With the toppling of Trump last November and the ascendency of an LGBT+ friendly White House under President Biden, combined with anti-discriminatory policy changes in motion here in the UK, 2021 has the potential to be a banner year for the gay community on both sides of the Atlantic.
It comes on the heels of a tumultuous twelve months.
For many gay men like me, 2020 was particularly difficult. The shared spaces we occupy – the LGBT+ friendly bars, pubs, and clubs – are hugely important places for us to come together and express ourselves freely, without fear of judgement or attack. They form our own “support bubble”, and one upon which so many of us depend. The impact of being shut away from this has been enormous, with many – particularly younger – LGBT+ folks being forced into lockdown with less-than-tolerant family members or having to go back into the closet entirely.
A recent study by University College London and Sussex University found that coronavirus was having a “pernicious impact” on LGBT+ mental health, with 69 per cent of respondents suffering depressive symptoms and around ten per cent feeling unsafe in their own homes. When we eventually emerge from lockdown, we may well find that – in addition to a mental health crisis – another consequence of the pandemic will have been the permanent loss of many of the LGBT+ spaces that form the backbone of our community, as venues struggle to weather the storm and survive.
This is not a new trend. A 2017 study from UCL found that the number of gay-friendly venues in London had more than halved in previous ten years, falling by 58 per cent since 2006. There are substantial concerns in the sector – not least from people like Jeremy Joseph, the owner of the G-A-Y brand of bars and clubs in central London and Manchester – that coronavirus, and a lack of targeted financial support from the Government, will force many more closures in the weeks and months ahead. That is why the incredible success story of the NHS’s vaccination delivery programme is so important, and why it is critical that the Government gives urgent reassurance to these venues, putting in place a roadmap for reopening and providing clarity on future tiered restrictions.
However, it is not all doom and gloom for, whilst we have been locked away this past year, developments in the US and in the UK have given cause for hope.
The new Democratic administration in the White House has begun the washing-away of four years of relentless diminishing of LGBT+ rights and freedoms under Trump. President Biden’s initial flurry of action through executive orders may not constitute the ‘damnatio memoriae’ of Trump that the Romans would have approved of, but it’s a welcome change. By implementing a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting discrimination in the federal government on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, Biden has taken the tentative first steps in bringing the 1964 Civil Rights Act into line with modern society. He has pledged to make passing the Equality Act a policy priority during his first 100 days in office – a political possibility now that Democrats control Congress and the White House.
This should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention.
Biden has a long history of advocacy for LGBT+ rights, coming out in support of same-sex marriage as Vice President in 2012 even before his boss, President Obama, did. He has called transgender equality the “civil rights issue of our time” and has already reversed the Trump ban on transgender troops serving in the US military. He also made history in nominating Dr Rachel Levine – now poised to be the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the US Senate – to the post of Assistant Secretary for Health.
On this side of the Pond too, expansions of LGBT+ rights and freedoms are once again on the agenda, as the Government moves to tackle health inequalities for gay and bisexual men. As we’ve seen from the ground-breaking new series It’s A Sin, contracting HIV used to be seen as a death sentence, and the show poignantly considers the devastation that the AIDS crisis caused to so many people just a few short years ago. During the first week in February – National HIV Testing Week – we should celebrate that the UK continues to beat the UNAIDS 90-90-90 target, with recent data showing 94 per cent of people living with HIV being diagnosed, 98 per cent of those diagnosed on treatment, and 97 per cent of those on treatment having an undetectable viral load. In December, the Government committed to implementing the recommendations of the HIV Commission’s recent report into ending new HIV transmissions in England by 2030 and will be publishing its HIV Action Plan next year.
PrEP – a highly-effective drug in preventing the contraction of HIV – is now available on the NHS following a funding commitment from the Government, meaning that millions of sexually-active gay and bisexual men can reduce their risk of getting the virus. Work is underway between the Terrence Higgins Trust, the National AIDS Trust, and the National Pharmacy Association – spearheaded by 2019-intake MP Elliot Colburn – to look at how PrEP could be delivered safely and securely in a community pharmacy setting, eliminating the need – and reluctance amongst some – to visit a local sexual health clinic for the drug.
We also had the welcome news in December that, following years of work by the Terrence Higgins Trust and folks like Ethan Spibey of the Freedom to Donate campaign, the Government had finally made the decision to make blood donation policy more equal, removing unfair and discriminatory restrictions for gay and bisexual men who have sex with other men.
This means that everyone, regardless of sex or sexuality, will be assessed as individuals, rather than based on stereotypical assumptions about sexual behaviours and inherent risk. These shifts, both here in Britain and across in the States, will mean when we do emerge from lockdown and once more head back to those gay-friendly spaces, we will find a world that is safer, more equal, and fairer for our LGBT+ community.
The fight ain’t over yet, but it feels like we’re a few steps closer today.
Tommy is Office Manager for a 2019-intake Conservative MP, having previously worked in Parliament for three Secretaries of State since 2014.
Yorkshireman living in London, he enjoys US politics, travelling, and reading (as well as the odd pint or two…)