Events in Britain leading up to 1967
Prior to 1967, lesbians and gay men in Britain experienced social exclusion to a marked degree. Whilst some were able to live relatively peaceful lives, there were no political rights for lesbians and gay men.
Gay men could still face imprisonment, so sexuality had to be kept secret. There were no openly lesbian or gay people in positions of power, no forum in which to voice dissent and no political organisations to lobby for equal rights in parliament.
In 1954, the Wolfenden Committee was appointed to consider the law in Britain relating to homosexual offences. Sir John Wolfenden himself was a parent of a gay son and suffered personal struggles over the issue. The Committee published their report in 1957, but it was not until the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 that homosexual acts (between men over 21, in private) were partly decriminalised.
It took even longer for homosexuality to be de-medicalised. Homosexuality was finally removed from the: 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Illness' in 1973, but it was not until 1992 that the: '10th Edition of the International Classification of Diseases' finally removed the term as a mental illness.
Events in the USA
Changes in Britain were affected by events in the USA.
In June 1969, the Stonewall riots began in New York. Tired of incessant police harassment, the lesbians and gays and transvestites who frequented the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village finally fought back. This event is often viewed as the beginning of the gay rights movement in the USA and the rest of the world. In 1970, the Gay Liberation Front & Gay Activists Alliance was established in New York. Later on that year, the first-ever organised lesbian and gay Pride march took place on 28 June in New York City, commemorating the previous year's Stonewall riot.
Events in Britain after 1967
There were initiatives to improve the lot of lesbians and gays prior to 1967, but it was the change in the law that made so much more possible. However, the fact that homosexual relationships had been partly legalised did not constitute equality.
The changes that took place after 1967, encouraged by events in the USA, have led to a hugely successful rights movement. The first step was an increase in visibility and the gradual development of campaigning organisations which have fought for legislative change. Alongside the unfolding of these events, lesbian and gay society blossomed in areas such as the arts and the media.
The development of a lesbian and gay rights movement in Britain
A number of campaigning organizations were established after 1967. In 1969 the Committee for Homosexual Equality, later renamed the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) formed in Britain. The Scottish Minorities Group (SMG) was founded in the same year. In 1970, the London Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was founded.
In 1970, the first gay demonstration in the UK took place in Highbury Fields in Islington. The following year in 1971, the first gay march through London took place, ending with a rally in Trafalgar Square, protesting against the unequal age of consent for gay men, which at the time was 21.
Following the first ever Pride march in the USA in 1970, the first UK Pride carnival and march took place in 1972 in London. The first Pride marches were essentially demonstrations seeking visibility and political recognition for lesbians and gays.
Later Pride marches have tended to be more celebratory. In 1992, London hosted the first Europride, and in 1995, the biggest ever London Pride took place, attended by almost 200,000 people in Victoria Park in Hackney.
The first national gay rights conference, organised by CHE, took place in 1973 followed by the first national lesbian conference in 1974. 1974 also saw the first International Gay Rights Conference, held in Edinburgh.
With the growing awareness of AIDS came increased discrimination, but it is likely that it was the existence of active, legitimate and politically aware lesbian and gay communities that enabled Britain to cope better than some other countries with the rise of AIDS. In 1982, the Terrence Higgins Trust was launched, named after the gay man thought to be the first to have died with AIDS in the UK. Ten years later, in 1992, Gay Men Fighting AIDS (GMFA) was founded. These organizations continue to work for the benefit of the gay community, having diversified from AIDS-related issues.
In 1989, the Stonewall Group was set up to oppose Section 28 and other barriers to equality for lesbians and gay men. Founder members include Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman. Stonewall has been successful in working towards equality in many areas, including employment rights, civil partnership and adoption rights.
Representation within government:
Chris Smith, MP for Islington South in London, was the first MP to come out as gay while in office in 1984. In 1997, Labour MP Angela Eagle was the first MP to come out voluntarily as a lesbian. Alan Duncan was the first Conservative Party MP to voluntarily come out publicly as gay in 2002.
Ben Bradshaw and Stephen Twigg (both Labour) were the first gays who were open about their sexuality to be elected in 1997.
In 1998 Waheed Alli entered the House of Lords as the UK's first openly gay life peer.
'In tonight's vote I should like your Lordships to speak out for me and millions like me, not because you agree or disagree or because you approve or disapprove, but because if you do not protect me in this House you protect no-one.'
Lord Waheed Alli, 1999
Legislation and other moves toward equality
In 1967 the Sexual Offences Act came into force in England and Wales and decriminalised homosexual acts between two men over 21 years of age and 'in private'. This was followed by decriminalization in Scotland (1980) and in Northern Ireland (1982).
The following pieces of legislation and other changes have come into force since then, encompassing a number of areas, including the rights of same-sex partners, employment rights, adoption rights, civil partnership, rights in the provision of goods and services and action on hate crime. The age of consent is now 16, parity with heterosexual people.
1996 The Inland Revenue published new guidelines recognising same-sex partners in pension schemes.
1999 The House of Lords ruled that same sex partners should be treated as family and have the right to succeed a tenancy.
1999 Rail companies gave same-sex partners the same travel subsidies as heterosexual couples.
2000 The Government lifted the ban on lesbian and gay men serving in the armed forces.
'I am 34. I was gay when I was 24, when I was 21, when I was 20, when I was 19, when I was 18, when I was 17 and even when I was 16... I have never been confused about my sexuality. I have been confused about the way I am treated as a result of it... The only confusion lies in the prejudice shown, some of it tonight, and much of it enshrined in the law...'
Lord Waheed Alli, 1999
2001 The age of consent reduced to 16.
2002 Equal rights granted to same sex couples applying for adoption.
2003 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations became law, making it illegal to discriminate against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in the workplace.
2004 Civil Partnership Act passed, giving same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married heterosexual couples.
2005 Section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 implemented, empowering courts to impose tougher sentences for offences aggravated or motivated by the victim's sexual orientation.
2007 The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 became law, making discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the provision of goods and services illegal.
The arts, culture and religion
Alongside the campaigning, there have been other developments. In 1972, Gay News, the UK's first gay newspaper, was founded. The Pink Paper was founded in 1987.
In 1979, Gay Life, the first ever gay TV series, was commissioned for British TV by London Weekend Television.
In 1974 the London Gay Switchboard (later the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard) was launched.
Groups with specific interests have also begun to emerge. In 1976, the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (later called Lesbian & Gay Christians) was founded. In 1980, the first black lesbian and gay group was founded, and in 1988, the first British national conference for lesbians and gay men with disabilities took place.
Higher education
Over the past 30 years, Lesbian and Gay Studies has become a legitimate academic field, with courses offered in several universities. In 1998, Gregory Woods was appointed as the first Professor of Lesbian and Gay studies in the UK.
