Regard

Regard is now producing an 'access template' for Prides around the country, in order to help improve access to Prides nationally. This will be available on our website, or on request from our secretary (see below for contact details). If you are able to represent Regard on your local Pride committee, please let us know. We will also be working with... renewed vigour to ensure that London Pride 2006, which is also Europride, is the most accessible Pride to date. If you are London-based and would like to get involved in this, please let us know. LGBT History Month: Ju Gosling helped to launch the first ever LGBT History Month (February 2005) on behalf of Regard, speaking at the Tate Modern last December. Ju also attended the parliamentary launch, and worked with the History Month organisers to make the website etc accessible to all. Ju is continuing to liaise with the History Month organisers on behalf of Regard, while Chris Killick is compiling a photographic history of Regard for our own website. The organisers are encouraging people to organise an event for History Month in their local area and to promote it via the national organisation. See www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk for more details and ideas for events - let us know if you decide to organise one so that we can advertise it on our website. Policing: Ju Gosling, Julie Newman, Lee Elliott and Charley Hasted represented Regard at a consultation meeting on policing the LGBT community. One issue we highlighted was the fact that many disabled LGBT people experience high levels of homophobic harassment and abuse, due to their isolation as well as their perceived vulnerability. On an ongoing basis, Kirsten Hearn, our LGBT liaison officer, is also a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority. Access to 'the scene': In 2006 we will be launching a new campaign to open up 'the scene' to disabled members of the LGBT community. We believe that the LGBT community has a much higher proportion of disabled members within it than the population at large, due to the physical ...Read More