Gibraltar is getting ready to once again celebrate Pride month this June. This event is celebrated in many countries around the world and is essentially a call for greater unity, visibility and equality for the LGBTQ+ community.

Pride month was established to honour those involved in the Stonewall riots in New York on the 28th June 1969. It is considered one of the most important events leading to the Gay liberation movement. Therefore 28th June is also an important date for people of the LGBTQ+ Community.

To commemorate Pride Month this year, His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will again be celebrating in a visually colourful way, as in previous years. Rainbow flags will be hoisted on the 1st and 28th June at the land frontier and at No 6 Convent Place. Rainbow flags will also be flown during Pride month outside the St Bernard’s Hospital, outside the offices of the Care Agency and at the Royal Gibraltar Police Headquarters at New Mole House. The Minster for Equality and her Ministry will also be displaying a flag at her office for the duration of the month.

HM Government of Gibraltar will once again be joining and supporting the Pride March which this year will be held on the 24th June. The March is being organised by the LGBTQ+ Committee will once again be held at Casemates Square. There will be various information stalls from non-Government organisations and charities as well as from Government Departments, including the Ministry of Equality. Government would like to encourage support for this event from our community and advise that they contact the LGBTQ+ Committee for more information in relation to the event via e-mail: gibraltarlgbtcommittee@gmail.com.

The Moorish Castle will once again be brightly lit up with the LGBTQ+ rainbow colours on the 1st June to mark the start of Pride month, on the 24th June to mark the Pride march and on the 28th June to mark the Stonewall riots.  

Further information on what Pride means to the LGBTQ+ community in Gibraltar can be viewed on a video which was published by the Ministry of Equality in 2019. The Ministry encourages the public to view and share the video, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The video can be viewed on HM Government’s Facebook page or on the Ministry of Equality website: www.gibraltar.gov.gi/department-equality .

The Minister for Equality, the Hon Samantha Sacramento MP said: “I am very happy with the resounding success of last year’s Pride March and have to thank the LGBTQ+ Committee for their hard work and everyone else that was involved in its organisation. I truly have to say that I am really looking forward to this year’s march. We must not forget those on Gibraltar who started this movement and the meaning of celebrating Pride and that the efforts the LGBTQ community and its allies contribute also aim to increase awareness over ongoing issues of inequality. Unfortunately, we still need to remind some people what the LGBTQ+ movement is about.  Harassment of LGBTQ+ people continues to feature in the news and this is something that needs to stop. People who see someone who is different and do not understand it, may see them as a threat, when this is not the case. It is therefore vital to remind people that LGBTQ+ people exist and that they are here to stay.

“Government continues to work on different aspects in relation to LGBTQ+, but some recent noteworthy achievements include changes in legislation that were enacted in 2013 which outlawed homophobic hate crime and speech and in 2015 extending this protection for people who undergo gender reassignment. In 2014 it enacted the Civil Partnership Act and in 2016 the Civil Marriage Amendment Act, this not only recognised legal relationships for same sex couples, but also paved the way for adoption by same sex couples.

“In February 2021, Gibraltar implemented a surrogacy law, this allows individuals and couples, either married or in a civil partnership and unable to conceive, to engage in non-commercial, altruistic surrogacy. The legislation also provides automatic recognition to children of same-sex couples conceived through artificial insemination.

“The Ministry of Equality continuously provides training to the Public Sector and Private Sector in this regard. However, it must be emphasised that everybody, irrespective of their sexual preference or gender identity must support the rights of people of the LGBTQ+ community, so that all the barriers they face are removed. Join us at the Pride march on the 24th June and celebrate with us Gibraltar’s Pride and Inclusivity.”

ENDS