Homosexuality in Britain: Legal but Accepted?

LONDON, June 2, 2009 — -- Britain is among the countries that are most tolerant of gays and lesbians and the U.K. scores highly on legal protection as attitudes shift on homosexuality and legislation varies widely across the globe.

But Lucy Horn, a student at St. Andrews University in Scotand, said she and her girlfriend know better than to lower their radar, even in an area she described as tolerant.

"Whenever we and another party are interested in a property, it's always the others who get it, despite both me and my girlfriend having really good references," she said. "This has happened about four times now. It might just be chance, but I read more into it than that."

And no matter how many anti-discrimination laws the country adopts, she said, some people, "whatever their reasons, seem to be increasingly scathing of gays being awarded equal or similar rights to heterosexual couples."

Still, when in comes to legal protections, gay Londoner Fabio Palmero, who works in advertising, said, "I'm grateful for the laws. They create a moral code. Even if you don't act on it, the fact that you have rights protects you and gives a message to other people."

It is a criminal offense in Britain to discriminate against someone because of their sexual orientation, or what may be perceived as their sexual orientation. The law covers workplace issues such as recruitment, terms and conditions, pay and benefits, training, promotion and transfers, as well as redundancy and dismissal.

The law also protects against harassment and victimization, which applies to intentional or unintentional bullying, and general disrespect, such as homophobic jokes. Such harassment is unacceptable in any work-related environment, including an office party or a work excursion, as well as in the office itself.

Legal protection against homophobia covers associations, too, which means a person can file a lawsuit against someone who makes a homophobic comment behind the back of a friend or colleague. It is also illegal to treat a person less favorably after he or she complains or is involved in a complaint.

The only exception to sexual-orientation discrimination is if the employer can show that a job has to be done by someone of a particular orientation. An organization promoting gay rights, for example, might require its company ambassador to be gay. One is not, however, legally required to disclose his or her sexual orientation to a British employer, either for monitoring purposes or for an equal opportunities questionnaire.

The British army once played a role in sexual-orientation discrimination. It was not until the European Court of Human Rights raised awareness in the year 2000 to what it called a "grave interference" into the private lives of individuals that the ban on gays and lesbians in the armed forces was lifted.

It took eight more years for the army to actively recruit gays and lesbians. In October 2008, Gen. Sir Richard Dannatt spoke at the army-sponsored Fourth Joint Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Matters to publicly welcome them to serve in the army.

Such recognition was a long way from the time when the special investigation branch of the Royal Military Police tracked down gay and lesbian service personnel to either discipline them, or to discharge them for breach of military law.

The United States still abides by former President Clinton's "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy, which prohibits gays and lesbians from speaking about their sexual orientation while serving in the United States armed forces.