English: LGBT history month gives us the opportunity to look back and reflect on the progress made in advancing equality for LGBT+ people.As other speakers have noted, 2017 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the publication of the Wolfenden report, and the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, decriminalising sexual acts in private between two men. And in remembering both events, we can bear witness to the importance of this year's theme of icons and allies, noting the role played by John Wolfenden, Leo Abse and Lord Arran. Of course, the Sexual Offences Act 1967 was part of that transformation in social attitudes that took place during the first Wilson Government, and I am proud to be able to stand here today as a Labour AM when so many of the advances in LGBT equality have taken place as a direct result of the intervention of Labour Governments. The record of the Blair and Brown Governments are especially impressive, with achievements including: the equalised age of consent; civil partnerships; adoption rights; banning discrimination in the workplace and access to goods and services; ending the ban on LGBT people serving in the armed forces and section 28; fertility rights for lesbians; rights for trans people to have their gender recognised in law; action against hate crimes; and the critically important Equality Act 2010. I am equally proud of the role played in moving forward the LGBT rights agenda by the National Union of Miners and its members in south Wales. I am sure that many of us here will have seen the film 'Pride' - and if you haven't, I would urge you to watch it - which shows the remarkable way in which two communities, alienated and marginalised by Thatcher's Government, supported each other. That final scene, with the 1985 London Gay Pride march being joined by miners from Aberdare, the Phurnacite plant and Mountain Ash, all within my own constituency, captures the way in which both groups had come together to support one another. I also want to draw today on my experiences as a secondary school teacher. There was a significant pastoral element to my role, and this could at times involve dealing with and supporting students coming to terms with their sexuality, and facing the dilemma of whether or not to come out in what could be a highly charged and highly challenging school environment. Challenges could come from peers, from parents and other family members, but students and young people may also struggle to accept themselves and their own sexual identity, let alone face having to seek the support and approbation of those around them. Stonewall Cymru did some work a few years ago highlighting some worrying statistics around homophobic incidents that had been experienced by LGBT young people, and although I am glad to say that I didn't personally witness any homophobic bullying during my teaching career, Stonewall also refers to the sense of isolation LGBT young people may feel. So, how can we tackle this? It is really important that schools teach acceptance of sexuality through their personal and social education programmes, and I fully support what Dawn Bowden said earlier about teachers needing more support and training in order to deliver those kinds of lessons appropriately. It's also important that schools have stringent anti-bullying policies in place, and that sufficient support is provided to teachers and other school staff so they're able to support young people during what can be a very difficult time. There may also be opportunities in the work the Welsh Government is doing now around teacher training and Successful Futures, and I hope that this can be fully investigated. It is also important that we offer our young people positive LGBT role models, and I hope that the Members for Delyn, Neath and Carmarthen East won't mind me welcoming their important role in this regard, although it is a shame that it's taken 17 years for the Welsh Assembly to elect its first openly LGBT AMs, and also sad that we still lag behind both the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments with regard to that representation. Other LGBT role models may be found across all walks of life, many of them covered by the icons element of today's exhibition and many of whom are emblematic of the changes in attitude we've witnessed during the past few decades. Data from the 2016 Welsh election study did show that some unacceptable hostility to LGBT people still remains, but this was vastly outnumbered by those having favourable attitudes. Some important work done by my former student Jac Larner, now of the Wales Governance Centre, showed that younger people displayed overwhelmingly more favourable attitudes towards LGBT people than their older cohorts. This must give us great encouragement for the future of our nation, but as Ivor Novello, one of the icons celebrated today, said: Things which do not require effort of some sort are seldom worth having.' Improving equality and eliminating discrimination do indeed take effort, and they are very definitely worth having.
Welsh: Mae mis hanes LHDT yn rhoi cyfle i edrych yn ôl a myfyrio ar y cynnydd a wnaed yn hyrwyddo cydraddoldeb i bobl LHDT+. Fel y nododd siaradwyr eraill, mae 2017 yn nodi 60 mlynedd ers cyhoeddi adroddiad Wolfenden, a 50 mlynedd ers pasio Deddf Troseddau rhywiol 1967 yn dad-droseddoli gweithredoedd rhywiol yn breifat rhwng dau ddyn. Ac wrth gofio'r ddau ddigwyddiad, gallwn dystio i bwysigrwydd thema eleni o eiconau a chyfeillion, gan nodi'r rôl a chwaraewyd gan John Wolfenden, Leo Abse a'r Arglwydd Arran. Wrth gwrs, roedd Deddf Troseddau Rhywiol 1967 yn rhan o'r trawsnewid agweddau cymdeithasol a ddigwyddodd yn ystod Llywodraeth gyntaf Wilson, ac rwy'n falch o allu sefyll yma heddiw fel AC Llafur pan fo cymaint o'r datblygiadau ym maes cydraddoldeb LHDT wedi digwydd o ganlyniad uniongyrchol i ymyrraeth Llywodraethau Llafur. Mae record llywodraethau Blair a Brown yn arbennig o drawiadol, gyda llwyddiannau'n cynnwys: oedran cydsynio cyfartal; partneriaethau sifil; hawliau mabwysiadu; gwahardd gwahaniaethu yn y gweithle a mynediad at nwyddau a gwasanaethau; rhoi diwedd ar y gwaharddiad ar bobl LHDT rhag gwasanaethu yn y lluoedd arfog a chymal 28; hawliau ffrwythlondeb i bobl lesbiaidd; hawliau i bobl drawsrywiol gael eu rhywedd wedi'i gydnabod yn y gyfraith; gweithredu yn erbyn troseddau casineb; ac yn hollbwysig, Deddf Cydraddoldeb 2010. Rwyf yr un mor falch o'r rôl a chwaraewyd yn symud agenda hawliau LHDT yn ei blaen gan Undeb Cenedlaethol y Glowyr a'i aelodau yn ne Cymru. Rwy'n siŵr fod llawer ohonom yma wedi gweld y ffilm 'Pride' - ac os nad ydych, rwy'n eich annog i'w gwylio - sy'n dangos y ffordd ryfeddol y gwnaeth dwy gymuned, a ddieithriwyd ac a ymyleiddiwyd gan Lywodraeth Thatcher, gefnogi ei gilydd. Mae'r olygfa derfynol honno, gyda glowyr o Aberdâr, y ffatri phurnacite ac Aberpennar i gyd yn fy etholaeth fy hun yn ymuno â gorymdaith Gay Pride Llundain, yn cyfleu'r ffordd yr oedd y ddau grŵp wedi dod at ei gilydd i gefnogi ei gilydd. Rwyf hefyd yn awyddus i sôn heddiw am fy mhrofiadau fel athrawes ysgol uwchradd. Roedd elfen fugeiliol sylweddol i fy rôl, a gallai hyn ar adegau gynnwys ymdrin â myfyrwyr a'u cynorthwyo i ddod i delerau â'u rhywioldeb, ac wynebu'r cyfyng-gyngor a ddylent ddod allan ai peidio yn yr hyn a allai fod yn amgylchedd ysgol anodd a heriol iawn. Gallai heriau ddod gan gyfoedion, gan rieni ac aelodau eraill o'r teulu, ond gall myfyrwyr a phobl ifanc gael trafferth hefyd i dderbyn eu hunaniaeth rywiol eu hunain, heb sôn am wynebu gorfod sicrhau cefnogaeth a derbyniad y bobl o'u cwmpas. Gwnaeth Stonewall Cymru beth gwaith ychydig flynyddoedd yn ôl yn tynnu sylw at ystadegau pryderus yn ymwneud â digwyddiadau homoffobaidd yr oedd pobl ifanc LHDT wedi'u profi, ac er fy mod yn falch o ddweud nad oeddwn yn dyst i unrhyw fwlio homoffobig yn bersonol yn ystod fy ngyrfa addysgu, mae Stonewall yn cyfeirio hefyd at yr ymdeimlad o arwahanrwydd y gallai pobl ifanc LHDT ei deimlo. Felly, sut y gallwn fynd i'r afael â hyn? Mae'n bwysig iawn fod ysgolion yn addysgu derbyniad o rywioldeb drwy eu rhaglenni addysg bersonol a chymdeithasol, a chefnogaf yn llwyr yr hyn a ddywedodd Dawn Bowden yn gynharach am athrawon sydd angen mwy o gymorth a hyfforddiant er mwyn cyflawni'r mathau hynny o wersi yn briodol. Mae hefyd yn bwysig i ysgolion sicrhau bod ganddynt bolisïau gwrth-fwlio llym ar waith, a bod digon o gefnogaeth yn cael ei rhoi i athrawon a staff eraill yr ysgol fel eu bod yn gallu cefnogi pobl ifanc yn ystod yr hyn a all fod yn gyfnod anodd iawn. Efallai hefyd y bydd cyfleoedd yn y gwaith y mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn ei wneud yn awr ar hyfforddi athrawon a Dyfodol Llwyddiannus, ac rwy'n gobeithio y gellir ymchwilio i hynny'n llawn. Mae hefyd yn bwysig ein bod yn cynnig modelau rôl LHDT cadarnhaol i'n pobl ifanc, ac rwy'n gobeithio na fydd ots gan yr Aelodau dros Delyn, Castell-nedd a Dwyrain Caerfyrddin fy mod yn croesawu eu rôl bwysig yn hyn o beth, er ei bod yn drueni ei bod wedi cymryd 17 mlynedd i'r Cynulliad Cenedlaethol ethol ei ACau LHDT agored cyntaf, a hefyd yn drist ein bod yn dal i lusgo ar ôl Seneddau'r Alban a San Steffan o ran y gynrychiolaeth honno. Gellir gweld modelau rôl LHDT eraill ar draws pob math o yrfa, gyda llawer ohonynt yn cael sylw yn elfen eiconau'r arddangosfa heddiw a llawer ohonynt yn enghreifftiau o'r newid agwedd a welsom yn ystod yr ychydig ddegawdau diwethaf. Mae data o'r astudiaeth o etholiad Cymru 2016 yn dangos bod rhywfaint o elyniaeth annerbyniol yn dal i fodoli tuag at bobl LHDT, ond roedd gan nifer lawer iawn yn fwy o bobl agweddau ffafriol. Roedd gwaith pwysig a wnaed gan gyn-fyfyriwr i mi, Jac Larner, yn awr o Ganolfan Llywodraethiant Cymru, yn dangos bod pobl iau yn arddangos agweddau lawer iawn yn fwy ffafriol tuag at bobl LHDT na'u cohortau hŷn. Rhaid bod hyn yn galondid mawr i ni ar gyfer dyfodol ein cenedl, ond fel y dywedodd Ivor Novello, un o'r eiconau a ddethlir heddiw: Anaml y bydd pethau nad ydynt yn galw am ymdrech o ryw fath yn werth eu cael. Mae gwella cydraddoldeb a dileu gwahaniaethu yn galw am ymdrech yn wir, ac maent yn bendant iawn yn werth eu cael.