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Author: Rachel Badham

Man left with fractured eye socket after attack in Birmingham’s Gay Village

Posted on by Rachel Badham

52-year-old Matt Brooks, who identifies as gay, is the latest victim of an anti-LGBTQ+ attack in Birmingham’s Gay Village, leaving him in need of emergency surgery on his eye socket. According to Birmingham Live, Brooks was targeted outside the fast-food restaurant Urban Kitchen on Thursday morning, saying the attacker “came out of nowhere” before striking him in the face and fleeing the scene.

Brooks explained that his injuries could result in blindness: “At the moment doctors are trying to keep the pressure down on my eye with tablets and eye drops…They’ve already had to go emergency surgery to stop me going blind because of the pressure in the eyeball. If it had lasted any longer I would have gone blind already, but there is still a chance that will happen.” Although the attack has been reported, police have yet to identify any suspects.

Brooks had attended the Missing Bar before heading to Urban Kitchen, where the attack took place

Brooks, who believes the incident was likely a hate crime, said that he feels “let down and disappointed as police have a lot of information here”, adding: “This guy could be out there again today or tomorrow. He needs to be stopped.” Birmingham’s Gay Village has seen numerous homophobic attacks over the past few months, raising concerns over the safety of the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Police have confirmed it will be increasing its presence in the area to help prevent further incidents.

Scotland makes LGBTQ+ history compulsory in schools

Posted on by Rachel Badham

Scotland has made history by becoming the first country in the world to make the teaching of LGBTQ+ history compulsory in schools with the aim to promote equality and reduce anti-LGBTQ+ bullying. According to The Scotsman, all school staff will be given basic training on LGBTQ+ inclusive education, as well as a toolkit of LGBTQ+ inclusive teaching resources for classroom use.

After training has been completed, all pupils will study LGBTQ+ history and contemporary LGBTQ+ issues in school. Time for Inclusive Education co-founder Jordan Daly, hopes the new resources, which “have been co-developed with teachers across Scotland”, will help educators to actively tackle prejudice while empowering young people and helping them to “feel valued, confident, and proud of who they are.”

LGBTQ+ activists and advocacy groups have celebrated the news, with Stonewall tweeting: “We’re so happy that Scotland has made history by becoming the first country in the world to make teaching LGBTQ+ history in schools mandatory!” In England, LGBTQ+ inclusive sex education became compulsory in schools last year, with new teaching topics include consent, pornography and LGBTQ+ rights.

Study: LGBTQ+ mental health worsened during Trump presidency 

Posted on by Rachel Badham

A new study, published in the December 2021 edition of Economics and Human Biology, found the amount of LGBTQ+ people in the US experiencing “extreme mental distress” increased during Donald Trump’s presidency. After examining data on over 1 million Americans between 2014 and 2019, researchers found that 12% of LGBTQ+ people were experiencing extremely poor mental health in 2019 after Trump took his place in office, compared to 8% in 2014.

Lead researcher, Masanori Kuroki, said that although the study shows a decline in LGBTQ+ mental wellbeing, it “by no means definitive proof that Trump and his administration” were the cause. He added: “Nuance is required when interpreting the results, as it is premature to treat the estimates as causal and attribute them to the rise and presidency of Trump.” However, he concluded the findings clearly demonstrate that “mental health among LGBTQ people has been deteriorating since early 2016”, whether this be related to Trump’s presidency or not. 

Throughout Donald Trump’s time as US president, the LGBTQ+ community experienced numerous political attacks, such as attempting to ban trans people from joining the military. After replacing Trump in January 2021, Joe Biden has reversed a handful of Trump-era regulations, as well as signing an order to protect LGBTQ+ people from employment discrimination. President of the Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, described this as  “the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president.”.

 

UK Sports Council issues new guidelines on trans inclusion

Posted on by Rachel Badham

The Sports Councils Equality Group (SCEG) has issued new advice on trans participation in sports, stating that organisers should consider their priorities, and choose whether they will focus on inclusion or “competitive fairness”. According to BBC Sport, the guidance, which refers to community sport up to a national level, suggested that “for many sports, the inclusion of transgender people, fairness and safety cannot co-exist in a single competitive model”.

Therefore, it will be up to local governing bodies to “think in innovative and creative ways to ensure nobody is left out”. Although the guide argued “sport must be a place…where everyone can take part”, it suggested that “testosterone suppression is unlikely to guarantee fairness between transgender women and natal females in gender-affected sports”. It encouraged organisers to create new leagues in their given sports, including “universal admission” or open categories.

Although the new guidance does not enforce rigid regulations, the Sports Council reiterated that it is “committed to the inclusion of transgender people in sport and physical activity”, adding: “In keeping with the findings of this review, the goals of acceptance, social inclusion and physical activity may be best achieved outside of the sex binary in grassroots and domestic sport. The introduction of new and different models within sport offers an alternative option to meet the needs of people across all the strands of the Equality Act.”

Taiwan sees “landmark” ruling for trans rights

Posted on by Rachel Badham

A court in Taiwan has ruled in favour of a trans woman who appealed against current regulations that order trans citizens to present proof of surgery before being granted legal recognition of their gender. According to local news source, Focus Taiwan, Xiao E applied to have the gender marker on her ID changed in 2019 but was denied by Taoyuan’s Daxi District Household Registration Office, leading her to file a lawsuit. 

In an official ruling last Thursday, the Taipei High Administrative Court found that the current regulations are unconstitutional, as the country’s law states that “all other freedoms and rights that are not detrimental to social order to public welfare shall be guaranteed.” Xiao E’s lawyer, Victoria Hsu, noted the importance of the ruling, telling SupChina: “We hope this will be the beginning to abolish the requirement of compulsory surgery, to protect transgender peoples’ dignity and rights, and hopefully help to pass a legislation to regulate the process of gender marker change in the near future.”

E-Ling Chiu, director of Amnesty International Taiwan, celebrated the court’s decision, calling it “a landmark moment for transgender rights in Taiwan.” The country is renowned for being one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly places in Asia, with it being the first place in the continent to legalise same-sex marriage. It is also home to Asia’s largest annual LGBTQ+ Pride event, holding the biggest parade in the world since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Theatre Royal Brighton launches Local Heroes discount

Posted on by Rachel Badham

As a way of saying thank you to emergency service workers, armed forces, social workers and teachers, the Theatre Royal in Brighton has launched its Local Heroes initiative, in which those who qualify can receive a 25% discount on tickets. The theatre is hoping that as many professionals as possible make the most of this scheme so that workers can enjoy a well-earned afternoon or night off, with a full list of those who qualify available here. 

The discount is available for a line-up of shows across Theatre Royal Brighton’s autumn season including Peter James’ thrilling new production Looking Good Dead, The Classic Theatre Company’s latest murder mystery, The Cat and The Canary, and the legendary Rocky Horror Show. Special one-night events this autumn included are The Illegal Eagles and The ELO Experience. 

The Theatre Royal

This discount is also available on a selection of 2022 shows, with a full list of shows online. Those using the discount are limited to four tickets per booking and must bring a valid professional ID when presenting tickets at the theatre. 

Three Polish regions reverse anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

Posted on by Rachel Badham

Podkarpackie, Lubelskie and Malopolskie have repealed declarations to actively oppose LGBTQ+ equality after the European Commission threatened to axe funding, making them the latest regions in Poland to remove their ‘LGBTQ+ free zone’ status. According to the BBC, the European Commission was planning to withdraw €126m ($147m) in funding for local Polish governments that did not amend their legislation so as to make it LGBTQ+ inclusive. 

As a result, a handful of LGBTQ+ free zones have altered their regulations, including  Swietokrzyskie, which amended its anti-LGBTQ+ status last week. LGBTQ+ activist Bart Staszewski, who is best known for protesting against the LGBTQ+ free zones, told the BBC that more action is needed to tackle inequality and discrimination in Poland: “Politicians are playing with us. I mean they don’t want to revoke the whole resolution, they just want to replace it with another one.”

It is estimated that there are around 100 LGBTQ+ free zones in Poland. Following the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hostility, the EU launched the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy in November 2020. This action plan aims to oppose right-wing regimes of prejudice against queer people after 43% of LGBTQ+ people reported being discriminated against in the last year. Explaining the strategy, EU commission vice-president Vera Jourova said: “We will defend the rights of LGBTQ+ people against those who now have more and more appetite to attack them from this ideological point of view…This belongs to the authoritarian playbook and it does not have a place in the EU.”

Report: 98% of trans people believe healthcare is inadequate

Posted on by Rachel Badham

According to a newly-released survey by Trans Actual, nearly all trans people in the UK believe that transition-related healthcare provided by the NHS is inadequate, with an additional 45% of trans respondents saying that their GP did not have a good understanding of their needs as a trans person. The Trans Lives Survey 2021 was conducted to learn about the scale and impact of issues affecting trans people, with a particular focus on healthcare.

40% of all respondents felt that the lack of access to gender-affirming healthcare impacted them “very much”, while 47% said the current healthcare system is “not at all” adequate. People of colour were more likely (13%) to experience transphobia from trans-specific healthcare providers compared to white respondents (6%), with a further 53% of BPOC respondents saying that they had experienced racism from healthcare professionals.

As well as detailing the healthcare inequalities trans people are facing, the study found that 85% of trans women had faced transphobic harassment in the street, alongside 71% of trans men and 73% of non-binary people. Nearly all respondents said they had experienced transphobia on social media, while 93% said that media-induced transphobia had impacted their experiences of public transphobia.

Chay Brown, director of TransActual, described the findings as “shocking” yet “unexpected”, adding: “They merely put figures to a perilous situation that almost every trans person in the UK is well aware of.” Jane Fae, chair of Trans Media Watch, hopes the report will provide “food for thought” as it highlights the negative effects of transphobia: “The bottom line is: transphobia impacts all aspects of daily life for trans people…This report is essential reading for anyone working in healthcare or in the media, as well as for policymakers and employers.”

Queer Connect online festival to help loneliness in LGBTQ+ people

Posted on by Rachel Badham

After receiving a dedicated grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, Sappho Events has announced its Queer Connect festival; a series of online events for LGBTQ+ people, including a queer film night and POC speed dating. A recent survey by Sappho Events found that 85% of LGBTQ+ people would like online events to remain accessible during the pandemic, with many relying on these events to feel connected to the queer community.

In an effort to help address loneliness among LGBTQ+ people, Queer Connect will host a boxing class, yoga class, lino print-making workshop, queer film night, queer writing workshop, speed dating, POC speed dating, and a panel event in conversation with the queer disability community. Bookings for the individual events can be made online now, with the first session (boxing class) being held on October 4. 

Sappho Events creates safe and sober social events for LGBTQ+ women, trans and non-binary people across the UK. It welcomes every member of the community and strives to be inclusive of all races, religions, classes, ages, and abilities. All events can be found online, and include a variety of panels and in-person workshops.

Attacker pleads guilty after stabbing trans woman in Birmingham

Posted on by Rachel Badham

A 22-year-old man has received an indefinite hospital order after he stabbed a 33-year-old trans woman on her front doorstep last year in what police described as a “shocking transphobic attack” and “targeted hate crime”. The woman, who has not been publicly named, moved from Poland to the UK in hope of finding “greater acceptance and tolerance”, but was targeted by Nazir Mohammed.

Mohammed contacted the woman online and arranged to meet at her home in Birmingham city centre, but stabbed her twice on arrival. He fled the scene, but called emergency services just minutes later to report the incident, while the woman was hospitalised for her injuries. Since his arrest, Mohammed was held in a mental health unit, before appearing in the Birmingham Crown Court last month where he was given a permanent order.

DC Paul Brogan, from Force CID, said the attack must have been “truly horrifying” for the woman, adding: “This was a targeted hate crime against a member of the LGBTQ+ community and against someone who had in fact to come to the UK to escape intolerance.” He also applauded the victim for her “strength and bravery”, and confirmed that she has now recovered from her injuries.

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