200 Years of LGBTQIA+ History

From Shadows to Pride — UK & Global Timeline

Source Record

ILGA history

Why this source is used

ILGA World history page covering organisational milestones.

Start with the answer

Start with the answer How did LGBTQ+ organising networks build rights? They built rights by creating records, meeting spaces, publications, protests and international networks before law caught up. Start with the answer How did global SOGI advocacy change LGBTQ+ rights? It made LGBTQ+ rights visible through international principles, UN recognition, legal data, country rankings and global convenings. Read the topic guide Early LGBTQ+ Organising and Liberation Networks Early LGBTQ+ organising moved from small rights groups and newsletters into liberation protest, direct action and international advocacy networks.

Source Status

Publisher
ILGA World
Type
organisation
Reliability
medium
Cited by
6 pages

Source Links

Open original source https://ilga.org/news/ilga-history/ Accessed 4 June 2026 Open archived copy https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://ilga.org/news/ilga-history/

Used by Topics

Early LGBTQ+ Organising and Liberation Networks Global SOGI Advocacy and Data

Used by Questions

How did LGBTQ+ organising networks build rights? How did global SOGI advocacy change LGBTQ+ rights?

Used by Timeline Events

8 August 1978 ActivismInternationalUK

International Gay Association (IGA) Founded in Coventry

Thirty delegates from organisations across 14 countries met at a fringe meeting of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality conference in Coventry, England and founded the International Gay Association (IGA). Chaired by activists Rob Pistor and Peter Ashman, the IGA aimed to decriminalise homosexuality and coordinate political action internationally. Key founding members included Joseph Douce, a gay Baptist preacher from Paris, and Jeff Dudgeon, a Belfast activist. The organisation would later become ILGA — the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association — growing into the world's largest federation of LGBTQI+ organisations with over 2,600 member groups across 170 countries.
1991 ActivismInternational

Amnesty International Recognises LGBTQ+ Prisoners of Conscience

After years of persistent lobbying by ILGA and allied organisations, Amnesty International voted at its assembly in Yokohama, Japan to adopt people imprisoned solely for their sexual orientation as prisoners of conscience. This was a major breakthrough in having LGBTQ+ rights formally recognised within the mainstream international human rights framework, extending Amnesty's advocacy and casework to individuals jailed for consensual same-sex relationships.