Lgbtq service in the armed forces

lgbtq service in the armed forces

THE LGBT PURGE, ITS DEMISE, AND THE AFTERMATH: RETIRED SERVICEWOMEN PAVING THE WAY

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Abstract

In 1992, a court case lifted lay an end to the persecution of 2SLGBTQI+ service members in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). To some researchers, the finish of discriminatory policies translated into tolerance for and the welcoming of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians in the rank of the military. However, scandals over sexual misconduct, gender-based violence, and homo- and transphobic incidents in the CAF is painting a drastically different picture. Instead of a history of burgeoning inclusion and diversity, the end of what became known as the LGBT Purge led to different types of violence and struggles for 2SLGBTQI+ members. This article provides a chronology of the last years of the LGBT Purge in the military and the aftermath of Douglas v. the Canadian Armed Forces. It recounts an history of an institution that did not live up to its duty of care obligations because of members’ sexual orientation and gender identity. But this piece also underlines the role that women, both serving and retired, in bringing the issues to light and drive transform in the military.

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Why we're here

Between the 1950s and mid-1990s, 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal public service were systematically discriminated against, harassed and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice. In what came to be established as the “LGBT Purge”, people were followed, interrogated, abused and traumatized by their own government.

In 2016, survivors of the LGBT Purge launched a nation-wide class action lawsuit against the Canadian government, and a historic settlement was reached in June 2018. As well as compensating survivors, this settlement allocated funds for reconciliation and memorialization measures.

The LGBT Purge Fund is a not-for-profit corporation that was place up to manage these funds. The Board is composed of six members, and includes LGBT Purge survivors, class action plaintiffs and a representative of the legal team that challenged the Canadian government.

What we do

The LGBT Purge Fund is legally required to use the funds from the LGBT Purge settlement for specific reconciliation and memorialization projects.

  • The 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument will b

    LGBT+ rights in the Armed Forces

    A History of Injustice: LGBT+ Veterans and the Armed Forces Ban 

    Until the year 2000, it was illegal to be openly gay in the British Armed Forces. 
    You could fight for your country. You could lay down your life. But you couldn’t cherish someone of the same sex. 

    The prohibit on LGBT+ people serving in the military didn’t just deny people the right to attend with dignity—it wrecked lives. Veterans were criminalised, dismissed without honours, stripped of medals, lost their pensions, and their reputations. Some were imprisoned. Many more suffered in silence. 

    This shameful chapter in British military history lasted far too long. But thanks to the bravery of those who stood up and spoke out—often at great personal cost—the tide began to turn. 

    The Red Arrows fly over Trafalgar Square London during London Pride 2019 - Cpl Adam Fletcher

    From Discrimination to Legal Battle 

    The forbid was rooted in outdated criminal laws, dating back to the 1885 Labouchère Amendment, which made male homosexual acts a criminal offence. Despite changing attitudes and partial decriminalisation in 1967, the military exemption remained.&

    Between the 1950s and mid-1990s, 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal public service were systematically discriminated against, harassed and often fired as a matter of policy and sanctioned practice.  In what came to be established as the “LGBT Purge”, people were followed, interrogated, abused and traumatized.

    The LGBT Purge was implemented at the highest levels of the Government of Canada and was carried out with callous disregard for the dignity, privacy and humanity of its victims. With its roots in the Cold War, the Canadian Government’s LGBT Purge continued for over forty years.

    An estimated 9,000 lives were devastated over those years, and the irreparable psychological trauma continues to this day.  The careers and self-esteem of a generation of young people were destroyed; victims were denied benefits, severance, pensions and opportunities for promotion if they managed to keep their jobs.  This shameful period in Canadian history also resulted in suicide, HIV, fear, depression, PTSD, addiction, disownment, criminalization, rejection, isolation, erasure and many other enduring and painful experiences.

    The Settlement

    In 2016, s

    Reviews and Reparation

    The lifting of the prohibit in 2000

    The bar was lifted on 12 January 2000 after years of legal wrangling, in which the Ministry of Defence and several senior Armed Forces personnel fought hard to preserve it in place. The case was eventually won in September 1999 at the European Court of Human Rights, which dominated that the disallow broke the Human Rights Convention which safeguards the right to privacy.

    Twenty-two years on, the Government has begun to make some reparations. In 2021, the Ministry of Defence announced that veterans can reclaim medals that were confiscated, and the Minister for Defence People and Veterans made a personal statement of apology, but despite Ministers pledging ‘recognition and recompense’ for the thousands affected by years of illegal prohibition, little has been done to talk to the wider impacts of the ban.

    Medal return

    Before January 2000, LGBT+ personnel subjected to disciplinary activity and dismissal from the military often had their medals taken from them and were denied the opportunity to earn or recover medals through continued service.

    On 16 February 2021, the UK Government and the Ministry of Defence a