Since last Pride, the UK has slipped down the ranks for LGBTQ+ rights in Europe.
Since last Pride, the government released plans to amend the Equality Act to change the definition of “sex” to “biological sex”, which would potentially diminish the definition of “legal sex” outlined in the Gender Recognition Act.
Since last Pride, we are still awaiting a ban on conversion therapy in the UK.
Since last Pride, at least 38 transgender have been killed worldwide, including the tragic death of 16-year-old, Brianna Ghey in the UK.
With almost 70% of neurodivergent people identifying as LGBTQ+ (Weir, Allison, and Baron-Cohen, 2021; Warrier, 2020), everything that has happened since last Pride will also affect neurodivergent people.
An increase in research in this area has shown that neurodivergent people who identify as LGBTQ+ are more likely to experience psychological stress and discrimination (Maroney et al., 2023), increased stigma about their differences (Strang et al., 2023) and increased barriers to healthcare (Wallisch et al., 2023). Therefore, as highlighted by Tarah Loy-Ashe (2023), neurodivergence is an LGBTQ+ topic, and therefore communities and allies have a responsibility in addressing all that is happening, advocating LGBTQ+ neurodivergent voices and create more inclusive and equitable environments for all.
Check out what you can do to help.
Other resources:
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/uk-take-pride
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/young-futures/disabled-and-neurodivergent-lgbtq-support