Council flies flag to fight homophobia

OLDHAM Council will do its bit to stamp out prejudice by flying the flag against homophobia.

The rainbow flag will be raised at the civic centre on Sunday — the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO).

The international event is held to mark the date when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 1992. The council has pledged to do all it can to challenge homophobia and transphobia and promote a positive environment for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people living and working in Oldham.

Oldham Council’s Cabinet member for people and communities, Councillor Rod Blyth, said: “The council recognises the negative impact homophobia and transphobia can have on young people’s educational achievement — in some cases it can lead young lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans pupils and students to underachieve and to drop out of education.

“We hope that this event and the conference in June will go some way to tackling this issue in Oldham and will have raised awareness of some of the problems young people can face.”

In June, the council, along with the Oldham branch of the National Union of Teachers, will be hosting a major conference entitled Protecting Children and Staff — Challenging Homophobia in our Schools.

The conference aims to raise awareness and support schools in tackling homophobia and homophobic bullying.