Happy pride month! Whilst pride season brings a wave of good support, it also brings us more attention.

Not always the positive kind…

Let’s see how the first week of pride month has gone…

Monday: UCU Reaffirms their commitment to mobilise in support of LGBTQIA+ rights

In two motions, the UCU union voted to “reaffirm” their commitment to “mobilise in support of trans and non-binary rights and liberation” and to strengthen their solidarity with their trans and non-binary members.

This is amidst the whole Kathleen Stock fiasco. Whilst they stopped short of condemning her directly, this kind of motion is something Stock would not have liked to have happened. Alongside this, a video surfaced online of the crowd at the vote chanting “Trans rights are human rights”. But this reminds me to say… JOIN A UNION.

Tuesday: Ryan Castellucci granted judicial review over UK non-binary recognition

On Tuesday, a non-binary American was granted permission to bring a judicial review regarding their entitlement to a non-binary gender recognition certificate in line with their American birth certificate.

A new step forward. And I am very curious to see how this goes. I can never predict the courts.

Wednesday: New Government board reviewing LGBTQIA Education full of transphobes

On Wednesday, the government announced the members of the board who will be reviewing the RHSE bill that was passed in 2019. One name in particular, Alasdair Henderson has sparked criticism due to his association with the Bell V Tavistock legal case, and his seat at the EHRC. This sparked fears that the review may give a transphobic outcome.

At the moment we don’t know what will happen. We have an idea of what will happen with the trans student guidelines; its intent was clear in the announcement. It was meant to out trans kids. The RHSE review however, was going to be a routine thing as set out in the original 2019 bill. But we don’t yet know if it will be hijacked to fulfil the Tories culture war. We need to keep an eye on this.

Thursday:Bud Light makes LGBTQ donation after Dylan Mulvaney row

Following the controversy over Bud Light sending Dylan Mulvaney a custom made beer bottle, Bud Light on Thursday announced that they are extending their partnership with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and donating $200,000.

Bud Light almost seemed to back down from supporting LGBT people, but this gives the impression they may be heading the opposite direction. The main conversation this might spark is the involvement of corporations in LGBT spaces. I will be listening carefully.

Friday: UN Committee concerned over UK treatment of LGBTQ Children

On Friday, the UN committee on Child rights issued recommendations and expressed concern at the U.K. They noted the block of scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform bill and called for action to ensure LGBTI children can enjoy freedom of expression, They also mentioned their concern over discrimination to LGBT children

First the UN’s independent expert on sexuality and gender identity, now this committee. The UK government is not on the good side of the UN. Whether this does something, we don’t know. But it’s another thing to note.

Saturday: European rights court rules against Ukraine in same-sex union case

A recent court case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that a Ukrainian same-sex couple suffered discrimination. They had unsuccessfully tried to get married at 7 different register offices. This follows pushes for marriage to be recognised after the war for serving members.

The ECHR ruled that the UK’s lack of gender recognition was illegal. Prompting the Gender recognition act to come into being. Maybe this will do the same in Ukraine. We will have to see how it goes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalensky responded positively.

56% of ukrainians support civil partnerships too. So there is hope.

Sunday: EHRC refuses to answer FOI requests, using bomb threat as an excuse

On Sunday, a tweet by christa peterson, revealed that the EHRC declined a freedom of information request seeking internal communications regarding their recent letter to the UK Government on “Clarifying” the equality act. They cited safety of staff and referenced an apparent controlled explosion

This comes to no one’s surprise. The bomb threat is a reference to when a trans woman left bottles of urine in front of the EHRC’s office. Hopefully this is not cited for too long, but we don’t have much hope. They will do anything to avoid scrutiny.

Conclusion

Another week, another set of good and bad news. It isn’t the craziest of weeks… like last week. But a steady stream of stuff. Only real prediction I have is not for next week, but the week after. It’s going to be a shitshow with the debate on the equality act. I really am not optimistic. Just a fruitless hope that will be squashed. However, I will be busy getting blackout drunk in greece. Maybe I need someone to write me a summary of that week’s news for when I’m back…