Fighting With Pride, the LGBTQ+ veterans’ charity, has reacted to an announcement from the Home Office that a scheme pardoning those criminalised for historic, alleged same-sex activity will be expanded to women convicted or cautioned under any repealed or abolished offences.
Craig Jones, the executive chair of Fighting With Pride, and Caroline Paige, its chief executive, said: “This extension to the disregards and pardons scheme and its inclusion of female veterans is welcome and another small step in the right direction.
“We will continue to work very closely with the Ministry of Defence and other government departments to ensure the vulnerable veterans in this cohort get all the support available to them.”
Since 2012, men have been able to apply to have their convictions or cautions for consensual sex with another man disregarded. Last year, changes were announced to widen the range of civilian and service offences under the scheme, as well as allowing women to apply.
A disregard applies to offences where the other party was 16 or over and the activity is not a crime today.
Women in the military who were dismissed on the grounds of their sexuality and anyone sacked for it will be able to have their service medals restored if they were taken away when they were kicked out of the armed forces.
Gay rights campaigners welcomed the move as the “first step on a journey” but said that issues such as enduring criminal records, lost pension rights and still-blemished service records needed to be dealt with by the Ministry of Defence.