The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has a rich queer history, and one that continues to grow as time goes on. With shows such as Queer as Folk, Its a Sin, Gentlemen Jack, Heartstopper and Killing Eve, the country demonstrates its vast influence within the queer media circle. And, in addition to this, with queer icons such as Elton John, David bowie, Freddie mercury, George Michael, Miriam Margolyes, Eddie Izzard.... I could go on. The UK can easily be regarded as a group of nations well known for its queer media. 
== LGBTQ+ rights in the United Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Kingdom ==
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have varied over time.
Prior to the formal introduction of Christianity in Britain in 597 AD, when Augustine of Canterbury arrived in Britain, the citizens might have been able to practice homosexuality through the Celtic, Roman and Anglo Saxon periods, though evidence is lacking: for example there are no surviving Celtic written records. Post 597 AD, Christianity and homosexuality began to clash. Same-sex male sexual activity was characterised as "sinful" but not illegal. Under the Buggery Act 1533 male anal sex was outlawed and made 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 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. Having been introduced in the 1980s, Section 28, which prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" by schools and local authorities, was repealed in 2003. Transgender people have had the ability to apply to change their legal gender since 2005. The same year, same-sex couples were granted the right to enter into a civil partnership, a similar legal structure to marriage, and also to adopt in England and Wales. Scotland later followed on adoption rights for same-sex couples in 2009, and Northern Ireland in 2013. Same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales, and Scotland in 2014, and in Northern Ireland in 2020.
In ILGA-Europe's 2015 review of LGBTI rights, the UK received the highest score in Europe, with 86% progress toward "respect of human rights and full equality" for LGBT people and 92% in Scotland alone. However, by 2020, the UK had dropped to ninth place in the ILGA-Europe rankings with a score of 66% and the executive also expressed concern about a "hostile climate on trans rights fuelled by opposition groups". Meanwhile, 86% of the UK agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center poll, and a 2017 poll showed that 77% of British people support same-sex marriage.
Around 2% of people identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual in a 2017 UK national survey, although YouGov and Stonewall argue this is likely influenced by under-reporting, and estimate that the actual figure is between 5 and 7%. The number of transgender people in the UK is estimated to be between 300,000 and 500,000 (roughly 0.5%) as of 2018. LGBT rights organisations and very large LGBT communities have been built across the UK, most notably in Brighton, which is widely regarded as the UK's unofficial "gay capital", with other large communities in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Belfast and Southampton which all have gay villages and host annual pride festivals.
== LGBTQ+ legal Jurisdiction Summary Table ==
Right 	Yes/No 	Notes
Same-sex sexual activity 	Same-sex sexual activity 	Same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity legal 	\surd 	Since 1967 (England and Wales)
Since 1981 (Scotland)
Since 1982 (Northern Ireland)
Equal age of consent (16) 	\surd 	Since 2001
Homosexuality declassified as an illness 	\surd 	
Official pardon 	\surd 	Since 2017 (England and Wales)
Since 2018 (Northern Ireland)
Since 2019 (Scotland)
Disregards available 	\surd 	Since 2012 (England and Wales)
Since 2018 (Northern Ireland)
Since 2019 (Scotland)
Same-sex relationships 	Same-sex relationships 	Same-sex relationships
Civil partnerships for same-sex couples 	\surd 	Since 2005
Civil partnerships in religious venues 	\surd 	Since 2011 (England and Wales)
Since 2014 (Scotland)
Since 2020 (Northern Ireland)
Civil and religious same-sex marriage 	\surd 	Since 2014 (England and Wales, and Scotland)
Since 2020 (Northern Ireland)
Adoption and family planning 	Adoption and family planning	Adoption and family planning
Joint and stepchild adoption for LGBT persons and same-sex couples 	\surd 	Since 2005 (England and Wales)
Since 2009 (Scotland)
Since 2013 (Northern Ireland)
Equal access to IVF for all couples and individuals 	\surd 	Since 2009
Same-sex couples as both parents on a birth certificate 	\surd 	Since 2009
Altruistic surrogacy for all couples and individuals 	\surd 	Since 2010
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples 	X 	Banned for heterosexual couples as well
Military service 	Military service 	Military service
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military 	\surd 	Since 2000
Transgender rights 	Transgender rights 	Transgender rights
Transsexualism declassified as an illness 	\surd 	Since 2002
Right to change legal gender 	\surd 	Since 2005
Right to change legal gender without having to end marriage 	\surd 	Since 2014 (England and Wales, and Scotland)
Since 2020 (Northern Ireland)
Discrimination protections 	Discrimination protections 	Discrimination protections
Anti-discrimination laws in all areas on sexual orientation and gender identity (including employment, goods and services, housing, etc.)	\surd/ X 	Since 2010 (England and Wales, and Scotland)
Only limited protections for gender identity in Northern Ireland
Laws against hate speech based on sexual orientation 	\surd 	Since 2004 (Northern Ireland)
Since 2008 (England and Wales)
Since 2009 (Scotland)
Laws against hate speech based on gender identity 	\surd/ X 	Since 2009 (Scotland)
No laws exist (England and Wales, and Northern Ireland)
Laws against inciting hatred on sexual orientation through an aggravating circumstance 	\surd 	Since 2004 (Northern Ireland)
Since 2008 (England and Wales)
Since 2009 (Scotland)
Laws against inciting hatred on gender identity through an aggravating circumstance 	\surd/X 	Since 2009 (Scotland)
No laws exist (England and Wales, and Northern Ireland)
LGBT sex education and relationships taught in schools 	\surd/X 	Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, which includes sex and relationships, became compulsory for all schools in England in September 2020, though schools in England were previously encouraged to make it compulsory starting in September 2019.
Compulsory for all schools in Scotland from 2018, and Wales from 2022
Schools in England must comply with the Equality Act 2010's Public Sector Equality Duty (2012) which includes LGBT equality
Ofsted assesses the inclusion of LGBT people in policies and the curriculum
MSMs allowed to donate blood 	\surd 	Since 2021
Conversion therapy 	\surd/X 	Pending at legislative level since 2018. Banned by the NHS and all major counselling and psychotherapy bodies in Great Britain (but not in Northern Ireland).
Immigration rights 	Immigration rights 	Immigration rights
Immigration equality and rights for LGBT individuals and same-sex couples 	\surd 	Since 2006
Recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity for asylum requests 	\surd/X 	Guidelines not applied consistently
Some cases recognised since 1999 including that of HJ and HT v Home Secretary
Plans for guidance on asylum claims brought on by sexual orientation but not gender identity
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Category:Country page
Category:UK
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