirkcaldy high school staff and pupils to our fellow councillors, individuals pledged their support for LGBTI equality and to tackling homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.

In conclusion, I welcome LGBT history month and offer many thanks to LGBT Youth Scotland and its partners that have been involved in the organisation of this year’s events. Although there have undoubtedly been many great strides in equality, the LGBT+ community still faces significant challenges and discrimination, so we must not allow ourselves to become complacent. We must continue to fight against discrimination and prejudice wherever and whenever we encounter them, and we must continue to stand up for equal rights.

I call Kezia Dugdale, to be followed by Patrick Harvie.

17:24  

Thank you for calling me to speak, Presiding Officer, knowing that I have to leave the chamber immediately after my contribution. I advised you of that 24 hours ago, and am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to speak.

To Jenny Gilruth, I want to say congratulations on securing the debate and on all the work that you have done as a constituency MSP since your election. I know that your first event in the Parliament was for Pink Saltire and that you have consistently hosted events and created opportunities for LGBT people to tell their stories and to talk about forthcoming campaigns. I know that you will always continue to do that.

LGBT history month is a celebration of the journey that we as a community have made. I reflect that, when Jenny Gilruth and I were outed as a couple about 18 months ago, people were far more interested in the difference in our politics than in the fact that we are of the same gender. In many ways, that demonstrates how far we have come as a country.

However, the reality is that there is still a lot of work to do. I was reminded of that when Jenny and I travelled to New York about a year ago to see at first hand the Stonewall inn—as she mentioned, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The Stonewall inn sits on Christopher Street in downtown Manhattan. The first thing that people pass at the doorway into the bar is a big old red sign from the New York police department that says, “Raided Premises”—that is the original sign from when the police invaded the bar all those years ago. Inside the bar, as Jenny will remember well, there are posters on the wall for the Gay Teachers Association, which are sprayed with painted blood. They represent the gay teachers who marched for equality in 1975—25 years before we even considered section 2A and section 28 in this Parliament. Those teachers demonstrated bravery in marching for equality then, long before many countries had faced up to the problems that the teachers sought to address.

It is worth reflecting on what is happening in our schools, as Jenny Gilruth did. When I was young, people were lucky if LGBT young people were tolerated. Ten years ago, they were accepted. Now, we actively talk about including them. The journey from tolerance to acceptance to inclusion is one that we hope that our trans friends will now be able to take; they should expect exactly the same tolerance, acceptance and inclusion as the LGB community had before them.

Jenny Gilruth touched on something else that is happening in our schools. Whenever I have been in schools recently, I have seen posters for the school’s LGBT group. I have thought about what the 15-year-old version of me would have thought of that. In the 1990s, the idea of having a group in my school where LGBT kids could come together to talk about life did not exist.

Last week, I heard kids from Madras college talk openly and casually about what it is like to be out at school. I could not have dreamt of being out at school. I did not really know who I was as a teenager, but I knew that I was different and I knew to keep my mouth shut. There was one gay kid in my secondary school; everybody knew who he was, and he was tormented—his life during his school years was a living hell. I wonder where he is and how he is, and I am so sorry that I did not do more to stand up for him then. However, I know that, collectively, we in the Parliament are doing much more to stand up for him and people like him now.

Keeping quiet is not something that happened only 20 years ago; some people are still doing it today. A recent Stonewall Scotland report told us that one third of people in Scotland still will not come out at work. For a long time, I was one of them in the Parliament. I was outed by a national newspaper—many people knew that I was gay, but I did not openly talk about it. I was not in command of my coming-out story, which was taken away from me.

Harvey Milk told us that the most political thing that someone can do is come out, but people need to be in a supportive environment to do that. I was not able to be in charge of telling my story, but people being able to do that is immensely important, and we must continue to create an environment in which everyone can do that.

Another problem that I have frequently talked about in the chamber is the homelessness that LGBT young people experience. Of the young people who present as homeless in this city, 40 per cent do so because they have had a negative experience of coming out at home. That transcends all class barriers—it affects working-class kids, middle-class kids and kids who turn up in private school uniforms. We can do much more to help all young people to realise their potential.

Finally—I appreciate that I have gone over my time, Presiding Officer—I will say something quickly to the cabinet secretary about the forthcoming gender recognition bill. I understand why the Government has postponed the bill—the Government wants to get the legislation right, because it is incredibly sensitive—but the Government needs to understand that the delay has created a vacuum. In that vacuum, fear and ignorance are growing. People’s understanding of what the proposals are and what they will mean is festering in an unhelpful way. I know that the cabinet secretary probably agrees with that.

There is nothing contradictory between my feminism and my LGBT activism—neither is a threat to the other. I know that and I am comfortable with that, but I am not the one who needs to be convinced. Collectively in the Parliament, we need to do much more.

I am sorry that I cannot stay to hear the final speakers or the summing-up, but I will try to read all the contributions tomorrow. I am grateful for the time, Presiding Officer.

I do not know whether the minister will thank you for promoting her so publicly several times, but there we have it.

17:29  

I, too, thank Jenny Gilruth for securing the debate and the organisations that are taking part in LGBT history month.

Kez Dugdale’s excellent speech touched on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which the motion mentions. I want to go back a little bit before then. In 1957, the “Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution”—the Wolfenden report—recommended the beginnings of the decriminalisation of gay male sex in the United Kingdom. It was at that point that Scotland diverged. James Adair, one of the most notable Scottish voices on that committee, vociferously said that he would not support the report recommendations. As a voice of the socially conservative religious establishment in Scotland, he was taken seriously. That is probably one reason why the beginning of and partial decriminalisation did not happen in Scotland until much later—the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 did not come into force until 1981. That legislation was due, in no small part, to the efforts of Robin Cook, whose role is sometimes not recognised this long after those events. He played a significant role in ensuring that Scotland eventually had decriminalisation legislation.

Why did it take that much longer in Scotland? Why was there that delay in Scotland’s story? In part, it was due to social conservativism; more often, it was due to the perception of social conservatism. Scotland had a story of itself as a more religious, socially conservative society—not just more than we are now, but more than the rest of the UK. In the run-up to devolution, that perception was still there. Our community genuinely had anxieties. What would a Scottish Parliament do with our human rights and our equality? We did not know.

As it happens, things have turned out better than some feared. The Parliament has sometimes been ahead of the curve; sometimes it has taken longer to do things. However, in its 20 years of existence, it has never voted against our equality and human rights on any issue. That is a record to be proud of, and a record to cherish. As I said, that anxiety was there beforehand; we did not know what the Parliament would do.

In the Scottish Parliament’s first session, we had the section 2A—or section 28, as it was commonly called—campaign. As members know, I was an LGBT youth worker in Glasgow at the time. I had to walk to work past billboards that said, “Protect our children”. That meant that they should be protected from people like me.

There were echoes of that nasty homophobic campaign in Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 party conference speech, when she complained:

“Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay.”

In the same speech, the Prime Minister complained that children were being taught such things as anti-racism. Those were the traditional moral values that she was trying to defend, and that attitude echoed through the rhetoric of the keep the clause campaign in the early years of this devolved Government.

Those values, and the bigotry of Brian Souter and Thomas Winning, were faced down at the time and defeated, but they did not disappear. Have we moved on? How much have we moved on? Others have mentioned the Daily Record headline,“Gay sex lessons for Scots schools”. That would probably not be printed in the Daily Record now, but it is little different from The Sunday Times headline that was printed this weekend, “Gay and trans lessons for primary schools”. The Sunday Times is one of the newspapers that have so cynically driven the vicious anti-trans backlash that is taking place at the moment.

Those issues resonate and echo through time. Telling the stories of our history is so important, because it grounds us in who we are and where we come from, but learning the lessons of history matters even more. The lessons from those few examples tell me that we must stand together—that is the only way that we will make progress.

Those who are trying to separate the T from LGBT will fail. We must stand up to them, just as we stood up to those who sought to oppose our equality and human rights before, because, if they succeed in that, they will not stop there. We must ensure that we continue to stand together across the LGBT community, across women’s organisations and feminist organisations that support us, across the whole of our society, and, I hope, across the whole of our Parliament.

Because several members still wish to speak, I am minded to accept a motion without notice, under rule 8.14.3, to extend the debate by up to 30 minutes. I ask Jenny Gilruth to move the motion.

Motion moved,

That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by up to 30 minutes.—[Jenny Gilruth]

Motion agreed to.

17:35  

I am pleased to be able to speak in this important debate to welcome the 13th LGBT history month, which has the theme “Catalyst: 50 years of activism”. I congratulate my friend and colleague Jenny Gilruth on securing the debate.

From the outset, I note that Scotland is a world leader in promoting equality, inclusivity, fairness and respect. Jenny Gilruth mentioned that, and noted that this is “the gayest Parliament”. I am pleased that the Scottish Government has those values at the heart of all decision making—something that, I am sure, all of us in the chamber are proud of.

In preparing for the debate, I reflected on some of the history of tackling LGBT discrimination in Scotland. It is worth highlighting. In 2005, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender was made illegal. Then, in 2009, equal rights were given to same-sex couples who were applying for adoption. Just last year, the Parliament unanimously passed the Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018, which allows for gay people to be pardoned from historical convictions that were based on outdated legislation that targeted them just because of their sexual orientation. More recently, Scotland has been regarded as the best country in Europe for LGBTI equality. Further, the Scottish Government’s review of hate crime legislation was also welcome, and I am pleased that the Government is currently working to implement some of its key recommendations.

I also reflected on the time that I spent living and working in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, during the 1990s, a time when LGBT issues were contentious across America. Members might recall that, when I led a debate in the chamber to mark last year’s world AIDS day, I spoke about some of the stigma that I witnessed while living and working there. Challenging stigma and discrimination is important, and I note in that regard the success of the TIE campaign, which Jenny Gilruth mentioned. It is fantastic to see that work going forward.

In my region of South Scotland, the LGBT community can sometimes struggle to access support because of the rurality of the region. I welcome Annie Wells’s comments on rurality, which were great to hear from a Weegie. We have several outstanding people working in the LGBT community and I would like to give a shout out to Johnathon Gallagher, Iain Campbell and Alice Polley from Dumfries & Galloway Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Plus. They know the struggles that people in our rural communities face, and they keep me up to date with their vital work to support people and tackle homophobia and transphobia, with support from other agencies.

For my part, I have contacted the Scottish Horticultural Society, with support from a local couple, to have a discussion about LGBT issues. The society has agreed to take part in an LGBT event and photo opportunity at the Royal Highland Show this year to show support for LGBT issues in the horticultural sector.

Again, I would like to congratulate Jenny Gilruth on bringing this important debate to the chamber and reaffirm my support for the progress that the Parliament has made in bringing about equality for all across the LGBT community, while also stressing the need for further action to be taken, particularly in our rural areas, to continue to make Scotland the fairest and most progressive country that it can be.

I love Kezia Dugdale’s words, “tolerance, acceptance and inclusion”. Those are perfect words to take this work forward.

17:39  

I thank Jenny Gilruth for bringing this important debate to the Parliament. It is important that we continue to mark LGBT history month.

I will focus on the contribution of organisations and groups that are based in Dumfries and Galloway—a hugely rural area, where delivering support can be much less straightforward than it is in more populated areas.

The debate also gives us an opportunity to consider what more can be done to support the LGBT community, as we strive for equality in all quarters of society. However, as members such as Kezia Dugdale noted, there have been great strides across the globe on LGBT matters.

In rural constituencies such as mine, Galloway and West Dumfries, ensuring equity and equality is more difficult, whatever the issue, whether we are talking about health, education or social inclusion—and that is to put aside the historical barriers and prejudices that face our LGBT communities. There are issues to do with delivering equity and equality, not just in relation to resources and support for organisations but in the context of reaching individuals who might live at the end of a farm road or in a rural village.

That is why I was extremely pleased to see positive things happen this month in Dumfries and Galloway. Dumfries & Galloway LGBT Plus received £120,000 from the national lottery community fund. The group will use that six-figure sum over the next three years to offer support and ease isolation in rural communities, through a range of social activities.

The importance of the funding to the group is tangible. Service manager Iain Campbell said that when the funding was announced, quite a few of the group’s members burst into tears. He said:

“We don’t want people to travel to us, we want to travel to them”.

The provision of resources to enable that to happen in a rural area such as Galloway and West Dumfries can only send a positive message to the LGBT community.

Dumfries & Galloway LGBT Plus recognises that issues relating to LGBT identity affect not just individuals but their friends, families and colleagues. The group therefore offers different types of support across the region, such as one-to-one support, advocacy, befriending, transgender support, regional drop-ins and a range of other services. During the summer the group gets out into the field—quite literally—at agricultural shows, where it is warmly welcomed by the farming community.

As members such as my colleague Annie Wells noted, this month there has been a welcome rise in the number of events that are taking place in local areas. In Dumfries, I was pleased that renowned group, lavender menace, and local artists group, we agree on eggs, ran a queer pop-up library in the heart of the High Street over the past weekend.

A host of other free events were on offer this weekend, from tea and chats to workshops and a human library that gave LGBT people a chance to talk about their experiences of living in the area. I hope that more such events can take place, not just this month but all year round.

On Sunday, there was speculation regarding potential LGBT use of one of Dumfries’s iconic buildings. The church in the High Street has stood for more than 150 years, but the number of attendees has unfortunately continued to dwindle. People are trying to put together a funding package for LGBT-friendly housing at the site, which would be for older people, in particular. The aim is to create more town-centre housing.

Such an idea would have been unthinkable a few decades ago—or even a few years ago—never mind in the 1860s, when the church was constructed. If we are linking a major issue such as the need for good-quality housing in our town centres with LGBT support, there can be no doubt that we have made significant progress.

A few months after my election in 2016, I was delighted to visit, alongside other politicians, Relationships Scotland’s premises in Dumfries, after the charity had been awarded a silver charter by LGBT Youth Scotland. The charity had carried out extensive engagement with the LGBT community and had commemorated a number of LGBT events throughout the year—those are just a couple of reasons why it was awarded the charter.

A lot of great work is being done across Dumfries and Galloway and Scotland, which is why it is so pleasing to hear so many members highlight successes in their areas. We have many disagreements in this chamber, but on this subject we can all play our part to support the LGBT community. If we do, the future will no doubt be very positive.

17:44  

I thank my good friend and colleague Jenny Gilruth for bringing this timely and important members’ business debate to the chamber of the Scottish Parliament, and I congratulate her on a truly brilliant speech. I also thank everyone who got in touch to send material and briefings for the debate, in particular LGBT Youth Scotland. I thoroughly recommend looking at its Twitter account and website to see some of the fantastic work that it is doing.

Many members have mentioned the great work that we have done and are doing in this Parliament. I am a member of the Equalities and Human Rights Committee, and we pride ourselves on furthering equality and human rights for everyone. Our former convener, Christina McKelvie, is sitting in front of me and, as the minister, will reply to the debate. A lot of the work that we are doing and have done is down to her and her commitment to the cause.

Through the committee’s work, we have heard some worrying examples of discrimination and stereotyping, but we have also heard about lots of fantastic work that going on. One of the core values of LGBT history month is to

“Focus national attention on the LGBTI community, and enhance LGBTI equality at a local and national level”.

Being from a huge rural constituency, I am acutely aware that in some areas, a lot of the attitudes towards the LGBT community have not really changed over the years. We still have a lot of work to do to make sure that people, especially our young people, are supported. LGBT Youth Scotland has done a lot of research on that. Its parliamentary briefing tells us:

“Increasing numbers of LGBT young people in Scotland think it’s a good place to live—81% of respondents to the ‘Life in Scotland’ survey said this in 2017, compared to just 57% in 2007.

However, there is noticeable difference from respondents in rural and urban areas across a number of relevant policy areas such as transport, education and isolation.

LGBT young people are at risk of social isolation when there are limited socialisation opportunities available to them and/or when discrimination stops them from seeking or accessing opportunities.

There is also some evidence to suggest that young people who experience social isolation are more likely to experience poor mental health. Expendable income can also play a role in an individual’s ability to access certain socialisation opportunities, particularly when the only available socialisation takes place in commercial venues or when a significant amount of travel is required.

It is also clear that LGBT young people can have reduced social networks if family or friends reacted negatively to them ‘coming out’. LGBT young people may face homelessness as a result of ‘coming out’ to a parent or carer, or feel as though they need to leave home in order to avoid discrimination.

For example, 22% of transgender young people who responded to our survey left home under negative circumstances, and often commented that this was typically due to how their family reacted to their LGBT status.”

The briefing goes on to say:

“As a result of a lack of access to safe spaces locally, young people will often need to use public transport to access services such as LGBT youth work.

However, 2017 research shows that whilst 67% of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual young people said they felt safe on public transport, this is not the case for transgender young people, for whom only 51% felt safe.

Frequency, reliability, cost and having to rely on a singular mode of public transport are all well documented concerns of rural young people, which are arguably more likely to impact on rural LGBT young people. In addition, young people are often reliant on their parents or carers for transport to LGBT services so if they are not ‘out’ or their families are not supportive of their gender identity or sexual orientation this can be a significant barrier.”

LGBT history month celebrates, raises awareness and calls out inequality, but inequality exists not only within society but geographically. LGBT Youth Scotland captures it perfectly when it says:

“It is important that young people across Scotland have access to the same support and resources in order to ensure they are adequately supported; this will help build resilient and welcoming rural communities which are open and welcoming to LGBTI people.”

17:49  

I thank Jenny Gilruth for securing the debate, and I thank all the members who have spoken for their amazing contributions. Jenny is a true champion. Gillian Martin said, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it”. Many young women and men who saw Jenny Gilruth leading the debate were able to see what they can be, which is great and something to be proud of. Well done, Jenny.

I, too, had the privilege of attending Pink Saltire’s parliamentary reception, which was a fantastic event celebrating LGBT history month. We heard many personal stories from individuals, many of whom were highlighted by us for their incredibly hard work on progressing equality in the LGBT community. We heard from the couple from Fife who spoke about their personal experiences and the young purple dragon from Dundee who talked about her experience as a young person, and we heard a very deep, emotional and honest speech from a trans woman called Stevie Maybanks. We heard absolutely amazing speeches from all of them. Those people had different perspectives but were all saying the same thing: we have made progress but we have much more to do.

It is hugely important that we celebrate LGBT history month, in order to acknowledge the challenges that people have faced and understand the impact of each person’s contribution. I cannot overstate how moving every speech at that event was. It took us another step towards eradicating discrimination and prejudice and creating the equal world that we want to see for LGBT people.

To see so many social media posts from people in schools, workplaces and communities, and even from politicians, all of whom were sporting purple on purple Friday and celebrating, commemorating and, most importantly, educating—being the catalysts for change that we all want to see—was an absolute joy.

To see my friends on the TIE campaign’s daily icon has been an enlightening education for me. We have had one of those every day of LGBT history month and they have demonstrated clearly how many people came before us—the people who fought those battles. We have to take up those battles and continue to fight, but let us hope that the battles that we fight are not big battles anymore but are only small, and that we can push away all that discrimination.

This Government recognises the discrimination that gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people face every day of their lives for no reason other than their being who they are. They are just trying to be true to themselves. That, for me, epitomises why we need to celebrate LGBT history month with a series of events to recognise the struggles that people before us have faced and are still facing today. We need to mark the progress that has been made and proudly state who we are—regardless of our sexual orientation or gender identity—and that no one will change that. That is very important.

As has been mentioned by others, this year’s theme is “Catalyst: 50 years of activism”. It marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York city in 1969, which was a pivotal moment in the pride movement. However, LGBT history month is not only about LGBT people standing up for their rights; the power of allies and role models should not be underestimated and we have heard from many of them today.

There is no greater ally for LGBT equality than this Parliament and, I would like to say, this Government. Patrick Harvie reminded us that we should be rightly proud of that. We still have work to do, but this Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of legalising same-sex marriage. It was a great day when we did that—I was here and it was wonderful. This Parliament legislated to allow pardons and disregards for gay men who were convicted of same-sex activity which would now not be considered illegal. Importantly, there was an apology from this Government to those men who did nothing but love who they loved.

This Government is absolutely committed to reviewing and reforming gender recognition legislation to improve the lives and experience of trans people in Scotland. I hear the calls from many that we have to ensure that we get that right and we are working closely with everyone we can to get it absolutely right.

This Government is committed to reforming hate crime legislation, which we heard some comments about earlier. Emma Harper reminded us that we have to get on with that work and that we have to get it right as well. Emma also told us, very interestingly—these debates are always very diverse; we hear about a range of wonderful things—about a horticultural project in the Royal Highland Show. I am sure that all the rural members will be interested in hearing about that.

Jenny Gilruth reminded us how far we have come since the time of section 28. She reminded us about Glenrothes high school and the all-school approach. I was a wee bit worried when Jenny was making her remarks about not being able to marry her girlfriend in the church that she wants to marry her in—I thought that we were hearing a proposal. By the time I had picked my hat out, Kezia Dugdale was off. [Laughter.] Jenny reminded us about the wee things that make someone the person they are and how important they are.

Gillian Martin reminded us about intersectionality and the issue of gay women who are in politics, who are influencers or who are agents of change telling us, in our cinemas, our living rooms and our schools, about their history and their truth. For people to be able to see what they can be is incredibly important.

Annie Wells talked about the community approach to LGBT history month. If she runs in the rainbow run I will sponsor her—I might even go and run behind her for a bit of a laugh. It is great when people commit themselves to doing things. Are all the members who are here going to watch Annie Wells in the rainbow run? Yes, we are. [Laughter.]

David Torrance reminded us of the vibrancy of the pride movement. Education changes cultures, as he knows from the activities of Kirkcaldy high school—as do I, because we have heard from the school’s representatives in the Parliament. Mr Torrance also warned us against complacency.

That leads me to Kezia Dugdale’s remarks. She reminded us about the sign in the Stonewall Inn that said “Raided Premises” and the blood-daubed posters for the Gay Teachers Association, and about how we should take the route from tolerance to acceptance and inclusion. She also reminded us that people were tormented—as we know people are being tormented now—and about how we must create an environment in which people can tell their own stories.

Patrick Harvie said that we should learn the lessons of history, which is why LGBT history month is so important. Emma Harper, Finlay Carson and Gail Ross reminded us of the challenges of being in rural communities and how areas are working closely together to make a difference. It looks as though there is loads going on in Dumfries and Galloway, so I might have to go there for a visit. With my Minister for Older People and Equalities hat on, I would be especially interested in seeing the LGBT housing. Gail Ross also recalled the fantastic work of LGBT Youth Scotland and everything that it does.

Our achievements have meant that Scotland is recognised as one of the most progressive countries in Europe on LGBTI equality and human rights issues. However, the truth is that such progress would not have been made had it not been for the tireless work of the organisations and activists—some of whom I expect will be watching the debate—who, day and night, have sought to advance equality for LGBTI people in Scotland. We thank them deeply for their activism and their work.

The Scottish Government’s open dialogue with LGBTI organisations has been vital in informing our approach to policy, on which we will continue to work. Our engagement with those organisations will continue as we work on eliminating the inequalities that continue to exist in our society, so that anyone who is L, G, B, T or I is empowered to fulfil their potential in our Scotland.

Meeting closed at 17:57.