From equal marriage to trans rights, fighting against Section 28 to campaigning to equalise the age of consent, Stonewall has been leading the fight for LGBT+ freedoms.
One of the key figures from the charity’s history is Lisa Power. For the past 40 years, the activist has been on the frontline for equality, becoming known as “ the matriarch of LGBT+ activism ”.
The Stonewall co-founder still campaigns for the LGBTQ community today, and on the first episode of The Out Crowd podcast , she looks forwards - as well as back - on the struggle for equality.
She discusses what life was like as a lesbian in the 1970s and 1980s, how she volunteered for the Gay Switchboard during the AIDS crisis, and how she and other activists formed Stonewall to campaign against Section 28 [a Conservative policy under Margaret Thatcher that prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" by councils and schools].
In the LGBT+ history episode of the podcast , Lisa tells host Joe Ali that same-sex marriage was not even on activists’ minds in the 1980s.
“We had no idea, I have to say. We knew we wanted equality, but at that stage, we saw equality as getting rid of Section 28 and getting the age of consent equalised,” Lisa said.
“And getting some work protection - you have to remember that in the 80s, you could be sacked for being gay. You would almost automatically lose your kids in a custody battle, anybody could refuse you a service for just being gay. There were no protective laws.
“We knew we wanted equality, but to be honest, we didn’t even talk about equal marriage, because it didn’t occur to us. It was almost like it was beyond our horizon, our belief.”
Despite the long fight for equality with progress made over the years, the battle for LGBT+ freedoms and rights still continues.
Lisa explains: “There are over 70 countries where homosexuality is still illegal in some form, or punished in some form.
“You have lots of anti-trans laws being enacted now. Our freedoms and our rights are incredibly fragile - and incredibly recent.”
Lisa accuses the government of “losing ground” on LGBT+ rights, calling equalities minister Liz Truss “an inequalities minister”.
She said: “The rights can go down as well as going up. Well, they are going down.
“I don’t know how many people realise that the UK is slipping down the global chart of LGBT+ rights.
“We are losing ground, partly because of the way we treat trans people.”
Lisa added: “It would be very easy for us to lose some of the rights we gained. My warning to young people is: don’t think that Stonewall’s done it all for you.”
You can listen to the full interview with Lisa Power on The Out Crowd podcast. It is presented by Joe Ali, and it is produced and edited by Daniel J. McLaughlin.
The Out Crowd is a Laudable production for Reach, and it is available on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify .
Laudable is a Google-funded audio project for local news, run in partnership by Reach and JPI Media.
