Of course, due to Covid restrictions, Pride events are still happening largely online and Marches have been cancelled or postponed again this year. Still, thankfully, last month there were a number of outdoors in-person events around London that myself, the Consortium Team and members were excited to join.
Consortium and our Trans Organisations Network (TON) have been actively supporting the Campaign to ban so-called conversion therapies in the UK. In fact, I and member orgs including Mermaids were involved in putting together the ground-breaking Gender Identity Survey 2020.
On 24 June, I was delighted to join up with leading LGBT+ activists to protest and hand over a petition to the Cabinet Office, urging the UK Government to #StopDithering and #BanConversionTherapy.
Just two days later, on Saturday 26th, saw thousands of people turn up for Trans Pride 2021 in London. I joined the wonderful Consortium London Engagement Team and Consortium member groups.
The crowd marched peacefully from Hyde Park to Soho Square, holding up placards with messages such as ‘Trans Rights Now!’ and ‘Trans Rights are Human Rights’. This year’s motto was ‘Protecting Trans Youth’, but there were also many voices demanding better healthcare, safety for Black trans people and the legal recognition of non-binary people.
It felt so incredibly empowering to march alongside LGBTQ+ people and allies from all walks of life, and noticeably so many of them were young people. It gives me hope for a better future for trans communities in the UK.