Press Release: Croydon celebrates IDAHO – the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

6 May 2012

Croydon’s LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans) communities are putting on three events on Thursday 17th May for IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

At 10:45am on the 17th, Croydon Area Gay Society (CAGS) will celebrate IDAHO by gathering at Queen Victoria’s Statue outside Croydon Clocktower in Katharine Street. With “oratory and song” the event will send loyal greetings to Queen Elizabeth on her diamond jubilee. It will also draw her attention as Head of the Commonwealth to the fact that 41 out of 54 member countries still oppress, discriminate and in some circumstances harshly treat LGBT people, not for any crime committed, but just for being who they are. Croydon Community Choir will sing in solidarity with the aims of IDAHO. The songs chosen are “Amazing Pride” and “Jerusalem”.

From 3pm onwards, The Bridge, Croydon’s LGBT Youth Club, will have an outreach event in North End, in conjunction with Croydon Drop In, to raise awareness of homophobia and transphobia.

At 8pm, CAGS will be holding a panel discussion and debate on Same-Sex Marriage, at The Unitarian Church, Croydon Flyover. The discussion will focus on the points raised by the Government’s current consultation on extending marriage to same-sex couples. The meeting will be chaired by Rev Art Lester, Minister of the Croydon Unitarians. The panel members will be:

• Sarah Brown, Cambridge councillor and number 28 in the Independent on Sunday’s Pink List – from a trans perspective
• Martin Prendergast, gay activist – from a Roman Catholic perspective
• Chris Eldridge, whose late partner was a priest – from an Anglican perspective
• Alan Wakeman, writer and artist, gay activist from Gay Liberation Front days.

The date of the 17th of May was chosen to mark the declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder by the World Health Organisation in 1990.  IDAHO is now celebrated in 70 countries worldwide and is recognised by many governments, including the United Kingdom.

For full details of these events, plus a full list of forthcoming LGBT events in and around Croydon, see http://lgbt-croydon.org.uk/events.

For more about Sarah Brown, see http://lgbthistoryuk.org/wiki/index.php?title=Sarah_Brown.

For a relevant article by Martin Prendergast, see www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/apr/28/gay-marriage-catholic

For more about Alan Wakeman, see www.awakeman.co.uk/Exit/biography.htm.

For more about Croydon Area Gay Society, see www.cags.org.uk, or contact info@cags.org.uk or 07827 397 817.

For more about The Bridge, contact 07540 722171.

For more about IDAHO in the UK, see www.idahouk.org/ or www.dayagainsthomophobia.org/spip.php?page=fiche&id_mot=57&lang=en.

End

This press release is also available at www.cags.org.uk/pressrel-2012-04.htm.