Stonewall Equality Limited

Gemma Hollman, Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies

Stonewall Equality Limited is an LGBT+ rights charity in the United Kingdom, and it is the largest LGBT organisation in Europe. It was formed in 1989 in response to the introduction of Section 28 in the UK, and it has since become a major driver for political reform and change in the UK with regards to LGBT+ rights.

Stonewall gets its name from the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. The protest was in response to a police raid that happened in the early hours of the morning in late June at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. The bar was a known gathering place for LGBT+ people in New York City but it was owned by the Mafia and raids at the bar were regular as a way to tackle two undesirable communities in the city. However, on this occasion the people at the bar fought back and were soon joined by others. Protests continued for days afterwards, and within weeks activist groups were established to demand rights for LGBT+ people in New York City to live openly in their sexuality: whilst homosexual relationships between men was partially decriminalised in England in 1967, it was still illegal in New York until 1980.

A year later, the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising was commemorated in various cities across the USA with Pride marches which became an annual event now celebrated across the world. Stonewall became an iconic event in LGBT+ history and was well known globally, leading to its choice for the name of the UK charity.

Section 28 was passed into law in 1988 to stop councils and schools teaching that homosexuality was acceptable, and it was created during a time of increased homophobia in UK society. The law was immediately protested by members of the LGBT+ community and beyond, and the following year a group of activists came together to create an organisation to help campaign against the law. Stonewall was co-founded by a variety of well-known names, including Sir Ian McKellen, but one of the founders was Peter Ashman who was born in St Albans.

When Labour came into power in 1997, Stonewall were able to widen their political scope. The Labour government eventually repealed Section 28, equalised the age of consent for homosexual and heterosexual relationships, introduced Civil Partnerships amongst other positive steps for LGBT+ rights. Stonewall had achieved their aim of ending Section 28, but there was still much to do to ensure equality for LGBT+ people across the UK and beyond. The charity supported legal test cases in the European Court of Human Rights and were key lobbyists in bringing in many laws to extend rights for LGBT+ people.

Today, a lot of Stonewall’s work focuses on working with organisations to bring equality for LGBT+ people in all aspects of their lives – at home, school or work. They have a Diversity Champions programme for major employers which works with over 900 organisations to make sure LGBT+ people in their workforce are respected and welcomed. In 2005, they also launched an Education For All programme to tackle homophobia in schools. The group continues to develop in line with a changing society, and under accusations that they had historically been unsupportive of trans people, in 2015 they created an advisory group to help guide its work on transgender issues. Stonewall has been central to campaigns for LGBT+ rights in the UK for over 30 years, and it continues to drive change today.

This page was added on 01/02/2022.

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