'Reflect on the challenges that people face' - Chief Nurse shares personal reflections for LGBTQIA+ History Month
UHDB's Executive Chief Nurse, Garry Marsh, has shared his thoughts, views and lived experiences on being an openly gay man as we continue to mark LGBTQIA+ History Month.
The theme for this year's event is #BehindTheLens which aims to shine a spotlight onto the work and contributions that members of the LGBTQIA+ community have and continue to make to the world of cinema and film, while working to create a positive future toward social justice and fairness.
Colleagues from across UHDB are offering a 'behind the scenes' view into their own lives and experiences, with Garry sharing lived experiences from his past where he has been treated differently because of his sexual orientation - but also how things have changed for the better during his lifetime in England.
In his role as part of UHDB's Executive Team, Garry is at the forefront of helping the Trust to become a truly inclusive environment for all colleagues and members of the community, and this is something he is a firm believer in outside of work, too.
Garry has visited a great many concentration camps across Europe to pay homage to the gay people who lost their lives there under the Nazi Regime during the Second World War. He believes that the way in which lost lives have been remembered provides a lesson for us all to learn going forward.
Below are Garry's reflections in his own words:
As we celebrate LGBTQIA+ History Month, I always find myself reflecting on how England has changed since I came out at the age of 16. At the time, the age of consent was 21 and any of my partners risked prosecution simply because we had chosen to love people of the same sex.
"Why is he saying England?", some may ask. That's simply because laws change at different paces in different parts of the UK and around the world. It's a reality that many countries in the world still have laws which outlaw same sex intimacy shall we say; something I always take into account when holiday shopping. Very recently we saw Hungary attempting to introduce new legislation that is a backward step for equality.
The unequal age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual couples in England before the beginning of the reforms - it was decriminalised in 1967 and equalised in 2001 - made me very angry, and I used to love my trips to London and the annual Pride march. There, I would join others in demonstrating against the age of consent, Section 28 and any other discriminatory unequal law my life was inhibited by. The reality that we now see Pride events taking place and being celebrated across the country was something of a dream for me back then and it is amazing to see how far attitudes and beliefs have changed.
I recall my first joint mortgage application where I was sent an appointment to be tested for HIV due to the stigma around same sex relationships and AIDS, something I didn't partake in and found a less draconian mortgage company.
I recall workplaces where people thought they had a right to sexualise me and make inappropriate comments about my private life.
I recall nursing handovers where colleagues focussed more on judgments of patients' lives and sexuality than their reason to be in hospital.
Whilst I'm not naive enough to think the beliefs of all are equal and homophobia is a historical memory, I am at least comforted by knowing there is now much legislation that protects me in my life and if my small contribution of marching the streets of London aided that then I feel pleased.
When I was 16, I went to a bar and I recall the door had a sign with a pink triangle on it - gay bars weren't generally as visible as they are now - and I recall asking what it meant. No one really knew.
As I got older, I realised the pink triangle was linked with the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. This symbol was given to gay people to wear on their uniforms in the same way as the Star of David was given to Jewish prisoners. Whilst the numbers are in no way comparable to the numbers of Jewish people who lost their lives during the Second World War, they are still there: people who died for no more crime than being gay.
I've visited many of these camps and feel humbled to lay a small stone at the memorials in recognition of the gay people who died there.
After the camps were liberated, gay people certainly didn't receive equal sympathy compared to other groups given the laws of the time, and even today in the media, there is little mention of the gay people who died at these camps.
When I visited Mauthausen in Austria, there was a wall of plaques remembering groups after the liberation. It was sad to see it was almost 50 years after the liberation that a plaque was placed there in recognition of gay people.
During my interview for the role of Chief Nurse here at UHDB, I was asked about inclusion and what it meant to me. Part of my answer was that if ever we saw such happenings as the concentration camps again, we would not remember those who lost their lives with a whole wall of plaques with one representing each group of people who sadly died there. Instead, there would be one singular plaque placed at the same time to recognise everybody who was persecuted for their lives and beliefs.
So as I draw to a close, I'm happy to see that England has strengthened its protection of the LGBTQIA+ community, but I would ask you all to reflect on the challenges that people face who live elsewhere in the world.
How you can get involved with the UHDB Pride Network
If you would like to find out more about our Pride Network and join the mailing list to receive events and meeting updates, or to request a rainbow lanyard displaying your pronouns, please email: uhdb.lgbtqia@nhs.net
You don’t have to identify as LGBTQIA+ to be a part of the Network – all allies are welcome to help shape our journey.
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