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Stonewall held the premiere of FIT at the Soho Curzon in London. FIT is a film being sent to every school to tackle homophobic bullying, it is the first of its kind.

The Mayor of London has welcomed the initiative. Boris Johnson said, "Homophobic bullying is not only distressing, it can have tragic consequences, so I am pleased to have been able to put funding into Stonewall’s new film for schools. I hope it will help to increase teachers' confidence to tackle the problem in secondary schools and this in turn will encourage young people to report incidents. This resource should go some way in fostering an environment in which homophobic bullying is recognised as being utterly unacceptable and doesn't occur in the first place.”

FIT is an intelligent, powerful and entertaining film. The storyline uses hip-hop, humour, colourful Adidas tracksuits and lively writing similar to Channel 4’s Skins to communicate with pupils in a way that makes it easy for them to engage with the issues raised. 

Read more: Boris Welcomes Anti-Homophobic Schools Film

Politics

Gay humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust has reacted angrily to the statements made by the Pope concerning his impending visit to the UK.

Referring to the UK's commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society, the Pope has said, "The effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed."

The PTT's secretary, George Broadhead, commented, "This is a thinly veiled attack on the anti-discrimination legislation concerning LGBT people. His claim that our equality laws undermine religious freedom suggests that he supports the right of churches to discriminate in accordance with their religious ethos. He seems to be defending discrimination by religious institutions and demanding that they should be above the law.

Read more: Angry Reaction to Homophobic Pope

Health

Last year The National Blood Service received 2.1 million donations from about 1.6 million donors. Although that sounds a lot, it reflects only 4% of the population, giving two or three times a year.

The NHS needs a constant supply of 7,000 units of blood each day for hospitals across the UK, this equates to at least 2.5 million donations every year, leading to a deficit of 400,000 units of blood each year.

Members of the free gay dating website ManCentral.com were asked if they would donate blood if they were not restricted by the policies of the National Blood Service. An overwhelming 77% of respondents said they would donate blood if they were permitted to do so. Of the 23% who said no, various reasons were provided such as a fear of needles, previous blood transfusions or other family medical conditions such as CJD.

Read more: 3 out of 4 Gay Men Would Donate Blood If ‘Allowed’

Politics

Victim Support has, for the first time, been voted one of the 100 most gay-friendly employers in the UK by gay rights charity Stonewall.

The national charity came 92nd overall, climbing 84 places from last year, and is one of only four third sector organisations to make it into the top 100. With its commitment to diversity, the charity is determined to make a similar leap again next year.

Natasha Broomfield-Reid, Victim Support’s Head of Equality and Diversity, said: “Entering Stonewall’s top 100 for the first time shows that we really are putting our diversity statement – ‘Diversity matters and we value it’ - into practice. This is great news for everyone in our charity – both the LGBT staff and volunteers who value working here and everyone who has helped created a positive environment for them. We’re absolutely determined to make it even higher up the list next year and to make similar progress in every other area of diversity.”

Read more: Victim Support Join Gay Friendly Employer List

Your News

The Justin Campaign, a campaign launched in memory of Justin Fashanu, the world’s first and only out gay professional football player; is to launch an international day opposing homophobia in football – Football vs Homophobia on February 19th 2010.

The days intention is to raise awareness of the prevalence of homophobia in the worlds favourite sport and to encourage national clubs to show their support for the cause by adopting the initiatives logo for the day and to include messages that support the cause and condemn the use of homophobic language and abuse in match day programmes.

This initiative comes to light just weeks after The Justin Campaign became part of a coalition with the TUC (trade union congress) the PFA (professional footballers association) KickItOut  (the FA’s equality and inclusion campaign) PrideSports (The UK’s only LGBT sports development company) & Schoolsout (an organisation fighting for LGBT equality in education) to take forward an independent campaign against homophobia in football. 

Read more: Campaign Against Homophobia in Football

Your News

Stonewall has publishes its Top 100 Employers 2010, showcasing Britain's best employers for gay staff.

It names IBM as the best place to work in 2010 for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. In second place is Hampshire Constabulary and Ernst & Young comes third.

Ernst & Young wins the award for Employee Network Group of the Year and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is named Most Improved Employer.

The Index is based on a range of key indicators which this year included the largest ever survey of lesbian, gay and bisexual employees, with over 7,000 participants. This consistently revealed that staff satisfaction levels were highest at the top ranking organisations in the Index. Gay staff working at the top 25 workplaces reported a satisfaction level almost 10 per cent higher than workplaces outside the Top 100. Staff were also more likely to disclose their sexual orientation in monitoring exercises at the highest ranking organisations.

This is the second time in four years that IBM has been named the most gay-friendly employer. Their success reflects the effectiveness of continual improvement as the minimum score to win a place on the 2010 Top 100 was ten per cent higher.

Read more: IBM tops list of gay-friendly employers

Health

Most gay men use condoms most of the time. However, when having sex with men they believe to have the same HIV status as them, some men don’t. Many gay men become infected with HIV in this way, which is why GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, is launching its new booklet, “Let’s Talk Sex”. The booklet provides information and advice on keeping the sex you have safe and fun, whether it is with casual partners, sex buddies or a long-term boyfriend.

 ‘Let’s Talk Sex’ is aimed at both HIV-negative and HIV-positive gay men. It includes information and advice on avoiding risks with casual partners and sex buddies, coming up with a plan to stay safe in relationships and talking openly about safer sex with your partners.

Matthew Hodson, Head of Programmes at GMFA, says: “There is still no cure for HIV. Sex without condoms with someone because you think they have the same HIV status as you may seem safe, but this is how most gay men become infected. It’s easy to make the wrong assumption about a guy you meet in a bar, sauna or online - and it’s just as easy to put you and your partner at risk if you are in a monogamous relationship. ‘Let’s Talk Sex’ gives practical advice and information for all gay men, whether they are positive or negative, in a relationship or having casual sex.”

Read more: Let's Talk Sex!

Politics

Amnesty International has published a new 21-page briefing on the alarming ‘anti-homosexuality’ Bill which is currently before the Ugandan Parliament and due to be debated during January. The bill proposes death penalty for consensual gay sex, forced HIV testing and ‘Clause 28’ type measures.

The briefing finds that the objective of the Bill is to institutionalise discrimination against gay people in Uganda. The briefing summarises the key proposals in the Bill which are: 

* the reinforcement of the existing prohibition of consensual sex between individuals of the same sex 
* the criminalisation of the “promotion” of homosexuality, akin to ‘Clause 28’ as once existed in the UK 
* forcible HIV testing in certain circumstances 
* life sentences for entering into a same-sex marriage 
* the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” - this new offence is defined as having gay sex with someone who is under 18; having gay sex if you are living with HIV/AIDS; being a ‘serial offender’ in having gay sex   

Read more: Anti-gay Bill Threat to Gay Community