Useful Information
From Gay Men’s Health
You are looking for information about Legal Information and Help. Hopefully the following links to pages on this site are of use:
On this site:
You may also find the following links useful. Please note that they will take you to external websites.
Both Stonewall Scotland and The Equality Network are organisations that campaign for equality and justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people living in Scotland.
Stonewall Scotland is currently developing an online information bank containing information on a range of issues, such as civil partnership, hate crime, housing, politics, and education.
There is also a wealth of information on the Equality Network’s site, including the following sections:
From December 2005, same-sex couples have been able to register a civil partnership, which gives the couple the same legal obligations and rights as marriage.
The law on cohabitation deals with the obligations and rights of two people who live together as a couple, but without registering a civil partnership or a marriage.
Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or transsexual identity is unlawful in employment, and in the provision of vocational training.
Hate crime is defined as crime motivated by malice or ill will towards a social group. There is clear evidence of hate crime against LGBT people in Scotland. Unfortunately Scotland now has the least progressive law on hate crime of any part of the UK.
The law provides tenants with certain rights. The law also protects homeowners in some circumstances and gives some protection to homeless people.
A short summary of the law on parents and on parental responsibilities and rights, as it affects LGBT people in Scotland.
The law on sexual activity between people of the same sex has changed a lot in the past 25 years. The law is still a mess, but the worst discrimination is now gone.
