When I first encountered Stonewall it felt like discovering a lifeline: an organisation named after the New York riots that sparked a global movement and a blueprint for resisting police brutality and institutional exclusion. Over decades in the UK the charity has been central to major legal and social shifts, including campaigning against Section 28, securing adoption rights for same-sex couples and advancing same-sex marriage. Those victories have shaped the everyday freedoms many of us now take for granted, and they inform why I now work alongside advocates who aim to make the next era safer and fairer for LGBTQIA+ women and gender-diverse people.
That future-focused work is ambitious because the political landscape remains volatile and rights can feel alarmingly fragile. Recent figures from the Home Office report more than 18,000 hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and over 2,500 trans related hate crimes in 2026, while polling suggests that over half of LGBTQIA+ people sometimes avoid holding their partner’s hand in public. These numbers are a stark reminder that visibility without protection leaves many exposed, and that advocacy requires both optimism and sustained effort.
Why the struggle looks different for women and non-binary people
The lived reality for lesbian, bi+ and trans women is shaped by intersecting oppressions: misogyny layered over homophobia, biphobia and transphobia creates a distinct pattern of threat and exclusion. In practical terms this means a higher risk of gendered violence and systemic minimisation of harm; today nearly a third of women report experiencing domestic abuse, and roughly a quarter have been subject to sexual assault or attempted assault. Understanding these overlaps requires attention to intersectionality as a working concept — that is, the way different forms of discrimination compound one another — and it demands approaches that explicitly protect and centre the experiences of women and gender-diverse people within broader LGBTQIA+ advocacy.
Collective action: Stonewall’s priorities and the role of partnerships
Change rarely arrives from a single petition or protest; it builds through organised campaigns, legal challenges and strategic alliances. Stonewall is currently focusing on several urgent priorities: pushing for anti-LGBTQIA+ offences to be treated as aggravated offences in sentencing, campaigning to end harmful conversion practices, and seeking justice for service personnel who were unfairly discharged for their sexual orientation or gender identity. These policy goals are advanced in collaboration with specialist partners, and they are strengthened when grassroots communities and media organisations amplify evidence, share testimony and sustain public attention.
Campaign highlights and visibility work
Practical visibility and solidarity work sits alongside legal campaigning. Events such as Lesbian Visibility Week centre the stories and achievements of lesbian, bi+ and non-binary people across seven days of programming, while initiatives like the Rainbow Laces campaign translate inclusion into everyday gestures that make belonging visible in sports and public spaces. Cultural moments — from the DIVA awards to summer celebrations — also restore joy and collective identity, culminating this year in a community celebration on 6 July at The Ministry, Borough, which marks the close of a Pride weekend and offers space to connect, celebrate and organise together.
Partnerships, media and sustaining the movement
Solidarity extends to supporting the organisations that document and defend our lives. DIVA magazine has been a platform for LGBTQIA+ women and gender-diverse people for more than three decades, and its move into charitable status as the DIVA Charitable Trust reflects a commitment to sustain queer media. Partnerships between advocacy groups, community magazines and charities amplify campaigns, provide resources for survivors, and create routes for readers and supporters to get involved — for example, by visiting divacharitabletrust.com to learn how to contribute. The long game of rights and protection depends on institutions that combine campaigning muscle with cultural visibility.
Ultimately, progress arrives when people stand together: by naming harms, lifting up survivors’ voices, backing policy change and celebrating the joy of community. The work is both practical and pronounced — from legal asks to ribboned laces on trainers — and it relies on networks of friends, allies and organisations. When those networks remain active and visible, they not only protect hard-won gains but also open pathways for the next generation to live with dignity, safety and pride.