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What is May 17?

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.
The Day represents a major global annual landmark to draw the attention of decision makers, the media, the public, corporations, opinion leaders, local authorities, etc. to the alarming situation faced by people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal. Thousands of initiatives, big and small, are reported throughout the planet.

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has received official recognition from several States, international institutions such as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events.

Even if every year a “global focus issue” is promoted, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is not one centralised campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action, on whatever issue and in whatever format that they wish.

Many different entities participate in the global mobilisation around May 17 and as a consequence it receives many different names. Some organisations add Lesbophobia or Intersexphobia as distinct focuses. Acronyms also vary, from the initial IDAHO to IDAHOT or IDAHOBIT. The Day is not one central trademarked brand and everyone is free to communicate as they wish.

Nevertheless, we have seen lately that several groups translate the “I” with “intersexism”. We have consulted with Intersex organisations who consider this term to be vague and misleading. We therefore ask everyone to please refrain from using the term “intersexism” and prefer the term “intersexphobia”. Please also note that the name of the Day currently does not explicitly include Intersexphobia as there is no global consensus among the Intersex communities that this should be included in the remit of May 17.

Initially managed by the IDAHO Committee, the initiative is now collectively managed in collaboration between regional and thematic networks working to advance the rights of people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics. This collaboration brings together organizations and initiatives at global, regional, national and local levels.

IDAHOBIT UK

Country page 2022 – UK

Holocaust Memorial Day and LGBT+ History Month

On 6 May 1933 the Institute of Sexual Research, an academic foundation devoted to sexological research and the advocacy of homosexual rights, was broken into by the Nazi-supporting youth. They beat up the staff and ransacked the Institute’s library that housed an immense archival collection on sexuality and provided educational services and medical consultations. Four days later, on 10 May the entire content of the library will be burned. The founder of the Institute was Dr Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist and a Jewish gay man.

During the Second World War over six million Jews were murdered and tens of thousands of homosexuals were arrested, around 50,000 received severe prison sentences. Most homosexuals were sent to police prisons, rather than concentration camps, where they were exposed to inhumane treatment: subjected to hard labour, torture, were experimented upon or executed. There they could be subjected to hard labour and torture, or they were experimented upon or executed. An estimated 10-15,000 were incarcerated within the concentration camps, 60% of whom died. Many were castrated and some subjected to gruesome medical experiments. Collective murder actions were undertaken against gay detainees, exterminating hundreds at a time.

In the camps homosexual men were identified by a large ‘pink triangle’ worn on their uniform and the Jewish prisoners by a ‘yellow star’.

This year a visual installation physically connecting two unique and historic buildings, which face each other, spanning the street with fabric replicas of these two iconic symbols. The buildings are two very different establishments: one – a social and recreational venue – The Ship Inn, considered to be one of the oldest LGBT venues in the country; the other – Chatham Memorial Synagogue, a place of worship of one of the earliest Jewish communities in Britain.

An exhibition, consisting of information panels, celebrating the life, work and legacy of Dr M. Hirschfeld and artwork produced by local students with disabilities, is situated along the Old Chatham High Street, using the historically diverse area of Chatham Intra as the installation’s unique backdrop. It picks up this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s theme of One Day, also raising awareness of the struggle for survival of disabled people. It is estimated that close to 250,000 disabled people were murdered under the Nazi regime, many of them children.

The exhibition runs from 27 January throughout LGBT+ History Month in February.

Find out more – borrow books on the subject from Medway Libraries’ rich collection.

Visit Chatham Library for a drop-in family workshop with a local artist Christopher Sacre.

Remember your One Day from the past or create your One Day dream of the future:

• Saturday, 12 February between 2-4pm

Join a guided tour on Saturday, 19 February

• 11am – tailored for deaf and hard of hearing
  • 2pm

The tours start at Intra Arts (337-341 High St, Rochester) and end at Chatham Library with a viewing of the exhibition of the students’ One Day artwork. The tour lasts up to two hours.

By Martin Adams, Peter Moorcraft, Christopher Sacre and Irina Fridman

Medway Pride Radios Do Good Friday is back and this time we need your help to support the follolwing good causes that are helpinng people in Medway, Kent & Nationally

Announcing the first of the amazing organisations we will be supporting on #DoGoodFriday the amazing people at @Depheruk @medway_pride radio will be @nucleusarts Friday 3rd December from 9am until we are thrown out. pic.twitter.com/t0xBNTFL60

— Shea Coffey (@SheaChristie3) November 25, 2021

The second organisation @medway_pride radio is proud to support next Friday (3rd Dec) is @THBMedway we will be at @nucleusarts for Do Good Friday come along drop off a donation, get a good bag and stop for a cuppa! pic.twitter.com/E9neNPayC4

— Shea Coffey (@SheaChristie3) November 26, 2021

Transgender Awareness Week, observed November 13th to November 19th, is a one-week celebration leading up to the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes victims of transphobic violence. It is a time when organisations and the government can reflect on how they are treating members if the Trans & Non-binary community. For the community to give advice to those seeking to help improver the lives of trans & non-binary people and remove barriers to accesing services and the workplace.

The important issues for the Trans and non-binary community are safety (Reduction in Hate Crime and Discrimination).

Access to Trans specific healthcare to reduce the gender incingruence (A Sexual Health Condition), the maximum waiting time to see a consultant on the NHS is 18week, The waiting time to see a Trans health specialist within the NHS is 4 years and climbing. The Healthcare pathway is broken and needs to be revised.

Transgender Day Of Rememberance

Every year on Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR), held on the 20th of November, we remember and honour the lives of trans and gender-diverse people reported murdered in the last 12 months. 

Medway Pride – The Save Wizzy fundraiser

A one-off exclusive performance from the one and only Elberace! To raise funds to nurse Wizzy, the Pride car, back to health

During the first ever Medway Pride, we blew up H’s car, Wizzy. Wizzy and H had been very busy running about completing errands for everyone else at their own cost. The bill to repair Wizzy is substantial and as H and Wizzy were helping everyone else, we want to help foot the bill.

Elberace and other acts, have waived their fees and Ricky has kindly donated use of Coyotes for free, this means we are able to put on a night like Medway will never see again!

Come along and join us on 25 September for jokes, japes and jumpsuits!

The ticket price is just £8, with an added fee from Eventbrite of 92p. The entire £8 ticket price will go towards saving Wizzy! Anything over this will

Jigsaw is the first project in Kent to raise awareness of disability hate crime against people with autism and learning disabilities.

Our ‘living in fear’ 3-year research project told us that almost half of those surveyed experienced victimisation. Although the impact of crimes and incidents could be serious and long lasting, 62% didn’t report incidents to the police.

We raise awareness of hate crime and work with organisations to support the reporting of hate crimes, through reporting hubs. These hubs are in community facilities, such as mosques, community centres, shops and more.

We run disability awareness training with the police and 999/101 call handlers. This helps them to understand more about their needs and how to respond.

We also run hate crime awareness sessions for people with disabilities. These workshops focus on giving people the confidence to report incidents and how to do so.

Types of hate crime

• Physical attacks
• Damage to property
• Offensive graffiti
• Arson
• Threats of attack
• Abusive or obscene telephone calls
• Anti-social behaviour and intimidation
• Offensive language and harassment.

Reporting hate crimes

• Speak to a police officer or PCSO. You can do this at your local police station
• Call 101 if it is not an emergency
• Call 999 in an emergency
• Report your crime online www.report-it.org.uk through True Vision. Your report will be forwarded to the relevant police station.

Reporting hubs

We have been working with local communities to create reporting hubs across Kent and Medway so that you can report any hate crime.

• Nucleus Arts in Chatham and Rochester
• Mencap’s Medway branch
• Aztec day services in Rochester
• Ahmadiyya Mosque in Gillingham
• Age UK across Medway and Kent
• Kent Muslim Welfare Associate in Gillingham
• Kent Women’s Muslim Welfare Association in Gillingham
• Choice Support services across Kent.

Visit Our website for more information

Support for victims

Call Victim Support on 0845 303 0900.

or visit their website

LGBTQIA+ Hatecrime has also been on the increase, some of which has been blamed on the news media publising discriminatory articles about the trans community.

You can report hate crime and complete a survey about your experiances via www.hatecrime.app