Stonewall has launched this week 'A Guide for Gay Dads', giving gay men practical advice in plain English on how to become a dad.
The guide is the brother publication to Pregnant Pause, released earlier this year. It guides prospective gay dads through all their options including adoption, co-parenting, surrogacy, sperm donation and fostering. It includes a handy glossary and spells out all the recent legal changes in plain English to help demystify the process.
Ben Summerskill, Stonewall Chief Executive, said: ‘There’s never been a better time for gay men to start a family in Britain. The law is now on their side. And this comprehensive new guide – the first of its kind specifically aimed at gay men – outlines all options, with handy tips and places to go for further support. We hope it’ll convince some gay men who might have otherwise written off the prospect of raising children to re-consider.’
Stonewall we have worked hard to ensure that gay people can have and raise children like everyone else. While our lobbying has helped changed the law – allowing gay couples to adopt, removing barriers to fertility treatment for lesbians and outlawing discrimination in goods and services, including organisations offering social and family services – there is still lots to do.
Not only does the 'Guide for Gay Dads' give vitally useful legal advice on what parenting rights you may have in different situations but it gives you an overview of what you can expect from each route to becoming a dad. Given the recent changes to the law it is a must-read for any gay men considering starting a family.
Cambridge University research for Stonewall published earlier this year demonstrated how children with same-sex parents have the exact same quality of upbringing as other children. Alice, 7, who was interviewed for the research said: ‘I’ve got two parents who love me. It doesn’t matter if they’re a boy or a girl.’
Stonewall’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/stonewalluk currently includes an interview with Jess Sweeney, 17, whose dad is gay. She told us: ‘Every girl wants a gay best friend, but mine is my dad, too.’
If you would like a free hardcopy of the guide, email Stonewall at info@stonewall.org.uk
or Click here to download A Guide for Gay Dads
It’s the latest in a programme of recent work to ensure lesbian and gay people can start families and bring up children free from homophobia. Earlier this year Stonewall published their groundbreaking (Different Families) research which for the first time allowed the overwhelmingly illuminating voices of children with gay parents to be heard and last year they published (Pregnant Pause), a guide for lesbians on how to get pregnant.
Read more about the guide at www.stonewall.org.uk
For more information about gay parenting, becoming a sperm donor or co-parenting visit www.prideangel.com