Sue Louise Sanders is Emeritus Professor Harvey Milk Institute 2015 (born in 1947 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

). She is an "

out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

and proud" lesbian, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

rights activist who has specialized in challenging oppression in the public and

voluntary sector In relation to public services, the voluntary sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by non-governmental, not for profit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector (in contrast to the public sector and the private sec ...

s for over forty years.

Career

After studying at London's New College of Speech and Drama (now part of

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

) where she received a teaching diploma, Sanders studied counseling on alcohol-related problems as well as

gestalt therapy Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes Responsibility assumption, personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social c ...

and contribution training. She also holds qualifications on dealing with stress and trauma. Since 1967, she has been a teacher, tutor and a lecturer on

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

, drama and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

in schools, universities and other organisations, both in London and in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Since 1984, Sanders has worked as a management consultant and trainer for the public and voluntary sector. She was a member of the LGBT Advisory Group to the Metropolitan Police (since 1999), was an independent adviser to the London Criminal Justice Board, and is a member of the Hate Crime Independent Advisory Group for the Ministry of Justice, she was a member of the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

LGBT working party (since 1999), a member of the Southwark anti Homophobic Forum (which she joined in 1997) and was a consultant to the Crown Prosecution Services, helping them produce national policy on prosecuting homophobic crime effectively. In 1996, she co-founded Chrysalis with Paul Patrick, a consultancy which delivered training around

equal opportunity Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. For example, the intent of equal ...

issues – particularly anti-

heterosexism Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of heterosexuality and heterosexual relationships. According to Elizabeth Cramer, it can include the belief that all people are or should be heterosexual and that hetero ...

. In 2000, she became the co-chair of Schools Out, a group working for the equality of LGBT people in the education system, which was started in 1974. Neither her nor Paul Patrick were there at the start.. With the help of the Schools Out committee, she and Paul Patrick instituted the UK's first

LGBT History Month LGBTQ History Month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher ...

; this was launched in December 2004 at

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

and then took place the following February.. Then in 2011 she instigate
The Classroom
a website with over 50 lesson plans free for teachers to 'Usualise' and 'Actualise' LGBT issues across the curriculum and in all key stages tied to the national curriculum. Sanders has directed many plays in London's fringe theatres and has been involved in the production of radio programmes for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in Sydney. She is the author of poetry and short stories as well as many articles and brochures on feminist issues, education and homophobia. She regularly appears on TV and radio programmes dealing with equality and LGBT issues and is a keynote speaker and workshop leader in many conferences dealing with

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

, homophobia, and LGBT issues. In 2018, she deposited her archive in the collections of the

Bishopsgate Institute Bishopsgate Institute is a cultural institute in the Bishopsgate area east of the City of London. The institute was established in 1895. It offers a cultural events programme, courses for adults, historic library and archive collections, and a ...

Awards

In 2024 she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Education Union and the Centrica 30 Years of Diva Honouree Award. In 2022 she was awarded the Golden Tupilik award from International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network for outstanding years-long support for human rights and LGBTQ rights and identity. In 2019 Sue was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from the Rainbow Honours Board. In 2014 she was short-listed for the lifetime achievement award in the National Diversity Awards. She regularly appears in the Independent LGBT Power list. In 2012 she was awarded a Commendation from the Metropolitan Police Service for her long-standing involvement and commitment to the MPS LGBT Advisory Group and her contribution to improving policing services for LGBT Londoners. In 2005, Sanders received the Clio's Silver Cup Award from the International Lesbian and Gay Cultural Network for outstanding achievements in documenting and disseminating information about

LGBT history LGBTQ history dates back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love, diverse gender identities, and sexualities in ancient civilizations, involving the history of lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LG ...

. In July 2009 she was awarded the first Derek Oyston Award in recognition of her lifetime's campaigning for LGBT rights at the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association ( GALHA) and the 40th anniversary of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE).. In 2002 she received the Crown Prosecution award for Equality and Diversity.

References

External links

LGBT History Month

Schools Out UK

The Classroom

Sue Sanders, Schools Out and LGBT History Month Archive
Bishopsgate Institute
I was a lesbian teacher under Section 28 and it was absolutely frightening
Pink News - 24 May 2018

UK Gay News - 14 July 2005

Pinknews, 17 October 2006 * - 20 November 2006, TUC headquarters in London.

Pinknews - 27 March 2007
Half an Hour with Sue Sanders
- podcast interview

PinkNews - 6 March 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Sue 1947 births Alumni of Middlesex University English lesbians English LGBTQ rights activists Living people 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people