We still have a long, long way to go...

COMPLACENCY is a dangerous thing. There is a tendency within society to see itself as forever making progress as time goes on, and applauding itself for such advances.

Often, there is merit in this position - but it also has a tendency to mask any insidious issues and repugnant attitudes that stubbornly resist such progressive ideals. Of course, important strides have been made in the area of individual rights in the UK over recent generations.

It can still be shocking to younger people to hear that homosexuality was a criminal offence in Britain within living memory. Such laws were a stain on any claim that we lived in a free and democratic society that respected the rights of individuals.

But while subsequent changes to the law in this area – including the landmark Sexual Offences Act 1967 – have made long-overdue improvements in our legal framework, we still have a long way to go in today’s Wales.

Only last month, we reported on the jailing of three killers for the horrifying homophobic murder of respected and much-loved doctor Gary Jenkins in a Cardiff park.

That such a barbaric killing could happen in the centre of our vibrant capital city just last summer gives the lie to any notion that LGBT+ campaigns for justice, equality, safety and tolerance have achieved their aims. And as we report today, the powerful testimony of reporter Joseph Ali, together with other members of Wales’ LGBT+ community, shows that abuse, threats and violence remain an unacceptable part of the experience of gay people in cities, towns and communities across the nation.

In words that should be required reading for everyone in Wales, he notes: “To say that LGBT+ people, wherever they may place themselves on the initialism, are completely safe and should act like it, is a bold and simply false statement.”

We complacently continue to pride ourselves on being a nation of tolerance and decency.

After all, this is the land where we like to boast in song that “We’ll keep a welcome in the hillsides, we’ll keep a welcome in the Vales...”, and we can take delight in vibrant and colourful celebrations such as the annual Pride Cymru event that lights up the heart of our capital every summer. But until the lived experience of everyone in Wales is equal – regardless of sexuality, gender, race or religion – on such a basic and decent human level as being able to walk the streets in safety and without fear, then we still have a long, long way to go. And we all have a part to play.