Conference notes the very long and extensive reach of a legacy that pervades the whole of our culture and society, with regard to the treatment of LGBT people. Whilst there has been recent progress, including the removal of discriminatory laws, provision for same sex couples and some public bodies that are ready to be supportive […]
Conference motions
The media constantly portrays domestic violence as a heterosexual experience. Literature uses male pronouns to describe batterers and female pronouns to describe victims. The terms ‘domestic violence’ and ‘violence against women’ have become interchangeable. As a result, people who interact with victims frequently are unaware of the existence of domestic violence in the LGBT community. […]
While over 500,000 people attended the various events and over 50,000 marching for Europride in London last June, events throughout major European cities have not met such an enthusiastic welcome. With reference to the Pride march in Riga Latvia on Saturday, July 22 the meeting at the city council refused permissions for the march to […]
In 2003 Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was repealed. The Act stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. Although national legislation has […]
Conference is concerned about the hostile receptions that various Pride events have received in Europe and across the world. Events organised in Warsaw, Moscow and Riga, amongst others, have been met with violence and homophobia Pride events have also been hindered, banned or experienced violent protests in other cities such as Belgrade, Chisinau, Bucharest, Zagreb, […]
Conference notes that Buckinghamshire is a rural county predominantly made up of small communities and that workers in public services often find themselves in situations where they are forced to disclose their sexual orientation to clients because both live in the same locality. When confronted with this problem it is often the response of supervisors […]
This conference expresses concern about some of the findings and recommendations that The Equalities Review published in its Interim Report for Consultation. In particular, conference considers that: 1.The report’s rejection of a ‘strand-based’ approach is merely a fig-leaf to ignore or downplay certain strands especially gender identity; 2.It relies too much on academic research and […]
Conference notes with alarm: 1.The British National Party’s (BNP) advance in the English local elections of May 2006; 2.The BNP’s electoral success and media attention in May has encouraged it to contest local government by-elections even more widely than before; and 3.The BNP Council Manifesto, its official monthly magazine and other media and spokespeople have […]
Conference notes with some concern that many UNISON branches in the UK do not appear to have an active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender self organised group (LGBT SOG). Conference believes that branch-level LGBT SOGs are a key way to ensure visibility of the diverse LGBT agenda within branches, and that they serve as a […]
Conference notes that a number of public sector employers are engaged in a process of setting up staff groups, from workers who self-identify within equality and diversity strands. Examples are groups for women, for black and minority workers, for disabled workers and for LGBT workers. These groups can inform and advise the employer on matters […]
Conference notes and welcomes the drive to promote breastfeeding and to offer support to women who choose to breast feed. The health benefits of breastfeeding are well-known and the WHO recommends that babies are exclusively breast fed for the first six months. However, this increasingly means that the mother has returned to work before the […]
Conference is pleased to see that women still comprise two-thirds of the membership of UNISON. Conference is concerned that every support should be given to women to ensure that they are enabled to take an active role within the union. Conference is pleased that the Pathways course was included in the national education programme and […]
Conference is extremely concerned at the apparent increase in the incidence of rape and the concomitant decrease in convictions of men accused of rape. In recent months there have been alarming accounts in various national newspapers of women who pursued prosecutions with the support of the police, only for their alleged attacker to be acquitted […]
Conference welcomes the successful rule amendment carried at last year’s National Delegate Conference introducing a LGBT self organised group into UNISON. Conference acknowledges the support given to the campaign by the National Women’s Committee, Regional Women’s Committees and Women members. Monitoring of attendance at Women’s Conferences and of the National Women’s Committee suggests that LGBT […]
Fifteen percent of women suffer serious period pains each month, 35 per cent of women suffer moderate pains. Some women suffer pains so strong they are comparable to labour pains. But worse than this is the prospect that your employer will just mark down another absence, without discussion or understanding, and that this will affect […]