Three LGBT ‘unsung heroes’ have received gongs in the New Year’s Honours. Jeffrey Dudgeon, Liberal Unionist politician and equal opportunities and human rights campaigner, receives an MBE for services to the LGBT community in Northern Ireland. He brought a six year long case against the UK in his defence of the right to enjoy – as a gay man – a private life, which is thought to have brought about the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1982.
Jess Wood, founder of Allsorts Youth in Brighton – a support otganisation for people under 26 who are questioning their sexualities, gets an MBE.
Alice Purnell, founder of the Gendy’s Network and fellow editor of Trans in the Twenty First Century: Concerning Gender Diversity, receives an OBE for services to the transgender community.