Peter Tatchell: My Half Century of LGBT Campaigning

Peter Tatchell has been campaigning for human rights for nearly 50 years, on issues of democracy, civil liberties, environmental protection and, most significantly, LGBT rights. From 1971, he was a leading activist in the Gay Liberation Front and in 1990 he co-founded the queer rights group OutRage! The group outed 10 Anglican bishops in 1994, accusing them of hypocrisy for publicly endorsing the church’s homophobic stance. Four years later, he interrupted the Easter Sermon of the Archbishop of Canterbury in protest at Dr Carey’s support for laws that discriminate against gay people.

In 1999, in London, he ambushed the motorcade of the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, attempting a citizen’s arrest on charges of torture. A repeat attempt in Brussels in 2001 resulted in him being beaten unconscious by Mugabe’s bodyguards, which left him with permanent minor brain injuries. In 2009, he won Campaigner of the Year at the Observer Ethical Awards. Tatchell will speak on the political and social changes that gay men and women have experienced in this country over the last 50 years, as well as reflecting on the work that lies ahead.

All profits from this event will be donated to the Peter Tatchell Foundation .