International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia was initially established in 2004 in order to raise awareness of hate crimes against individuals for their gender or sexual identity. Choosing to hold this day on the 17th of May was an informed choice, to commemorate the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness in 1990. Though hate crimes of this nature are illegal, they still occur every day – in fact, many LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced some form of hate crime in their lives.
1 in 5 LGBT+ people, and 2 in 5 transgender people, will have experienced a hate crime due to their sexual or gender identity in the last 12 months. A simple visible symbol (such as the Rainbow Badge) can make a big difference for those unsure of both themselves and of the reception they may receive when disclosing their sexuality and/or gender identity.
Homophobic and transphobic language/behaviour will not be tolerated at UHP NHS Trust. We are an incredibly diverse team, and IDAHTB should serve as a reminder to be kind to one another. We must ensure that we are doing all that we can to provide a safe space for ALL of our colleagues.
If you’d like to take part in creating a nurturing community within our Trust, please consider pledging to the Rainbow Badge Initiative. With over 1300 pledges so far, we’re seeing a really positive response to our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion aims. Please click here for more information and to make your pledge: https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/rainbow-badge.
In order to ensure that our gender diverse colleagues feel able to actively participate in staff networks, we aim to establish a small working group with the Women’s Network. This group would focus on the intersection between the LGBT+ community and gender equality by promoting collaboration between the networks. If this is something you would like to get involved in, or if you would like to reach out for support, please feel free to contact our network inbox.
We would also like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey released by the LGBT+ Staff Network. The overwhelming majority of respondents offered positive feedback, and have helped to inform the network aims going forward.
The LGBT+ Staff Network aims to ensure that, regardless of employee’s sexual orientation and gender identity, opportunities are equal and that staff can feel comfortable raising issues and tackling discrimination. In providing open forums for our LGBT+ colleagues to share their experience of the workplace in a supportive and safe environment, we strive to create a more inclusive environment for our staff by empowering them to feel safe and confident in bringing their whole selves to work.
Our network is open to allies interested in inclusion and those colleagues who identity within the LGBT+ acronym (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, The Plus represents other sexual and gender identities) with the aim to continue working together to make UHP as inclusive as possible, and we hope that all UHP colleagues look forward to seeing what we can achieve as a team!
Many thanks,
UHP LGBT+ Network
Ann James, Chief Executive
Network inbox: plh-tr.lgbtstaffnetwork@nhs.net
For more information, please visit: https://may17.org/about/ or https://www.stonewall.org.uk/system/files/lgbt_in_britain_hate_crime.pdf