My name is Cat Ewen. I represent the Scottish LGBTI Police Association locally within Corporate Services/SPA organising local events and engagement and vice versa, making sure Staff voices are heard. I’ve been happily mixing in and around the LGBTI community since I was 9 years old so let’s just say, that is a long time and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing many wonderful people along the way.

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With LGBT History Month taking place in February I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you more about what it is, why we celebrate it and what events are taking place in Police Scotland that you can get involved in.

 

“We are here for everyone.” This is the opening statement I read from the official LGBT+ History Month 2022 website and I just thought ‘Tell me more.’ The aim is to promote equality and diversity for the benefit of the public. It’s an annual month long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex history, lives and culture; it’s about the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. We do this because representation is important. It’s how we build our perspectives. It helps us feel validated and allows us to express not just our opinions but ourselves, and feel comfortable doing it. We celebrate people that let us know that a certain role isn’t just an option, but it has value that others want to model, replicate and go beyond. But being brave is never easy.