Claire Dickson

Northern Ireland has a history of approaching same-sex relationships from a conservative perspective, to say the least. Where England, Wales and Scotland legalised gay marriage in 2014, in Northern Ireland gay marriage was only legalised in 2020. It, therefore, may not come as a surprise that homosexuality was deemed a crime punishable by life imprisonment in this country until 1982.

As we approach the 40-year mark since homosexuality became decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 1981, it is a cause for jubilation. It is also a potent time to reflect on how far we have come, and where we could still work to make NI a more equal place for not just homosexual people, but all LGBTQ+ people.

Northern Ireland was a very different place in 1981, and considering the efforts of various campaigns defined by hostility, such as Ian Paisley’s ‘save Ulster from Sodomy’, and a police force opposed to social change, it was a huge achievement that Northern Ireland joined the rest of the UK in revoking a ban on same-sex sexual activity between men. They were the last region of the UK to do so, with the Sexual Offence Act for England and Wales having been passed in 1967, and the Criminal Justice Act being passed in Scotland in 1980.

The man at the forefront of this drastic shift in policy was Jeffrey Dudgeon, a member of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association (NIGRA). His landmark court case on the injustice of the law gave rise to the fact it was a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights and forced the UK government to consider the implications of one of its member states being party to this.

With this turbulent history being highlighted for the LGBTQ+ community in 2021, it was deemed obligatory to mark the occasion and the changing times that came with it, as events including the lighting up of City Hall in rainbow colours and an interview with Dudgeon were organised.

To commemorate the occasion, speeches were made by leaders within the LGBTQ+ movement like trans woman Karen McShane, whose transgender journey was explored through the 2019 Channel 4 documentary, ‘The Making of Me’, and Jude Copeland, who founded and won the campaign to erect a statue of gay rights campaigner Mark Ashton in Portrush. These served to give timely perspectives into the importance of continuing to advocate LGBTQ+ rights, especially transgender rights, as individuals continue to be victims of traumatic incidents and violence.

Here NI, a charity that supports lesbian and bisexual women in NI, acknowledged the success and importance of the commemorations in facilitating advertising of the events and appraising their recognition of how far NI has come.

It goes without saying that there is still room for progress. In Dudgeon’s view, despite its easement as time goes on, violence against gay men, lesbians and trans people remain a problem in NI which is exacerbated if people have been drinking in excess.

Unfortunately, recent statistics confirm this reality. Between 2013 and 2017 there were on average 290 anti-LGBTQ+ hate-motivated incidents and crimes in NI. Conversion therapy is also still legal and practised in Northern Ireland It is a coercive pseudo-therapy that attempts to change a person’s sexuality, and causes individuals subjected to it lasting mental health issues. The ongoing dispute over outlawing coercive conversion therapy has proved a major burden on the LGBTQ+ community with the Assembly abdicating its responsibility to allow NI’s inclusion in the legislation.

Whilst we have obviously come a long way since legalising homosexuality in 1981, and it is important to commemorate this 40-year mark, it is clear that there is still a lot of work to be done surrounding advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.

Claire Dickson is a Culture Reporter and Politics student at Queen’s University Belfast.

Celebrating 40 years of homosexuality decriminalisation in Northern Ireland: Where do we go from here?