A Complete Unknown
£9.99Liz Stead, a woman who served in the RAF, recently discovered that she had a criminal record for being a lesbian in the military. Liz was forced to leave the RAF in 1969 after a love letter from her girlfriend was discovered by her superiors. Despite serving for three and a half years with an exemplary record, Liz was dismissed due to her sexuality. This incident led to Liz unknowingly living with a criminal conviction for most of her adult life.
After more than 50 years, Liz found out about her criminal record when applying for a program that provides financial redress to veterans who were dismissed during a ban on homosexuality that was lifted in 2000. Emails from the Home Office revealed that her application was initially denied due to the conviction, prompting her to seek a pardon. Liz was shocked to learn about the charges and is now questioning the potential impact it had on her life, including missed job opportunities.
The Disregards and Pardons scheme, initially launched in 2012 to remove historical convictions for consensual same-sex activities, was expanded in 2023 to include women and former military personnel affected by the pre-2000 ban on LGBT+ service members. Since the expansion, 40 people, most of whom are former military personnel, have been granted pardons. Liz is urging other women who might have interacted with police or were discharged from the military due to their sexuality to apply for pardons and uncover any hidden convictions that may exist.
Liz’s experience highlights the importance of addressing historic injustices faced by LGBT+ veterans who were impacted by discriminatory laws. The CEO of LGBT+ military charity Fighting With Pride emphasized the need to rectify the harm caused by the unjust ban on gay service members. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips emphasized that criminal records for same-sex relationships should never have existed and encouraged individuals with convictions under these laws to seek pardons to right these historical wrongs
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
