Public Bodies Must Actively Promote Gay Equality Under New Legislation
Friday 27th June 2008
Harriet Harman, Secretary of State for Equality, has announced a new Equality Bill that will include provisions for all public bodies to promote gay and lesbian rights.
The new act, which ministers hope will make government services more accessible, is the first specific piece of legislation requiring bodies to actively promote equality. Previous bills have attempted to wipe out discrimination but have not attempted to promote equality.
Harman outlined her plans in a speech to the House of Commons yesterday.
She said: "Progress has been made to outlaw discrimination against people if they are black, a woman, lesbian or gay, disabled, or if they are older, but although such progress has been made, inequality and discrimination still persist.
She added: "Homophobic bullying still blights the lives of most lesbian or gay young people, and it is still perfectly lawful to tell someone, "Sorry, you’re too old," and refuse anything from health care to insurance.
"The Bill and package of measures that I will outline to the House today represent a radical shift in our approach to fighting unfairness, and will breathe fresh life into our equality agenda.
"Our package of measures includes the equality Bill we promised in our last manifesto, secondary legislation and action by the new Equality And Human Rights Commission.
"We expect everyone—the public sector, firms which do business with the public sector and companies in the private sector—to play their part."
The Equality Bill will cover other forms of discrimination as well, including discrimination of gender and disability.
Gay rights organization Stonewall expressed their happiness with the new legislation. The group hopes that the legislation will help end problems like the issues reported in their recently released poll, which said that nearly a third of gay hate crime victims don’t go to the police because they think they can’t or won’t do anything.
The Equality Bill was warmly received by Parliament, but due to its complexity could take years to sort out and become law. It’s currently expected to be on the books by 2010.
The new act, which ministers hope will make government services more accessible, is the first specific piece of legislation requiring bodies to actively promote equality. Previous bills have attempted to wipe out discrimination but have not attempted to promote equality.
Harman outlined her plans in a speech to the House of Commons yesterday.
She said: "Progress has been made to outlaw discrimination against people if they are black, a woman, lesbian or gay, disabled, or if they are older, but although such progress has been made, inequality and discrimination still persist.
She added: "Homophobic bullying still blights the lives of most lesbian or gay young people, and it is still perfectly lawful to tell someone, "Sorry, you’re too old," and refuse anything from health care to insurance.
"The Bill and package of measures that I will outline to the House today represent a radical shift in our approach to fighting unfairness, and will breathe fresh life into our equality agenda.
"Our package of measures includes the equality Bill we promised in our last manifesto, secondary legislation and action by the new Equality And Human Rights Commission.
"We expect everyone—the public sector, firms which do business with the public sector and companies in the private sector—to play their part."
The Equality Bill will cover other forms of discrimination as well, including discrimination of gender and disability.
Gay rights organization Stonewall expressed their happiness with the new legislation. The group hopes that the legislation will help end problems like the issues reported in their recently released poll, which said that nearly a third of gay hate crime victims don’t go to the police because they think they can’t or won’t do anything.
The Equality Bill was warmly received by Parliament, but due to its complexity could take years to sort out and become law. It’s currently expected to be on the books by 2010.
