Press Statement on the 'Safe to Be Me' Conference

Last updated:
27/01/2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gendered Intelligence will not be attending the Government’s ‘Safe to Be Me’ conference later this year.

We regret that it has come to this. We want nothing more than to earnestly work with the Government to further the rights and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people in the UK and around the world. But time and time again they have shown us that they will not listen, and that they do not care.

The closer we get to the conference, the more ‘Safe To Be Me’ sounds like a bad joke. This Government has refused to follow through on proposals made years ago to bring legal recognition to transgender people. It has allowed hatred to run through its ranks without fear of sanction. As we have so recently seen through the Council of Europe report, the Government is content to stand idly by as anti-trans rhetoric and hate crime runs rampant.

We call on all organisations and charities to show their solidarity and join us in boycotting the ‘Safe To Be Me’ conference. So long as this government continues to wash its hands of trans and non-binary people, this event will be nothing more than an exercise in pinkwashing.

Do not dignify them with your presence. We are always willing to talk, even when we fundamentally disagree. If the UK government wants to make genuine positive change for LGBTQ+ people we are ready to support it with everything we have. But until then, we need to draw the line.

Let’s not be complicit. Let’s show them our strength – our solidarity – our pride – and say: Enough is enough.

ENDS

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