Scottish charity gives voice to Commonwealth LGBT people during the Glasgow Games

Next month Glasgow will host the twentieth edition of the Commonwealth Games.

The Equality Network, the Scottish equality charity will be working with the Scottish Government and LGBT groups across the Commonwealth to highlight the challenges many LGBT people continue to face.

LGBT people of the Commonwealth Exhibition to be held in Pride House during the Commonwealth games alongside an International LGBT Human Rights Conference to be held at Glasgow University.

The Equality Network, the Scottish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality charity, secured funding of £9,992 from the National Lottery Celebrate Fund to prepare and hold an Exhibition on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people of the Commonwealth, to be held during the Glasgow 2014 games.

LGBT people of the Commonwealth is a project which will celebrate and recognise the contribution of LGBT groups and organisations from the 53 countries that make up the Commonwealth, and ensure the visibility of LGBT people and their lives during the Commonwealth Games.

The charity has also announced a partnership with Pride Glasgow, Glasgow’s annual LGBT pride festival and the Glasgow Human Rights Network to hold an international LGBT Human Rights Conference at Glasgow University on the July 18, five days before the opening ceremony and a day before the Glasgow’s annual pride celebration.

Scott Cuthbertson, Community Development Coordinator for the Equality Network, said: “The Commonwealth Games offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on and support LGBT human rights around the Commonwealth and the world. As the eyes of the world fall on Scotland for the games we have the chance to give a voice to the successes and challenges faced by LGBT people in every part of our world. We are delighted to receive this grant which will help us to celebrate the contribution of LGBT people to culture and human rights, while also standing up against criminalisation and violence against LGBT people around the globe.”

The Equality Network points out that while Scotland has made significant progress towards achieving LGBT equality in the law and society, the situation for LGBT people is deteriorating in some Commonwealth countries, with anti-gay laws being passed recently in Uganda and Nigeria, and recriminalisation of homosexuality in India after a recent Supreme Court appeal.

41 of the 53 members of the Commonwealth criminalise homosexuality, and that more than half of the 78 countries worldwide that criminalise homosexuality belong to the Commonwealth.

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