More in common than that which divides us

The past few weeks have proven to be the most testing for the concepts of integration, inclusivity and equality that I have ever known. The mass shooting which took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando brought to a premature end the lives of almost 50 largely LGBT+ people. The United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union has been interpreted by some in our country as an endorsement of racism, which has led to a spike in reports of racially-motivated hate crimes. And we have bore witness to the first murder of a sitting Member of Parliament in more than 25 years, allegedly incited by her support of the UK’s continued membership of the EU, and by her support of foreign nationals in need.

In spite of the undeniably sombre shadow these events have cast, there is some comfort to be taken from the events which followed. In the wake of the Orlando shootings, the LGBT+ community around the world rallied around one another like never before, bolstered by the support of an ever-increasing number of LGBT+ allies, to deplore the events which occurred and to unite against intolerance. In the aftermath of the murder of Jo Cox MP, Members of Parliament and public alike united in grief to mourn her tragic passing and to offer anecdotal accounts of the hard-working and amiable individual everyone knew her to be. And following the regrettable spike in reports of racially-motivated hate crimes following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, the more tolerant majority of our nation has condemned these incidents in the strongest terms, and has vociferously stated that racism is not welcome in our country.

However, what these incidents have indicated to me is that, although much work has been done and much progress has been made on the path to completely eradicating any trace of inequality and intolerance from our society, we are not quite there yet.

Scotland may have been recognised by ILGA Europe as one of the most LGBT+-friendly nations in Europe, but there is more which we could do for our LGBT+ children and young people, to support them through the myriad of confusing feelings and emotions that they will experience growing up, and to let them know that they have as much right to love and be loved as anyone else. One such positive step which could be made in this area would be for our government to lend support and to implement the strategy outlined by the TIE (Time for Inclusive Education) campaign, which calls for teachers to be provided with the necessary training so as to educate their pupils on LGBT+ issues and to help stamp out homophobia in our schools.

The Scottish Association for Mental estimates that one in four people will experience a mental health difficulty over the course of their lifetime. LGBT Youth Scotland’s 2012 Health Report ‘Life in Scotland for LGBT Young People’ purports that this figure increases to two in five for LGB young people, and two in three for transgender young people. Clearly, our LGBT+ young people are still being let down, and are not being provided with the necessary support to help them navigate through the choppy waters that are growing up as an LGBT+ young person. Implementing the strategy proposed by the TIE campaign would be the first step towards better supporting our LGBT+ young people, and would represent a significant leap forward on the path to completely eradicating LGBT+-phobia from our schools and from wider society.

Turning now to the increase in the number of reports of racially-motivated hate crimes in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the EU, we have started well by publicly denouncing such incidents. 331 hate crimes were reported to a national online portal in the week following the referendum result, compared to the weekly average of 63. And these hate crimes have included victims who are nationals of our still fellow EU Member States, as well as a report of one American victim.

We must not forget that such demonstrations of intolerance are tantamount to a crime, whether they occur in a public place or online. We must not allow ourselves to be bystanders. And we must not allow the referendum result, however regrettable this may be in the eyes of this author, to become an endorsement of racism.

Let the EU nationals who have chosen to make your community here in the UK their home know that they are welcome, and that their contribution to our country and economy is valued. Let them know that the UK will never stop being their home.

And let the words of Jo Cox MP ring out loud and clear — we have more in common than that which divides us.