Equality Network

File:Equality Network (Scotland) logo.png

The Equality Network is one of Scotland's national organisations working for LGBTI rights and equality. Established by LGBT activists in 1997, it is a registered charity{{Scottish charity|SC037852}} and a company limited by guarantee (no. SC220213), based in Edinburgh. In 2011 it had an income of £374,000.

History

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 The Equality Network has superseded the work of Outright Scotland.

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 of the European Commission, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Big Lottery Fund and the Awards for All 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 (STA){{cite web | url=https://www.gov.scot/publications/non-binary-working-group-context-and-framing/ | title=Non-Binary Working Group: Context and framing }} is a project within the Equality Network to "improve gender identity and gender reassignment equality, rights and inclusion in Scotland".{{Cite web|title=About Scottish Trans Alliance|url=https://www.scottishtrans.org/about/|access-date=16 May 2023|website=Scottish Trans}} Scottish Trans Alliance has three full-time staff working for the Equality Network. Vic Valentine is manager of the group.{{Cite web |date=27 January 2023 |title=Trans rapist prison case 'must not lead to blanket rule', says campaign group |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/27/trans-rapist-isla-bryson-prison-case-must-not-lead-to-blanket-rule-says-scottish-trans |accessdate=28 January 2023 |website=The Guardian}}

Previously, James Morton was manager of Scottish Trans Alliance.{{Cite news|last=Brooks|first=Libby|date=9 November 2017|title=Legal recognition for non-binary people planned in Scotland|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/nov/09/legal-recognition-for-non-binary-people-planned-in-scotland|access-date=3 January 2022}}{{Cite news|date=9 November 2017|title=Changing gender to be made easier under Scottish Government plans|work=The Scotsman|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/changing-gender-be-made-easier-under-scottish-government-plans-1436994|access-date=3 January 2022}} Morton is the author of A Scottish History of Trans Equality Activism.{{Cite book|last=Morton|first=James|title=Trans Britain: Our Long Journey from the Shadows|publisher=Unbound|year=2018|isbn=978-1783524716|editor-last=Burns|editor-first=Christine|editor-link=Christine Burns|chapter=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.{{cite news|last=Gardham|first=Magnus|title=Political award nominations reflect a momentous year|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/political-award-nominations-reflect-a-momentous-year.19318879|access-date=16 November 2012|newspaper=The Herald|date=5 November 2012|location=Glasgow}}