In 1948, she wrote a report encouraging the Committee of Student Conduct and Appeals (CSCA) to find and expel homosexual students so they could not “contribute to the delinquency of others.”
Annette Washburne, the first woman to be made a full professor at UW-Madison, began her efforts to remove gay students from the university throughout the 1940s. Some of the men, as enrolled UW students, faced expulsion for their “misconduct,” and others faced prison sentences or fines of $100 - the equivalent of about $1,200 today.ĭr.
The years leading up to this event, particularly following World War II, saw increased tension and contempt towards sexual behaviors deemed “immoral.”įor instance, the Wisconsin State Journal reported the arrest and trial of 12 men accused of sodomy in 1948. The Gay Purge is an example of a calculated and institutional attack on the university’s queer population, but it is far from an isolated incident. She stated that it is sometimes enough to simply “acknowledge that there is harm done, but there comes a point when you've done such significant harm that you need to do active measures of reparations to resolve that harm.” Juliana Bennett, a UW-Madison student and the alder for District 8, condemned the university’s tendency to acknowledge past atrocities without putting in the work to rectify them. The university stated on Twitter that it has no plans to do so, and did not address this statement in a request for comment. The Public History Project article urged the university to provide financial compensation to the victims and their families, many of whom faced a lifetime of repercussions academically, professionally and emotionally. during the two decades after World War II, many of which have not been uncovered.” Learn more about blood safety in Canada and Health Canada's decision regarding the Canadian Blood Services submission.Tyler Albertario, an LGBTQ+ historian from New York who studied political science at Binghamton University, stated that it is likely that these purges occurred at “every public university system in the U.S.
Health Canada, as the regulator responsible for overseeing the safety of Canada's blood system, remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting blood and plasma donation policies in Canada that are safe, non-discriminatory and scientifically based. Canadian Blood Services operate in all provinces and territories except for Quebec, while Héma-Québec operates in Quebec. Under the Blood Regulations, Canada's two blood operators-Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec-are required to make submissions to Health Canada for any changes to their processes, such as changes to donor deferrals. Over the past decade, Health Canada has authorized several changes to the donor deferral period for men who have sex with men, from a lifetime restriction to five years in 2013, to one year in 2016 and to three months in 2019. Today's authorization is a significant milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system nationwide, and builds on progress in scientific evidence made in recent years. To help inform its review, Health Canada convened a group of scientific and medical experts knowledgeable in the field of blood safety for a one-day meeting, which took place April 13, 2022, to seek input on specific technical questions. Health Canada's authorization is based on a thorough assessment of evidence supporting the safety of the revised donor screening. Under the new screening approach, Canadian Blood Services will introduce a sexual behaviour-based donor-screening questionnaire that will apply to all donors of blood and plasma.Ĭanadian Blood Services has indicated it expects to implement the new donor screening approach by September 30, 2022. Today, Health Canada authorized a submission from Canadian Blood Services to eliminate the current three-month blanket donor deferral period for all sexually active men who have sex with men, and instead screen all donors, regardless of gender or sexuality, for high-risk sexual behaviours. Under the new screening approach, Canadian Blood Services will introduce a sexual behaviour-based donor-screening questionnaire that will apply to all donors of blood and plasma. Health Canada authorized a submission from Canadian Blood Services to eliminate the current three-month blanket donor deferral period for all sexually active men who have sex with men, and instead screen all donors, regardless of gender or sexuality, for high-risk sexual behaviours.