Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer + Allies.
BRIGHTON & Hove Pride launches campaign #WeStandTogether to highlight their commitment to raising awareness of intersectionality, the overlapping of social identities and how discrimination against one ultimately represents discrimination against all.
The campaign has been announced ahead of this year’s August event as a call to action for everyone in the LGBT+ communities and allies to unite against all acts of discrimination and defend the advances in equality and inclusion that have been made over the last five decades, since Stonewall.
#WeStandTogether will see lamp posts on the the city’s streets lined with striking banners calling out transphobia, biphobia and racism alongside homophobia.
Members from across the LGBT+ communities and allies will also ‘stand together’ at the front of the Pride Community Parade to lead the show-stopping spectacle through the city centre and kick start the weekend events.
As the increasing global political climate and divisive domestic voices threaten to roll back the great progress the LGBT+ communities has made, #WeStandTogether confirms Brighton & Hove Pride’s commitment to raising awareness of intersectionality, overlapping social identities and a zero-toleration stance on discrimination.
Paul Kemp, managing director of Brighton and Hove Pride said he saw the campaign as a continuation of the work done on LGBT rights since Stonewall.
He said: “Campaigning and protest should always be a part of Pride – alongside the celebration. We Stand Together is a response to the alarming increase in homophobia, transphobia, racism and hate crimes not only globally but here in the UK.
“Now is the time for the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to unite and stand together in this politically charged climate, to defend the progress that has been fought for over the last five decades, since Stonewall.”
The number of reported hate crimes continues to increase steadily, with statistics pointing to a particular rise in violence towards minorities since the Brexit referendum in June 2016.
The number of crimes committed against sexual and gender minorities has more than doubled in the last five years, according to a recent analysis by The Guardian, while reports of racial discrimination have increased by more than 10 percentage points since January 2016.
One in five LGBT+ people has reported experiencing a hate crime in the last 12 months, while reports of transgender hate crimes have risen 81 per cent since 2018. Homophobic hate crimes have doubled since 2014.
#WeStandTogether aims to highlight and tackle these concerning statistics through unity.
This year’s Brighton & Hove Pride celebrations, in Preston Park, will mark 50 years since the Stonewall riots which many people see as a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBT+ equality.