Full Name Robert McDowall Years active 11 Name Rob McDowall | Other names Rob McDowall Website Official website | |
Born May 15, 1985 (age 38) ( 1985-05-15 ) Gourock, Scotland Occupation Journalist, Reporter, Activist | ||
Robert "Rob" McDowall (born May 15, 1985) is a Scottish investigative journalist, Huffington Post blogger and Trust and Safety Policy Specialist. Rob is a Member of the Equality Council, EUCCTI Consumer Rapporteur, and Chairman of the LGBT Network. McDowall led the campaign to save gay Syrian Jojo Yakub from deportation and the protest and campaign against sexual orientation discrimination on the Isle of Man.
McDowall petitioned the Scottish Parliament to end the ban on gay men giving in blood in 2008. He managed to secure the backing of Scottish politicians Ross Finnie MSP, Struan Stevenson MEP and Alyn Smith MEP. The lifetime ban on MSM, which stands for, 'men who have had sex with men' donating blood was removed and replaced by a policy which permits blood donations if the donor has abstained from sexual contact for 12 months.