page_title: LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
section_title: Military service
hierarchical_section_title: LGBT rights in the United Kingdom / Military service
caption_attribution_description: English: Pride in London 2016 - Army
context_page_description: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have evolved dramatically over time.
  Before and during the formation of the United Kingdom, Christianity and homosexuality were seen to clash. Same-sex sexual activity was characterised as "sinful" and, under the Buggery Act 1533, was outlawed and punishable by death. LGBT rights first came to prominence following the decriminalisation of sexual activity between men, in 1967 in England and Wales, and later in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sexual activity between women was never subject to the same legal restriction.
  Since the turn of the 21st century, LGBT rights have increasingly strengthened in support. Some discrimination protections had existed for LGBT people since 1999, but were extended to all areas under the Equality Act 2010. A ban on LGBT individuals serving openly in the the armed forces was officially lifted in 2016, though a policy of non-enforcement had been in place since 2000. The age of consent was equalised at 16, regardless of sexual orientation, in 2001.
context_section_description: LGBT people have been allowed to serve openly in Her Majesty's Armed Forces since 2000, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been forbidden since 2010. It is also forbidden for someone to pressure LGBT people to come out. All personnel are subject to the same rules against intolerance, bullying and sexual harassment, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. The British military also recognises civil partnerships and grants same-sex couples the same rights to allowances and housing as opposite-sex couples.
  The British military actively recruits LGBT people and have deployed recruiting teams to many Pride events: the Royal Navy advertises for recruits in gay magazines and has allowed gay sailors to hold civil partnership ceremonies on board ships and, since 2006, to march in full naval uniform at gay pride marches; British Army and Royal Air Force personnel could march but had to wear civilian clothes until 2008, now all military personnel are permitted to attend such marches in uniform.
  The current policy was accepted at the lower ranks first, with many senior officers worrying for their troops without a modern acceptance of homosexuality that their personnel had grown up with. One Brigadier resigned but with little impact. Since the change, support at the senior level has grown. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff (head of the Army), told members of the Army-sponsored Fourth Joint Conference on LGBT Matters that homosexuals were welcome to serve in the Army. In a speech to the conference in 2008, the first of its kind by any Army chief, General Sir Richard said that respect for LGBT officers and soldiers was now "a command responsibility" and was vital for "operational effectiveness."
  The British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy now require all recruits to undergo Equality and Diversity training as part of their Military Annual Training Tests and stress tolerance, specifically citing homosexual examples in training videos, in line with Army, Navy and RAF Core Values and Standards, including "Respect for Others" and "Appropriate Behaviour."
  In 2009, on the tenth anniversary of the change of law that permitted homosexuality in the Armed Forces, newspapers reported that the lifting of the ban had no perceivable impact on the operational effectiveness on the military. The anniversary was widely celebrated, including in the Army's in-house publication Soldier Magazine, with a series of articles including the July 2009 cover story and newspapers articles.
  In 2015, following the fifteenth anniversary, the Ministry of Defence announced changes to its monitoring process for new recruits and added sexuality to their equal opportunities monitoring process.
caption: Members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces marching at the 2016 Pride in London parade
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