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Author: Rachel Badham

Lunch Positive hosting World AIDS Day community lunch

Posted on by Rachel Badham

On Sunday November 28, Lunch Positive will be hosting a community lunch at the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church to commemorate World AIDS Day (December 1). The event is open to all, with a buffet lunch at 1 pm and a new exhibition that will showcase photos of the Brighton AIDS Memorial.

The event promises to be a “wonderful afternoon of great food and friendship”, and offers a safe space for anybody living with HIV. Lunch Positive also hosts a weekly Lunch Club every Friday between 12 pm and 3 pm. The organisation can be contacted via 07846464384, by filling out the website contact form.

Doors will open at 12.30 pm for the World AIDS Day community lunch. The venue address is: Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, Dorset Gardens, Brighton, BN2 1RL.

Report: UK Home Office targets negatively impacting LGBTQ+ asylum seekers

Posted on by Rachel Badham

A report conducted and written by David Neal, the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, has found that Home Office productivity targets are preventing queer asylum seekers from having their cases assessed in enough detail, with some decision-makers saying they did not feel confident in evaluating claims related to sexual orientation. 

Overall, the average wait for a decision has increased from 233 days in 2017 to 449 in 2020, with the number of asylum claimants awaiting an initial decision reaching a record high of 52,935 for the year ending March 2021. A handful of Home Office decision-makers said they felt unable to assess each claim adequately, with one saying: “Due to the high targets, I don’t feel like we are given adequate time to fully explore each claim and make the right decision or consider the person behind the application number.” 

Ultimately, the report noted a “widespread failure to elicit the necessary material facts to enable a robust decision to be made in cases based on a claimant’s sexual orientation, where the validity of the claim must usually be demonstrated through a personal account”. While claims relating to sexual orientation usually “require an extensive interview and/or a longer period of analysis and reflection”, Home Office decision-makers are not usually allowed the time to conduct such an evaluation,  

Rainbow Migration, an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and immigrants, described the report “as a timely reminder of how incredibly difficult it already is for LGBTQ+ people who are fleeing persecution to ’prove’ who they are in order to get safety in the UK.” It also warned against the prospective Nationality and Borders Bill, which could leave LGBTQ+ people facing “an even higher hurdle than they currently do to “prove” their sexual orientation.”

Vigil held outside BBC to commemorate the Trans Day of Remembrance

Posted on by Rachel Badham

Following widespread criticism of the BBC’s coverage of the trans community, a crowd of 150 people gathered outside the BBC’s London headquarters on the Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20) to pay tribute to all the trans people who have lost their lives to violence. According to a release from Trans Media Watch, a handful of trans performers, including rapper Princess Armani, attended the vigil to highlight the BBC’s “careless transphobia”.

Vigil organiser, Natacha Kennedy, explained the purpose of the event: “We were there first and foremost to mark the deaths, many otherwise unrecorded, of some 375 trans people across the world in the past 12 months…We were also there to send a clear message to the BBC, that the trans community will not be cowed by their bigotry and hatred towards us.” Kennedy also condemned the BBC for releasing a Portuguese-language version of an infamous anti-trans article in Brazil, which has the highest rates of anti-trans violence in the world. 

When discussing BBC director Tim Davie, and head of outgoing news, Fran Unsworth, Kennedy said they are “responsible for an organisational culture which allowed someone to decide that it was OK to translate an inflammatory anti-trans article into Brazilian Portuguese and push it out to Brazil.” She called for both of them to be sacked immediately on account of their ‘journalistic atrocities’.

Northern Ireland sees homophobic attack amid wave of hate crime

Posted on by Rachel Badham

Northern Irish police have appealed for witnesses after a man was violently beaten by a group of men who verbally assaulted him with “homophobic slurs” on November 14. According to The Impartial Reporter, the man was attacked in Enniskillen – a town in County Fermanagh – during the early hours of Sunday morning. No suspects have been publicly identified.

A local police inspector described the victim as a “man in his twenties”, but did not release any further information about him. They added: “The victim said that they had been attacked by several males, and received punches to his head. The victim also had homophobic slurs shouted at him.” Inquiries into the attack are ongoing, with police encouraging anyone with information to come forwards. 

The UK has seen a considerable rise in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes recently, with figures from VICE World News showing 210% increase in homophobic incidents during the past six years. From 2020 to 2021, 19,679 hate crimes related to sexual orientation were recorded, with an even larger increase in transphobic hate crimes over the past six years.

Report: 1 in 5 teachers “uncomfortable” discussing LGBTQ+ topics

Posted on by Rachel Badham

To mark 18 years since Section 28 was repealed, Just Like Us has released a report on teachers’ attitudes to LGBTQ+ inclusive education. A total of 17% of 6,179 primary and secondary school teachers said they feel uncomfortable discussing LGBTQ+ topics with students despite 2020 government guidance to include LGBTQ+ teaching in every school’s curriculum. 

Primary school teachers were most likely (19%) to feel uncomfortable discussing LGBTQ+ topics, despite OFSTED requiring primary schools to teach children about LGBTQ+ families. On the other hand, only 29% of all teachers said that they felt “completely comfortable” talking about LGBTQ+ topics in the classroom, with 25% of primary school teachers expressing this feeling. 

Introduced under Margaret Thatcher’s government, Section 28 prohibited local authorities, including schools, from discussing any topics that were considered to ‘promote homosexuality’. Although it was repealed in 2003, chief executive of Just Like Us, Dominic Arnall, said: “Clearly things have not changed as much as we like to think and, as a result, growing up LGBTQ+ is still unacceptably tough.”

He continued: “Having silence around LGBTQ+ topics only results in shame, stigma and students feeling that they don’t belong in school…It is essential the government provide support and clear guidance for schools on supporting LGBTQ+ young people.”

 

Australian senator calls for national ban on trans inclusion in sports

Posted on by Rachel Badham

Senator Claire Chandler is calling for trans girls and women to be barred from competing in sports at any level, arguing that the biological definition of sex should be reintroduced into the Sex Discrimination Act. According to Sky Sports Australia, the Tasmanian senator described trans inclusion in sports as “completely inappropriate”, as cis athletes are supposedly being “totally overlooked”. 

She continued: “It’s about women being recognised for women and the transgender movement is actually trying to cancel out biological women” while also suggesting that “a lot of those competing are pre-operative so they are still men identifying as women.” Chandler now intends to introduce a bill to the Australian parliament that would ban trans participation in sports across the country.

The US has also seen widespread hostility towards trans athletes, with several states banning trans participation in school sports. However, a 2021 study found that there is no evidence to “support the claim that allowing transgender athletes to participate will reduce or harm participation in girls’ sports” and suggested anti-trans rhetoric relies on “scare tactics, stereotypes, and unwarranted claims that transgender women have a physiological advantage over cisgender women.” 

 

November 27: Free Queer comedy show in Jubilee Library

Posted on by Rachel Badham

On November 27, Jubilee Library is hosting queer comedy show, Yours Sincerely, by Will Jackson. Described as a “queer coming-of-age comedy about the complications of 21st-century communication”, Yours Sincerely has been praised for its “witty and relatable” writing that is “guaranteed to tickle you”. 

Yours Sincerely is Jackson’s first solo show. Following his debut at Edinburgh Fringe, he has been named a Rising Comic Star by Attitude LGBTQ+ magazine. The Brighton show has been organised by Inn Crowd – a project that supports live performances specifically created for local audiences. 

The show will commence at 2 pm. Admission is free and no booking is required.

International Olympic Committee launches new framework on TNBI inclusion

Posted on by Rachel Badham

In honour of Transgender Awareness Week (November 13 – 19), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced “groundbreaking” new guidelines on “Fairness, Inclusion & Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations.” Issued as part of the “IOC’s commitment to respecting human rights”, the framework acknowledges the importance of creating a “safe, harassment-free environment” for all athletes.

It was created following a two-year consultation process with over 250 athletes and concerned stakeholders, and offers a “10-principle approach” to help individual sporting bodies develop regulations that are applicable to their sport. The framework states that it is the responsibility of “each sport and its governing body to determine how an athlete may be at a disproportionate advantage compared with their peers, taking into consideration the nature of each sport.”

In regards to TNBI athletes, the framework aims to ensure that the competition in men’s and women’s sporting categories is “fair and safe, and that athletes are not excluded solely on the basis of their transgender identity or sex variations.” However, it noted that “precautions should be taken to avoid causing harm to the health and well-being of athletes.” Following the release of the regulations, the IOC is now conducting a “comprehensive roll-out phase” to support athletes and sporting bodies as they adapt to the framework. 

MP Joanna Cherry supports trans conversion therapy

Posted on by Rachel Badham

After being removed from the SNP’s front bench in Westminster earlier this year, MP Joanna Cherry is facing backlash for suggesting that trans conversion therapy should remain legal on November 13. The ‘gender critical’ MP has been accused of transphobia on multiple occasions, although the SNP has not specified if this attributed to Cherry’s removal from the front bench.

As the government moves to ban conversion therapy in the UK, Cherry – who remains a member of the SNP – is now facing further criticism after tweeting: “We must not make it a criminal offence for therapists to try to help patients with gender dysphoria to feel comfortable in their birth sex. As we used to say #Somepeoplearegay. #GetoverIt.” She also argued that “all policy makers should hear the range of opinions on the debate around gender identity” as she suggested trans conversion therapy should remain legal.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to end transphobia within the party

Following her series of tweets, many LGBTQ+ people and allies urged the SNP to take action against Cherry, particularly in light of Nicola Sturgeon’s vow to stamp out transphobia in the party. One Twitter user described Cherry’s views as ‘bigoted’, adding: “What’s concerning is politicians trying to use their influence to push extremely anti-trans views from an insignificant number of people as a “range of opinions” instead of calling it what it is. Bigotry.”

Others urged the SNP to “literally anything about Joanna Cherry” as she continues to hold her place in the party despite her removal from the front bench. SNP leaders have not yet responded to Cherry’s comments.

46th trans person killed in “epidemic of violence”

Posted on by Rachel Badham

Shortly after 2021 became the deadliest year on record for trans Americans, Jenny De Leon was violently killed in Tampa, Florida on November 2, making her the 46th trans person to have been murdered in the US this year. According to local police, De Leon was found dead at around 6 am in the 8500 block of 9th Street, and the circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear as authorities have yet to identify a suspect.

Before her death, De Leon was experiencing homelessness and was receiving assistance from PFLAG Tampa, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group. The organisation commemorated De Leon on Facebook, describing her as an “enigmatic, bright soul with enough energy to fill any room”, while also announcing that a vigil will be held on the Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20). 

The Human Rights Campaign has referred to the rate of violence against the trans community as a “national epidemic”, with trans women of colour being disproportionately affected. While some of the cases involve a “clear anti-transgender bias”, many victims have been killed by “acquaintances, partners or strangers”, some of whom have not yet been identified and brought to justice.

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