The Equality Network is one of Scotland's national organisations working for

LGBTI Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (such as genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns) that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, ...

rights and equality. Established by LGBT activists in 1997, it is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

and a

company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

(no. SC220213), based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 2011 it had an income of £374,000.

History

The Equality Network was founded back in 1997 as a national organisation working for LGBT rights and equality in Scotland and 2014 for LGBTI rights and equality in Scotland. The Equality Network has superseded the work of

Outright Scotland Outright Scotland is an LGBT rights organisation based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded as the Scottish Minorities Group in 1969, it was the country's first LGBT rights organisation. History The Scottish Minorities Group (SMG) was a Scottish ...

. It is a registered charity governed by a Board of Trustees. It has received funding from some of the following organisations: the Equality Unit of the Scottish Government, the

Grundtvig programme The Grundtvig programme is a European funding programme that is part of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 and aims to strengthen the European dimension in adult education and lifelong learning across Europe. The pr ...

of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

, the

Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of eq ...

, the

Big Lottery Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes". Since 2004 it has awarded over £9 billion to ...

and the

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programme. It also raises money from individuals across Scotland.

Work

Over the past 17 years the Equality Network has claimed a number of victories for LGBT equality in Scotland including an equal age of consent, the repeal of Section 28, Civil Partnerships, Gender Recognition, adoption and fertility rights, hate crime laws, and most recently same-sex marriage.

Scottish Trans Alliance

The Scottish Trans Alliance is a project within the Equality Network to "improve gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights and inclusion in Scotland". Scottish Trans Alliance has three full-time staff working for the Equality Network. Vic Valentine is manager of the group. Previously, James Morton was manager of Scottish Trans Alliance. Morton is the author of ''A Scottish History of Trans Equality Activism.''

Awards

The Equality Network won the Campaign of the Year Award at the Herald Society Awards 2012, and Campaign of the Year at the LGBT Youth Scotland Awards 2012, both for the Equal Marriage campaign — the UK's first campaign for same-sex marriage rights, established by the Equality Network in 2008. It was also shortlisted for Public Campaign of the Year at the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards 2012.

References

External links