The Civil Partnership Act takes effect in Dec 2005.
Full details of the act and its implications are included in the partnership
section of proud2serve.
In December 2003, the Employment Directive, which
outlawed discrimination and harassment in the workplace on the grounds
of sexual orienatation,
came into force. The new law means that it will be unlawful to deny
lesbian, gay and bisexual people jobs because of prejudice. It will
enable individuals to take prompt and effective action to tackle harassment,
and enable people to have an equal chance of training and promotion,
whatever their sexual orientation.
The Local Government Act 2003 repealed section 28, an unnecessary
piece of legislation that has offended many gay and lesbian people
by stigmatising their lifestyles.
In the Sexual Offences Act 2003 the Government changed laws to ensure
they do not discriminate unfairly on the grounds of gender or sexual
orientation. In practice this means that, for the first time, the law
relating to sexual offences will be the same for heterosexual and LGB
people.
In November 2002, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) launched a Public
Policy Statement aimed at combating homophobic violence. The statement
gives a strong message that homophobic crimes are not acceptable, incidents
should be reported and those responsible will be prosecuted.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office launched the 'Know Before You
Go' campaign, which gives information to British LGBT travellers abroad.
The Don’t Suffer in Silence initiative — (launched in
December 2000 and available from DfES publications) — offers
practical help to tackle all kinds of bullying amongst pupils in schools,
including homophobic bullying
Part of this list was compiled with assistance from
the Women and Equality Unit's Sexual
Orientation pages
