BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER

RUTH HUNT CHATS TO JACQUI GAVIN ABOUT STONEWALL’S COMMITMENT TO TRANS EQUALITY, AND THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING THE LGBT COMMUNITY IN 2017

RUTH HUNT OF STONEWALL

Since taking on the leadership of Stonewall in August 2014, Ruth Hunt has revolutionised the organisation, making their work more communityfocused and spearheading its commitment to trans equality. She spoke to Jacqui Gavin about her achievements so far.

DIVA: We are celebrating 250 issues this month – DIVA launched in 1994. What were you and Stonewall doing back then?

RUTH HUNT: Stonewall was founded in 1989, so not all that long before DIVA, in response to Section 28. For those unfamiliar with Section 28, it was a piece of legislation that was introduced to prohibit schools from “promoting” same-sex relationships.

This meant, for example, that a teacher was not legally allowed to support a student that may have come out to them in need of help. And while Stonewall was fighting for the repeal of Section 28, I was at school and living it! Growing up and being aware of the work Stonewall was doing, lobbying so that people like me could be ourselves, is just one of the reasons I had always so wanted to be a part of the organisation. Fast-forward to 2017, Stonewall is almost 30, and we are continuing to campaign for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bi and trans folk. While many laws may have been introduced or repealed to protect our community, there’s certainly still lots to do, and after 10 years of working at Stonewall I am still so happy to be a part of that.