On the cusp of Pride month, there seems an even greater level of division and debate than I can remember in some years.
Every day, the news – and even more so social media channels – seems to be filled with strong views on gender, sex and sexuality. Debate is usually healthy. Different opinions are unavoidable. But division - intentionally propagating hate, fears and even smears - should never be tolerated.
Ten days ago, my own organisation made a regrettable mis-step in this territory. By arranging and then calling off a children’s event in our library for Pride, featuring a well-established drag performer, we opened up questions and counter questions.
Our members and my staff questioned the purpose of the event or the reasons it wasn’t going ahead. Speaking frankly, there were strong views on whether it was the RCN’s place to run this kind of activity – both for and against.
But what it also created unintentionally was space for those with a message of hate. In not tackling the hate speech visibly, some saw we were denying them the oxygen they crave and needed to keep going. Others saw only silence and wondered why their union or employer was not taking a visible stand.
Social media platforms need to be a place to share ideas and hold safe discussions. But several of the comments and assumptions made were discriminatory, homophobic, transphobic and exclusionary. As a College, we will never engage with hate speech and we share in the condemnation of it. We reserve the right to delete comments or block accounts which publish content we deem to be derogatory or harmful.
I have spoken to so many people in recent days and learned even more about a debate that will run for perhaps much of this decade. It is a fundamental principle of the nursing and midwifery code that people are treated as individuals and their dignity upheld, including avoiding making assumptions and the recognition of diversity and individual choice.
Our sole aim with Pride events is to allow our staff, members and their families to celebrate diversity and inclusion in a safe space where there is respect and dignity at all times. It is a priority for me as your general secretary and chief executive.
When I go to multiple Pride events this summer - and again join friends to march, celebrate and for sobering reflection - I will personally remember how far we’ve come in my lifetime in the struggle for all forms of equality. That love is love. That the ability to self-identify cannot be underestimated by those who have never faced these personal challenges. That your religion, race or skin tone should never count against you. That no individual’s abilities or disabilities should be overlooked through stigma and narrow-mindedness.
In thirty years, huge leaps have been made. By 2050, these debates need to have long since been settled. We only stand a chance of doing that if we conduct ourselves in a civil manner. Writing this in Belfast, we all bear the scars of divided communities and how society can become needlessly split for too long.
As for the organisation I lead, the commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is as strong for our staff as it is for our members. It is core to our purpose as a professional trade union. To be strong in addressing this for our members, we have to be seen to be leading from the front.
Our new strategy on this front will be open to comment and contribution – collaborating with those with personal experience to co-produce a genuinely informed and effective direction.
Where we have fallen short recently, I apologise for any inadvertent offence. But I know that by continuing to talk to our members and staff, together we can only grow stronger, louder and prouder. Regardless of the beliefs people hold, hate, discrimination and vile messages of homophobia, transphobia and biphobia will not be tolerated - we at the RCN stand for better.