Lesbian pride festival, Dyke March, will return to the UK for its second year running.

The march, taking place on 22 June, has announced this year’s route will commemorate the Votes for Women Rally – the Suffragettes marched the same way through London in 1908.

Dyke March says the event will begin at 3pm in Berkeley Square, moving on to Piccadilly and Leicester Square before arriving in Soho.

Organizer Emelia Holdaway, says the event will symbolize the biggest expression of lesbian pride without focusing on other LGBT people.

‘The march is open to all,’ she said. ‘It is organised by lesbians, for lesbians, but anyone who supports our cause can join in.

‘We want the UK to recognise how lesbians are maligned by modern society. Dyke March is to bring awareness to how lesbians are portrayed for the titillation of men today.

‘Last year we drew in around 800 attendants. This year we are expecting to draw in around 1,000.’

Speakers for the event are to be announced at a later date.

Attending the event is free. For more information on Dyke March, visit their website.

The first Dyke March took place in Vancouver, Canada in May 1981.

Britain’s General Medical Council (GMC) is to investigate 39 cases where doctors and other medical professionals are accused of misconduct or mistreatment of transgender patients.

Speaking at the Trans Health Matters Conference, hosted by LGBT Consortium, this afternoon, Helen Belcher, a member of the UK Parliamentary Forum on Gender Identity and GSN contributor, will provide significant new insight into how trans individuals experience healthcare.

Her evidence is based on a survey identifying 98 instances where individuals were prepared to come forward and make an allegation of misconduct or mistreatment against named medical practitioners across all areas of the NHS. It includes allegations of:

• Sexual abuse
• Denial of treatment, in some cases with potentially life-threatening consequences, ‘because an individual is trans’
• Inappropriate or damaging treatment
• Personal abuse

The results of this survey were presented to the GMC at the end of February by three trans activists including Helen Belcher, Liberal Democrat Councillor Sarah Brown and Zoe O’Connell.

Last week the GMC announced it was sufficiently concerned by 39 of the cases outlined that it would like to see further evidence, presented directly by the individuals involved. This is an initial investigation and in no way pre-judges the outcome of any of these cases.

A further 30 allegations were submitted in respect of policy or nursing care: these could not be investigated by the GMC, as they fall outside that organization’s remit.

The UK has failed in protecting gay asylum seekers, according to a leading expert.

S Chelvan, a renowned lawyer reputable in asylum claims based on sexual or gender identity, has said refugees are put under increasing pressure to ‘prove’ their sexual orientation.

In a lecture to be delivered this week at the Law Society, he will say some asylum seekers are resorting to film themselves having sex just to prove they are gay to government officials.

Chelvan said: ‘Gay and lesbian asylum seekers come to the UK for protection, but a culture of disbelief sees some go to extreme lengths to prove their sexuality.

‘They find themselves in an intolerable position. It is inhumane. It is wrong.’

The UK Border Agency decided in 2010 to allow gay men, lesbians and bisexuals if they were not allowed to live openly in their country of origin.

Before 2010, those seeking asylum were often refused permission on the grounds they could behave with ‘discretion’ when returned.

Brighton and Hove City Council, which last year came under fire for its alleged plan to abolish gender-specific titles such as ‘Mr’ and ‘Mrs’, has today published its final report on the subject.

The document, produced under the auspices of the Trans Scrutiny Panel, contains 37 key recommendations covering areas as diverse as policing, community support and healthcare.

It does not, as Gay Star News almost uniquely forecast at the time the story broke last year, recommend the abolition of existing gender-specific titles.

Rather, in a city believed to contain one of the UK’s highest proportions of trans and non-binary folk, it recommends a series of measures to improve their daily lives.

In particular it says electronic check-ins used by GPs (family doctors) should be changed to remove the need to identify as ‘male’ or ‘female’ on arrival at the surgery. Instead patients will be able to just use their surname and date of birth.

And patients will be provided with the option to use a non-gender specific honorific or to decline to provide one on National Health Service systems.

Bisexual Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams is to be rewarded with a Member of the British Empire award in this year’s New Year honours.

As the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing this year, Adams is one of 78 athletes to be recognized in the Queen’s annual list.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: ‘I cannot believe how much my life has changed’.

The 30-year-old flyweight said: ‘To think I am going to be a member of the British Empire, it’s fantastic.

‘It’s the kind of thing I used to sit and watch on the TV people being honoured, and you never think for one second that it’s actually going to be you.

‘And to think I’m actually going to be amongst all the great people that have been honoured, I think it’s fantastic.’

Just three years ago, Adams looked like she might not be able to achieve her Olympic dream.

In 2009, she cracked a bone in her back when she tripped and fell down the stairs on her way to training.

It meant Adams was bed-bound for three months and out of the ring for a year, but as soon as she could she got back up and started boxing again.

In November, Adams topped The Independent’s Pink List of 101 influential LGBT people in Britain.

Among the other gay rights advocates to be recognized this year include Stonewall’s former deputy chair Liz Grant, who was given an OBE, the UK gay rights charity co-founder Simon Fanshawe, also given an OBE, and politician, MEP, and human rights campaigner Michael Cashman, who was given a CBE.

Cashman said it was a ‘big surprise’, adding: ‘I proudly accept this honour and commit to continue the fight for equality.’

Other notable names on the honours list include cyclists Bradley Wiggins, illustrator Quentin Blake, who became knights, and Paralympian Sarah Storey and politician Margaret Becket, who became dames.