Supreme Court judgment has left LGBTQ+ people feeling 'angry, worried, hurt and uncertain'

Simon Blake, Stonewall CEO

It’s been a year of turbulence, challenge and change for the LGBTQ+ community across the UK and globally.

We have seen numerous examples of rights being challenged, contested and rolled back across the world.

Here in the UK, we have fallen down the global leaderboard on LGBTQ+ rights, and we are seeing hostility, discrimination and division more openly expressed.

Time and again I talk to people of my generation who are saying that despite how much progress has been made, the atmosphere surrounding LGBTQ+ rights feels horribly reminiscent of the past, and not in a good way.

LGBTQ+ rights, although hard won, remain fragile. We have seen several regressive actions in recent months. Funding for the LGBTQ+ movement globally has reduced and although the Welsh Government remains committed to its LGBTQ+ funding, across the UK funding for LGBTQ+ services is incredibly tight.

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Prejudice

Prejudice towards marginalised groups is unacceptably high; hate crime data released this week shows that hate crime is on the rise and Stonewall data shows less than half of LGBTQ+ people feel safe holding their partners hand in public.

This anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is crossing into some workplaces too. Some organisations are dialling down their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) activity - and where they do remain committed to DEI principles, many are renaming activity or merging it into other departments. Some are seeing reduction in budgets.

The Supreme Court judgment on the meaning of woman and man in the Equality Act, in April this year, and the subsequent inadequate Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) consultation process on a new Statutory Code of Practice, has left the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and non-binary people, feeling angry, worried, hurt and uncertain.

The draft guidance introduces a hierarchy of rights and tiers safety concerns, implying that some LGBTQ+ peoples’ rights and safety are less important.

This is set against a backdrop of a growing division in attitudes towards refugees, asylum seekers and people of colour across Wales.

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Union Jack

The Union Jack is being flown with a re-purposed meaning across the country to show that other marginalised communities are being demonised, along with the LGBTQ+ community. Sadly, we are now living in a world that feels more hostile for many people.

My second year as Stonewall CEO kicks off, like my first, advocating for the legislative change and political leadership we need, even more so in Wales as we look ahead to the Senedd elections next year.

In July we launched Stonewall’s new strategy: In courage and unity, is hope; which we will be launching in Cardiff with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice next week. Our vision is of a world where everyone, everywhere has equal rights. Central areas of our work are navigating turbulence, which reflects the times we live in right now - and shaping policy and we will be calling on members of the Senedd to continue to prioritise the commitments laid out in the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales.

Sustainable and long-term change cannot be achieved by anyone alone. Wales has a great opportunity to lead sustainable, long term and inclusive change through engagement with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, recognising the necessity of a more equal Wales for everyone. Politicians from all parties play a vital role so we will be continuing to advocate for positive change with a wide range of politicians and policy makers.

Manifesto promises

The government in Westminster has yet to deliver on its election manifesto promises. In the summer the Prime Minister said he wants the UK to be a leader in LGBTQ+ rights; we simply haven't yet seen the sustained commitment and political courage we need to advance LGBTQ+ equality across the UK. Over the past eight years we have been promised time and time again that a fully inclusive ban on conversion practices will be brought forward; and the Welsh Government has been vocal in its support highlighting it in the LGBTQ+ Action plan for Wales but we’ve yet to see a draft bill from Westminster.

The UK Government has committed to amend the Crime and Policing Bill to make LGBTQ+ and disability hate crimes aggravated offences, which will make a considerable difference to LGBTQ+ people in Wales. But it is not over the line yet. In Wales, we still do not have the long-awaited Trans Guidance for Schools.

Trust in governments and politicians is lacking and that makes it even more important that the needs, voices and realities of the LGBTQ+ community are represented in political debates and conversations. Our call to action for all politicians, especially as we look to the upcoming Senedd elections, is simple: we need moral courage and political leadership to reduce the social, economic and health inequalities that exist across our four nations in the LGBTQ+ community.

Hope

Despite the challenges there is also so much that gives us hope. There are parliamentarians in both houses who consistently stand up for the rights of the community. The thousands and thousands of people who volunteer their time to answer calls and emails, to run employee and other networks to organise – and attend - Pride events, to fundraise for LGBTQ+ causes – we saw this across Pride Cymru, Wrexham Pride and Pride in the Port that Stonewall attended this year.

We’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing LGBTQ+ young people through our Cymru LGBTQ+ Future Leaders programme, which gives us real hope for the future of inclusive leadership here in Wales. We know that progress is possible; we’ve seen it happen, time and time again. I look forward to working with politicians and partners to make that possibility a reality.