Hansard

I congratulate Patrick Harvie on securing tonight's debate. National LGBT history month is important, because it at last celebrates the lives of a significant number of people who have traditionally remained hidden and disengaged from civic participation and who have often been treated with a shameless and unreasonable degree of dislike, distrust and fear.

We need to remember that many people are still bullied in our schools and attacked in our communities because of their sexual orientation. LGBT history month can only help, because of the breadth of activities that will take place. I thank Chris Ballance for describing the range of activities that will take place in the south of Scotland. It is very helpful indeed that events will be spread throughout the country. Those events will illustrate the energy, talent and spirit of LGBT people. The events will be far removed from the death and persecution that, throughout history, this vibrant community has suffered worldwide. During the Holocaust, lesbians were forced to wear the black triangle as a symbol of their perversion. Gay men had to wear the pink triangle as they awaited death or torture, but they still maintained a dignified sense of self. The Holocaust was horrific for many groups of people who did not fit the image of Aryan perfection. To some extent, those perceptions have continued to filter through the decades.

LGBT people can still remain apart from their communities. Recently, I spoke to a young man who had just left school and moved from a small community to the city of Glasgow to live and work, because he knew that when he came out there would be intolerable attitudes towards him in the community in which he lived. We still have a long way to go to educate our young people. As Patrick Harvie said in his opening speech, reminding them of history is the right way forward. We should not bury our heads in the sand and pretend that things did not happen; we should move forward, educate and hope that our young people and our communities improve their attitudes. The attitudes of many young people come from their home background. The more that we do to educate people and to ensure that events such as LGBT history month take place in our communities, the better we will serve LGBT people.

There are many positive images. Young LGBT people laugh when they see photographs of the complicated signs, such as handkerchiefs worn in a certain way and of a certain colour, that indicated that someone was gay. Such things are now gone, so there has been a vast improvement. In February, LGBT people will hold events such as a storytelling evening at Glasgow LGBT centre, where older community members will share their memories with younger people. It is essential that we remember and pass on the rich history that the community has struggled to own.

We must also remember that LGBT people can still be poor, still be afraid to engage with services, still suffer poor education, still be bullied and still think that they have no rights. They can suffer domestic abuse and are often forced to socialise in environments where alcohol and drugs are prevalent. The community's young people often fall through the net of generic services because they are afraid to be open about themselves. When that happens, they are sometimes left homeless, hungry, afraid and lacking in formal education, and they can easily fall victim to the sex industry. We must bear in mind that we still have a long way to go, but this kind of celebration moves us forward a great deal. I thank Patrick Harvie for bringing it to our attention.