“The law needs to be put on our side so we can keep making our dreams of a family come true”
BY ANGELA CRAWLEY MP, IMAGE BY DIVERSIFYLENS
Growing up, I can think of lots of role models, but I can’t recall ever knowing a family like the one I hoped to build. I remember thinking that I couldn’t be gay and start a family.
As a lesbian, I recognise how lucky I am to live in a time and place with the choice to marry and with access to many different options for fertility.
For many of us, however, the road to having children is not an easy one. While many more LGBTQIA couples are choosing to undergo fertility treatment – there are still challenges.
In recent years both my partner and I have juggled fertility treatment to welcome our two children into the world. The reality is, undergoing fertility treatment can be an incredibly emotionally and physically draining process. It can be a long, expensive, distressing and isolating experience.
Despite LGBTQIA people making up around three per cent of the population, we are underrepresented within the fertility conversation. With February marking LGBT+ History Month, it seems as good a time as any to add to the conversation.
While many LGBTQIA families face additional barriers to accessing treatment, funding IVF cycles and speaking out about our experiences. In the workplace, the conversation with employers can be so much harder when having to ask for time off to make decisions about fertility, or to undergo treatment itself.
Often it can be a difficult conversation for anyone to approach your employer when planning to undergo fertility treatment.
A recent survey indicated that productivity at work was strongly impacted by fertility challenges, and more than a third felt they received very little or no support from their employer. Significantly, over one-third said they took annual leave, sick leave or unpaid leave to cover treatment without telling their employer.
For many LGBTQIA families, the stigma of coming out and workplace discrimination is already significant, seeking support from an employer during fertility can be impossible. As a result, many suffer in silence.
As my partner and I welcomed our second child into the world only last month, I know all too well the reality of years of fertility treatment and our experience as a lesbian couple.
While I was fortunate enough to receive support from my colleagues, I know this is not true for everyone.
In a time where the UK Government only seeks to roll back employment rights, we need to ensure our rights to start a family are protected.
We need legal reform to ensure employees are treated with respect and experiences in the workplace are informed by the needs of employees. That must include an enshrined right to paid fertility leave for all families.
The law needs to be put on our side so we can keep making our dreams of a family come true.
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