Leading LGBTQ+ Organizations and Charities to Boycott UK’s International Safe To Be Me Conference
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Several LGBTQ+ charities and organizations have confirmed that they will boycott the UK’s Safe To Be Me Conference, scheduled to take place this summer to coincide with anniversary of London’s first Pride event. The boycott is in response to the government’s decision to exclude trans people from the ban on conversion therapy.
In a statement, Stonewall said it was withdrawing its support for the Safe to Be Me conference due to “the Prime Minister’s broken promise on protecting trans people from the harms of conversion therapy.” It added that it would only be able to participate in the event if the PM "reverts to his promise for a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.” Trans people are "no less worth of respect, care and protection than cis lesbian, gay, and bi people," continued the statement. "If the UK government cannot stand behind and respect all LGBTQ+ people’s fundamental human rights, it should not be convening an LGBTQ+ rights conference on the global stage.”
The statement is supported by several LGBTQ+ charities and organizations across the UK, including the LGBT Foundation, Terrence Higgins Trust, Mermaids, Scottish Trans Alliance, Trans in the City, and Kaleidoscope Trust. In light of last week's events, Trans in the City, founded by BP’s Bobbi Pickard, said it will not be supporting the government's Safe to be Me conference this summer. It added that it will be publicly advising all its member organizations to “consider the negative portrayal of LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and the effect on their trans and nonbinary employees, that being associated with such an event will bring." It also highlighted that, “it is in no way "Safe to be Me" if you are trans, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming in this country and the UK government is actively worsening this situation.”
The Terrence Higgins Trust described the government’s decision to exclude trans people from the ban on conversion therapy as “completely unacceptable”, adding that “Trans rights are human rights – progress without or at the expense of trans people is not progress. We stand together and will not be divided.”
The Rainbow Project also confirmed that it is withdrawing all support for the Safe To Be Me conference and any proposed events for Northern Ireland, citing the UK government’s “procrastination, mixed messaging, and failure to commit to protecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” leaving it with no option but to boycott the event. Kaleidoscope Trust, headed by LGBTQ+ activist Lady Phyll, which works closely with governments across the commonwealth, confirmed its withdrawal from the conference too: “We stand in solidarity with our trans siblings in the UK and around the world. As such, we are withdrawing our support of #SafetoBeMe2022.”
The UK government has attributed the delay for banning trans conversion practices on concerns regarding “unintended consequences” particularly for under-18s, but insisted that it was doing more work to outlaw conversion practices for the trans community too.
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