Tatchell: Stonewall “Disingenuous” Over Equality Bill
Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell and Stonewall are engaged in a war of words over Stonewall’s support for the government’s new Equality Bill. Tatchell, of human rights group Outrage! accused the gay rights charity Stonewall of compromising its political independence and being too closely identified with the Labour government.
Stonewall hit back at Tatchell, with chief executive Ben Summerskill telling Pink News that Tatchell’s criticisms were a “cheap swipe”, and that gays and lesbians already had protection in existing laws. In response Tatchell told the Mothership Blog that Stonewall’s defence was “disingenuous”.
Equality Bill
The Equality Bill is an all-encompassing piece of legislation that seeks to harmonise all existing discrimination law and strengthen it, including:
* creating a general public duty not to discriminate
* extending protection for people against discrimination and harrassment
Ben Summerskill - Chief Executive of Stonewall
However, in the Government consultation process Stonewall have agreed to specific exclusions within the Bill under ’sexual orientation’. In particular gay harassment has been excluded from protection for areas like:
provision of goods and services
premises
school education
In addition transgender people are not happy about the narrow definition of transgender as set out in the Bill. Stonewall say that existing legislation already provides LGBT people with all the legal protection they need.
War of Words
In a press release this morning Tatchell said that
“The leading gay lobby group, Stonewall, supports this discriminatory legislation, claiming that homophobic and transphobic harassment are not significant problems and can be dealt with under existing legislation.”
“Stonewall boasts that its stated purpose is to “promote equality,” yet it is ignoring the unequal treatment of LGBT people in this Bill”, adding
“…Stonewall has compromised its political independence and is too closely identified with the Labour government.”
The Equality Bill is scrutinised by parliamentary committees, with members such as Stonewall's Ben Summerskill
Stonewall hit back accusing Tatchell of a “cheap swipe” against “hard-working LGBT organisations”. Then, speaking to the Mothership Blog
“No one should suffer harassment because of their sexual orientation. It’s a real problem that demands legal remedy. And we believe that the law as it stands, which is replicated in the Equality Bill, provides that. If any gaps in the protection of lesbian, gay and bisexual people remained in the Bill, we would be pressing the Government to fill them.”
“We’ve never shied away from lobbying this Government and making clear when we disagree with them.”
Tatchell, however sees things differently! He told us
“Stonewall are being disingenuous. The Equality Bill was designed to
equalise all equality laws. It does this, but not when it comes to
harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation. That’s
discrimination.It is questionable that LGBT are already fully covered by other
legislation. But if we were, it is also true that women and black and
disabled people are also protected by other laws. Yet they are
included and protected by the Equality Bill. Why not us?”
Mothership Blog Says
At the Mothership Blog we say it is madness to have an ‘Equality’ Bill which has exclusions for LGBT people. Other minorities aren’t excluded, so why are we? This looks terrible for the LGBT community - it appears to others that we’re second class citizens with 2nd class protection, and such visible exclusions may even reinforce homophobia.
Stonewall claim that
“We have been unable thus far to substantiate examples of ‘harassment’ which would not be caught by the existing protections against direct and indirect discrimination.”
However, aren’t they taking quite a risk on our behalf? What if they’ve missed something? What if their lawyers were wrong?
All minorities are equal, but like 'Animal Farm', are some minorities more equal than others?
It’s you and I who are the ones left without the umbrella protection of the Equality Bill. Sure we can look at changing the law in the future, but isn’t this shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?
By concentrating on the legal minutiae, and failing to see the bigger picture, Stonewall got it massively wrong this time. If this Bill goes through in this form it could be years until parliamentary time is found to change it, and with a Tory government there may not be the will to change.
Let’s hope Stonewall are big enough to admit their mistake and change their stance, and fast. Otherwise, ‘equality’ appears to be an elastic term, with some minorities being more equal than others.
by David Abrehart
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
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