A Little Bit of Pride Youth History
Pride Youth has been running since 1993. Initially we offered a service to young lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people and those young people unsure of their sexuality but more recently we have extended that service to young transgender (T) people who suffer very similar if not the same issues as young LGB.
Pride Youth came about in response to Section 28 of the Local Government Act which made the promotion of sexual orientation an offence. At that time there was much confusion concerning this act and as a result, a large number of local authorities, schools and youth clubs adopted an extremely conservative approach to LGBT matters.
Many teachers and youth workers felt unable to talk positively about LGBT issues for fear of repercussions and as a result, many young people were denied essential access to information and were forced to develop in difficult, unwelcoming and sometimes violent environments.
Section 28 has now been repealed and despite
some signs that the social climate in the UK is becoming more tolerant, lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender youth, and young people
questioning their sexuality or gender still face tremendous difficulties.
