Peter Tatchell is a human rights campaigner and activist with close to sixty years of campaigning; lending his voice and platform to countless causes, in particular LGBTQ+ social movements.
He spoke to Midlands Rainbow, in particular about the campaign – begun with the late-great Paul O’Grady – that asks for police forces to apologise for their history of witch hunts against LGBTQ+ people.
So far, twenty UK police forces have issued apology statements and enacted new pro-LGBTQ+ policies, however, West Midlands Police is a force that is yet to issue any kind of apology.
Tatchell tells Midlands Rainbow: “I wrote last year to the chief constable of West Midlands, Craig Guildford, requesting that he join other chief constables in saying sorry for his force’s past homophobic witch-hunts of the LGBTQ+ community. He has twice refused to apologise. We politely asked him to say sorry at Birmingham Pride two years ago. He gave us the brush-off.
“West Midlands was one of the most homophobic police forces in Britain, with arrest figures much higher than the national average.
“West Midlands police used to harass and verbally abuse LGBTQ [people] leaving gay bars and clubs. They would aggressively raid gay venues and insult LGBTQ+ people there. Officers arrested gay men for consenting sex and then gave their names and addresses to local papers who published them. Some of these men were bashed and had their homes attacked by homophobic mobs. West Midlands police have queer blood on their hands.”
Tatchell explains that: “The aim of an apology is to help draw a line under past persecution, so the police and LGBTQ+ community can move forward together. It is important that the police acknowledge past wrongs.
“Arrested gay and bi men were sometimes sacked from their jobs, evicted from their homes and beaten up in the street. Some were driven to mental breakdowns and even attempted suicide. With the stigma of a criminal conviction for a homosexual offence, a lot of the victims of police homophobia had great difficulty in getting jobs and housing. Their lives were ruined by the police. To not apologise perpetuates their trauma.
“West Midlands police commendably apologised in 2020 to the Black community for their shameful history of racism. Why can’t they also say sorry to LGBTQs?”
Tatchell also spoke to Midlands Rainbow about the protest during the Commonwealth Games, calling out the 35 countries that still (at that time) criminalised same-sex relations.
“My Peter Tatchell Foundation was urged by activists in Commonwealth countries that still criminalise LGBTQs to protest at the Commonwealth Games to highlight their persecution,” explains Peter Tatchell, “The criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people is in defiance of the Commonwealth Charter which these countries have signed and promised to uphold. It pledges equal rights and non-discrimination to all Commonwealth citizens.
“The Commonwealth is a homophobic institution. It is a bastion of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, discrimination and hate crime. LGBTQ+ issues have never been discussed, not even once, by Commonwealth leaders at any of their summits over the last four decades."
Outlined by the Peter Tatchell Foundation, the protest at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham urged all Commonwealth nations to:
Decriminalise same-sex relations
Prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Enforce laws against threats and violence, to protect LGBTQ+ people from hate crime
Consult and dialogue with LGBTQ+ organisations
“I have tried for 30 years to get the Commonwealth leader’s summit to discuss the criminalisation of LGBTQs by over half the member states. They refuse and also reject dialogue with their local LGBTQ+ community groups,” Peter Tatchell says.
“Moreover, the Commonwealth Games organisers claimed that the competitions were inclusive. That was a lie. A known LGBTQ+ athlete was more likely to be jailed than be selected for the national team of their country in over 50% of Commonwealth nations where same-sex relations are still illegal.
“At the time, in 2022, 35 Commonwealth nations outlawed homosexuality. Now, thanks to local activist campaigns, it is only 29. But that is still more than half the 56 Commonwealth member states. The battle against Commonwealth homophobia continues!”
Tatchell adds, when asked about West Midlands-based activists that should be highlighted for their work: “My executive assistant at the Peter Tatchell Foundation, Pliny Soocoormanee, lives and works remotely from the West Midlands. He is our caseworker and helps secure asylum for LGBT+ refugees fleeing persecution in countries like Uganda, Russia and Pakistan. He’s helped dozens win a safe haven in the UK.
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