24 August, 201429 August, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Media links: Liberate Jersey group formed

Jersey Evening Post: Friday 22 August 2014

Channel Television: Friday 22 August 2014

BBC Radio Jersey: Friday 22 August 2014

Channel 103fm: Friday 22 Augusts 2014

Channel Island equality charity Liberate is pleased to announce that its Jersey branch is now up and running.

The Jersey branch of Liberate held its first meeting on 19 August 2014. Amongst other issues, the meeting discussed the forthcoming draft of the sex discrimination law, the equal marriage and partnership consultation that was launched on 20 August 2014 and the need for a social focus for LGBTQ people in Jersey since the closure of the island’s last gay nightspot a number of years ago.

Liberate was formed in February 2014 in Guernsey and it was always the intention that there should also be a Jersey branch of the charity. Liberate Chairman, Martin Gavet, is thrilled that the charity is now truly pan-island.

“We are delighted at the news that a Jersey branch of Liberate has been established. In the short time since Liberate was founded in February 2014, we have achieved a lot for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) communities within the Channel Islands.

“We have already met with both Chief Ministers in Guernsey and Jersey about reform of laws and policies to ensure that our islands treat everyone fairly and equally under the law in dignity and rights. We are committed to uniting communities across the islands, and are an inclusive and apolitical charity.

“We do not discriminate on grounds of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, disability or belief. It is great that Jersey now has formed a branch of Liberate to help to support the LGBTQ community in our sister-isle. This is a shining example of how the islands can work together on important issues affecting Channel Islanders’ daily lives”.

Co-ordinator for Liberate’s Jersey group, Vic Tanner Davy, said:

“We are looking forward to working with the committee in Guernsey on issues that affect both islands, such as the provision of LGBTQ care in old age, and educational programmes that can be delivered in schools in Jersey and Guernsey. LGBTQ rights have come a long way but there is still work to do as demonstrated by the two big political consultations that are happening currently that directly affect our community.

“We also want to provide support to those who may be questioning their sexuality and one of the ways to do that is to create a safe social space. To start to grow that initiative, we are planning a social event on 20 September 2014 at Ce Soir to try to bring back some of the community spirit that used to exist when Cosmopolitan was a social hub where people who were just coming out could go and feel safe.

“There are a lot of positive things happening for LGBTQ people in the islands at the moment from Jersey Pride to the equal marriage and partnership consultation that was launched today. It feels like the right moment for Jersey and Guernsey’s LGBTQ communities to work together to support these initiatives and to make the change happen that we want to see.”

Details of the Ce Soir event can be found on Facebook.

Liberate Jersey can be contacted at hello@liberate.gg

17 June, 201420 August, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Open letter to all States of Jersey members from Liberate

This is the full version of Liberate‘s excellent letter to all members of the States of Jersey on the subject of Deputy Sam Mézec’s proposition:

I write on behalf of LIBERATE in support of Deputy Sam Mézec’s proposition lodged at the States Greffe on Wednesday 28 May 2014 petitioning the States of Jersey to introduce equal marriage in the Bailiwick of Jersey.

LIBERATE is the first Channel Island charity to support the islands’ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Community (LGBTQ).

Who we are

Liberate is an inclusive Group, which welcomes people irrespective of sexual orientation, gender identity, religious belief, race, gender or disability. We are a local charity and were founded on 15 February 2014 in Guernsey.

Liberate is made up of a virtual rainbow of people from every different gender and sexual identity you could possibly think of. With such a diverse background we can operate on many different levels as we all bring something different to the group.

Our vision

Our vision is simple. We believe in a Fair & Equal society, where everyone is born equal and free, and treated with dignity and respect no matter what their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, belief or race.

Article 1 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states: “All people are born free & equal in dignity and rights”.

Children do not know racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, unless they are taught it and government has a responsibility to ensure that it sends a clear message to communities that discrimination in all its forms is not acceptable.

Our purpose

The purpose of Liberate is to educate and inform on a wide range of issues and to support those who identify as LGBTQ, their families and friends.

We campaign to reform some of Guernsey’s policies and laws to ensure that LGBTQ people can enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. We also lend our support to the LGBTQ community in Jersey and are affiliated to Trans*Jersey.

We question social attitudes and behaviours which discriminate against LGBTQ people, and offer advice and help in tackling homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, etc.

Our aims

We will petition and work with government to:

Introduce Equal Marriage Legislation
Give transgender people full access to services to allow them to transition to their gender identity
Introduce anti-discriminatory legislation or an Equality Act which addresses homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime
Reform laws and policies such as income tax legislation to ensure that they are non-discriminatory

Since our website www.liberate.gg was launched we have had over 1,000 signatures in support of equal marriage in the islands. We have also achieved one of our aims in Guernsey of having transgender reassignment surgery funded by the States of Guernsey. We also:

Support the local Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning community, their families, friends and carers through a wide range of initiatives.
Educate and inform society through outreach and Public Awareness campaigns.
Fight to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law, and that no-one is left behind.
Challenge discrimination in all its forms in our daily lives, whether it is working in a voluntary capacity for Liberate, at work, socially, etc. We will not be bystanders.
Act as Ambassadors for Equality and Diversity in our daily lives.
Work with other organisations, charities and non-governmental organisations to promote equality and fairness in our society and facilitate positive change in social policy.
Respect the dignity and rights of others at all times, whether we have differences of opinion or belief, or not.

The Free & Equal Campaign

The United Nations Human Rights Commission recently launched its Free & Equal Campaign which is partly aimed at world governments to ensure that they do not actively discriminate through legislation and policy, as well as encouraging the LGBTQ community to speak out and have a voice.

The LGBTQ community have historically been persecuted, tortured and executed[1]. Indeed 81 countries still classify homosexuality as a criminal offence. It is only in recent history that it was decriminalised in our society, and not until the early 1990’s that the World Health Organisation declassified homosexuality as a disease. We hope that you can therefore appreciate how difficult it is for the LGBTQ community to be visible and speak out against social injustice.

Deputy Mézec’s Proposition

Deputy Mézec’s proposition is an important step for Jersey in ensuring that each and every one of its citizens are free and equal in dignity and rights.

Jersey recently made an important step in terms of tackling discrimination with the introduction of its Discrimination Law. We see the introduction of equal marriage in Jersey as a natural progressive step towards that goal. Failure to do so will deny approximately 10% of the population the right to marry, and be totally at odds with Jersey’s current social policy in terms of discrimination.

Guernsey’s Chief Minister has already assured LIBERATE that he will bring a report to the States of Guernsey before the end of this political term proposing the introduction of a Union Civile for all couples who wish to marry. Under the proposed law, it will be the choice of those getting married whether they chose to then have a blessing or humanist celebration.

We hope Jersey does the same.

The England and Wales Equal Marriage Act caused problems for transgender people over the so-called Spousal Veto. It allows their spouse to refuse to permit them to have a Gender Reassignment Certificate, which would convert the marriage from opposite-sex to same-sex. We prefer the Scottish Same Sex Marriage Law of 2014 model which overcomes that “veto”.

Winning Hearts and Minds

LIBERATE acknowledges that changing laws and policies is only part of the solution to changing societal attitudes towards the LGBTQ community.

Together we must win the hearts and minds of those who through ignorance, intolerance, and hatred, discriminate against various sections of our community. It is that intolerance which can divide families, friends and colleagues, and damage the very fabric of our society, with consequential harm to individuals and cost to government and other third party agencies. The LGBTQ community is widely acknowledged to be twice at risk of harm of anxiety, depression, substance misuse, self harm and suicide because of the affects that prejudicial attitudes have.

Changing laws and policies sends out a very clear signal to society of what is acceptable and what behaviours are not.

Our commitment to the States of Jersey is that we will work and co-operate with government locally in terms of ensuring that the universal principle of fairness and equality for all applies within our islands. Whether it be in changing laws and policies, or helping States departments in developing social policy strategies which promote equality and inclusion and celebrate the importance of diversity.

We ask you to vote “Pour” in favour of Deputy Mézec’s proposition.

Yours faithfully
Martin Gavet
Hon. Chairperson
LIBERATE

[1] Including an estimated 100,000 LGBTQ people who were victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

The JEP report from Tuesday 17 June 2014:

30 May, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Really equal marriage: the Union Civile

This week Guernsey moved a step closer to equal marriage with a clever proposal for a Union Civile law that would remove religion from laws related to marriage. You can read more about the story here or visit Liberate’s website for more information about the work they have been doing.

The proposed law would mean that all those who wanted to marry would do so in a civil ceremony. Thus, in one bold stroke, all marriages between two people, irrespective of their sex or gender, would be equal in Guernsey. The ability to legally marry a couple would be removed from religious organisations, which would also remove the knotty question for people of faith as to whether their church should “allow” same-sex marriage.

Under the proposal, there would be nothing to stop a couple celebrating their wedding through a religious service after they had legally tied the knot civilly. Under current EU legislation, there is no means by which a religious organisation could be forced to offer a celebratory service to a same-sex couple if it is against their religious beliefs. This should satisfy the churches that the legislation does not stop them from celebrating marriages as they understand them in the way that they wish.

Trans* Jersey stated that we would be in favour of adopting the Scottish model for same-sex marriage legislation, but this new development from Guernsey is even better. It does away with the UK system of two laws, one for opposite-sex couples and one for same-sex couples, in favour of one law for everyone.

We are in favour of adopting Guernsey’s proposal here in Jersey as it would solve the problem that trans people have when they transition within a marriage. Under Guernsey’s proposal, the marriage stays intact and the transition has no effect on its status. This also resolves the problem, perceived by some, that a person’s transition alters or diminishes the partnership somehow. Under this proposal, there is no alteration of the partnership and, therefore, the spouse has no reason to require a veto to stop their partner’s transition.

Deputy Sam Mezec lodged a proposition with the States of Jersey this week to debate same-sex marriage in July. We will have to wait for more news on what Jersey’s proposed legislation will look like, but Trans* Jersey hopes that it will resemble Guernsey’s forward-thinking and elegantly simple proposal.

19 May, 2014 Trans* Jersey

Liberate-Trans* Jersey affiliation

Trans* Jersey is very pleased to be able to announce that, as of today, we are affiliated to Liberate and are working with them on various issues, including their campaign to achieve equal marriage. Although Liberate are based in Guernsey and we are based in Jersey, both groups are of the opinion that our common aims make working together a sensible strategy to achieving legislative change in the islands.

Liberate is a Guernsey registered charity established in 2014 to include, inform and support the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) community in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Liberate’s aims are as follows:

The purpose of Liberate is to educate and Inform on a wide range of LGBTQ issues and to support those who identify as LGBTQ, their families and friends.
We will campaign to reform some of Guernsey’s policies to ensure that LGBTQ people can enjoy the same freedoms as everyone else in the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
We are hoping to question social attitudes and behaviours which discriminate against LGBTQ people, and offer advice and help in tackling homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, etc.
We will challenge the States of Guernsey and politicians on a wide range of current discriminatory laws and policies, to ensure that LGBTQ people will, one day, be treated equally.
Liberate is an inclusive Group, which welcomes people irrespective of or sexual orientation, gender identity, religious belief,race, gender or disability.

Liberate are currently campaigning to petition the chief ministers in Jersey and Guernsey to “End LGBTQ discrimination in the Channel Islands NOW!”. If you have not yet signed their petition, you can do so here.

Click Liberate’s logo below to find out more about who they are and what they do.