The Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (LGLS) opened on 2 March 1974, and was the United Kingdom's first gay helpline and Scotland's first gay charity. Initially called the Edinburgh Befriending Service, it was established one day prior to the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard, known as

Switchboard (UK) Switchboard is the second-oldest LGBT+ telephone helpline in the United Kingdom, launched the day after Edinburgh Befrienders (later known as Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard). Switchboard was launched in March 1974 as the London Lesbian a ...

. It was an activist led mental and physical health support service for LGBT people in the

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

s and beyond, created at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Scotland (it was partially decriminalised in England and Wales by the Sexual Offences Act of 1967, and was decriminalised by the Scottish Criminal Justice Act of 1980, which came into effect in 1981, and in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

by the

Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 The Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982, No. 1536 (N.I. 19), is an Order in Council which decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults in Northern Ireland. The Order was adopted as a result of a European Court of Human R ...

). One of its founding members was noted author Iona McGregor. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Switchboard was actively involved in advocacy, education and campaigning around

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in Edinburgh. After 35 years, the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard passed the running of the resource to the LGBT Centre for Health and Wellbeing in 2010. In 2020,

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

were awarded a grant of £54,548 by the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

Research Resources, to catalogue and promote the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard archives, held by Lothian Health Services Archive, which sit within the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Research Collections. This project is called, Speaking Out.

References

External links

The University of Edinburgh Centre for Research Collections
{{LGBT-org-stub Organizations established in 1974 LGBTQ organisations in Scotland 1974 in LGBTQ history LGBTQ rights in Scotland

See also

References

External links