Clarity over Exeter Pride library events as ‘threats and hate’ targeted at organisers

Clarity about an Exeter Pride event happening at the city’s library has been issued after organisers have been targeted with “extremely challenging” comments.

xeter Library is hosting various sessions as part of the city’s Pride event taking place on Saturday (9 May), including a flag-making workshop and two literary-based events for people aged 16 and over in the library’s Rougemont Room, one of which requires advance purchase of tickets.
But some critics have questioned whether libraries should be hosting LGBT+ events, particularly due to children being present, with others communicating “threats and hate” at organisers.
Libraries Unlimited, which runs Devon’s libraries, said it had backed Pride for many years  and that it was “continuing to support the celebrations this year”, adding that it did “not share” views that suggested LGBTQ+ content was “inherently inappropriate for children and families”.
Some of the critics – including Councillor Michael Fife Cook (Yelverton Rural), who leads the Reform UK group on Devon County Council – have linked this weekend’s events to a previous LGBT+ event in the city.
But that event being referenced by him and others critics is the Out There Queer Fest, which is run by an entirely different organisation and is not linked to Exeter Pride.
One of the sessions held in Exeter Library as part of the Out There Queer Fest last year did court complaints from two of Devon’s county councillors who were present and believed a stand that included sex-related items should not have been present in the library.
However, it’s understood that Devon County Council did not directly receive any complaints about that event from parents.
On the forthcoming Exeter Pride event, Cllr Fife Cook said he had been “deluged by emails and communications demanding why we are allowing this to happen in our libraries again”, and asked on a Facebook post whether libraries were a “suitable place again” for Queerfest – even though the event this weekend is part of Exeter Pride.
His county council colleague, Councillor Jacqueline Fry (Reform UK, Newton Abbot North) also wrote in a Facebook post that there was “another QueerFest event taking place in a public library this coming weekend”, again erroneously linking the two organisations.
“I need to make myself absolutely clear here,” Cllr Fife Cook said.
“I, and I hope most of our fellows, care less than little who or what people wish to have sex with, as long as it’s consensual and legal and hopefully in the privacy of their own homes. 
“But children are our responsibility. They have soft and underdeveloped brains, and can be influenced and guided in directions for the gratification of adults, over the rights of the child.
“All children should have a right to a childhood, unencumbered by the sexual needs of adults.”
Russell Back, the chair of Exeter Pride, said his organisation was a “totally different” entity to Out There Queer Fest, and that there were “not any issues we are concerned about” with Exeter Pride’s library-based events.
“The comments we have been receiving this year have been extremely challenging and taxing on our community and volunteers,” Mr Back said.
“There has been more negativity, threats and hate, more than we have ever received, and the abuse we have received has been disgusting.”
He added that risk assessments had been conducted for all of Exeter Pride’s events, and that safeguarding and code of conduct procedures were all robustly in place.
Mr Back said there were multiple educators among the organisers – including himself as a teacher – and so safeguarding and risk management were “always done by the book”.
“There are extra measures in place with any under-18s element of the library events, so there is an additional risk assessment and we have worked really closely with the library as we are aware of a level of concern from some elected officials,” Mr Back added.
A spokesperson for Libraries Unlimited said it had been working closely with the Exeter Pride committee around events it can host, as well as those in the main activity area in Rougemont Gardens.
“We are aware that some comments raised largely reflect the view that LGBTQ+ content is inherently inappropriate for children and families,” the spokesperson said.
“We do not share those views and firmly reject any suggestion that LGBTQ+ should be associated with harm or illegality.
“Saturdays at Exeter Library are always vibrant and busy, and we’ll be open as usual for book browsing, access to public PCs, and of course a drink or bite to eat in our cafe.
“With Pride celebrations taking place throughout the city, we’re looking forward to the library being even busier than usual and welcoming customers old and new.”
Councillor Ed Hill (Advance UK, Pinhoe & Mincinglake), one of the councillors who queried the risk assessment process in relation to the Out There Queer Fest event last year, said he had “not received a single complaint outside of the usual campaign groups” about the Exeter Pride library events.
A Devon County Council spokesperson said the programme of events at its libraries “reflects the wide-ranging interests, needs and backgrounds of local communities” and were designed to “ensure that library services remain welcoming, relevant and accessible to all residents”.
“The council recognises that not all events will be of interest to all individuals, and attendance remains entirely voluntary,” the spokesperson said.
“Members of the public are able to make informed choices about which events they wish to attend, based on their own preferences and beliefs.
“A comprehensive safeguarding assessment has been undertaken in relation to events held within library settings. This assessment forms part of a broader framework to ensure that activities are delivered in a safe, appropriate, and well-managed environment.”