Homosexuality

“I’ve been stabbed because of my sexuality.”

This pupil is one of thousands of victims of homophobic bullying in schools across the UK. Almost two thirds of young people, in the gay community, experience bullying in secondary schools. The charitable organisation Stonewall, which lends support to the gay community, found that homophobic bullying, after taunting because of weight, is the most frequent form of abuse in secondary schools. It is three times more prevalent than bullying due to religion or ethnicity. Unfortunately, a culture of homophobia exists in many school environments and this creates problems for young people trying to come to terms with their sexuality.

Previous poster campaign by Stonewall. Image courtesy of Stonewall.org.uk

By Melissa Wong

Homosexual men are still being discriminated by law as they are still not qualified to be a blood donor. It is an issue still disputed by the gay community as the reasons given appear unjustified. Many feel that it is an invalid reason for them not becoming blood donors.

In the guidelines listed on the National Blood Service, it clearly states that a man cannot qualify as a blood donor if: ‘You’re a man who’s had sex with another man, even safe sex using a condom.’ This elimination of a potential blood donor is listed alongside others that include prostitutes and drug users.

Further details, validating this decision, state that if homosexual men were included as blood donors, the risk of spreading HIV- infected blood would increase by ‘five-fold’ even if the man had not been involved in any sexual activity for over a year. Yet this has been argued as untrue and not scientific evident has been brought forward to proved this.

It should be questioned why gay men should be excluded because of their sexual preference. All heterosexual donors are allowed to donate blood, despite potentially having multiple partners. It appears unjustified that they are allowed to donate blood if they are potentially putting themselves at risk of becoming infected by HIV or AIDS.

Whilst blood donors are urgently sought for in Britain, the law should be reconsidered to decide whether gay men should be allowed to volunteer as blood donors. If all the necessary checks have been made, it seems unfair to turn away a prefect blood donor just by the judgement of their sexuality.