Debate contribution: International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

Debate contribution by Ms Sian Mulholland on 12 May 2025.

MLA

Ms Sian Mulholland

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

12 May 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4938105

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I wholeheartedly agree. I also pay tribute to my colleague and friend for the bravery that he showed just to be himself in a world where he was admonished for such. Thank you, John, for your contribution. On safety, I want to make a quick comment on Mr Gaston's comments. In the past decade, not one trans person has been convicted of a femicide — not one. When we look at the violence against women and girls strategy, what are we looking at? What are we trying to work against? A trans person is more likely to be a victim than a perp. The crime statistics show that, if a man wants to make a woman feel unsafe — I go back to your comment, Mr Buckley — or enter their safe spaces, there is not an awful lot that is going to stand in their way. They do not have to be trans, or pretend to be trans, to do so, even though that is the media story of the day. According to the expert advisory panel, 67% of transgender people in Northern Ireland say that they avoid being open with their gender identity for fear of abuse. That is two thirds of that community being silenced and shrinking themselves to stay safe. More than half — 53% — have experienced at least one hate-related incident. The abuse starts early. It starts in school corridors, at home and, sometimes, even in care. For some, that leads to homelessness. According to research, a shocking 25% of trans people experience homelessness in their lifetime; something that is within the wheelhouse of the Minister who responded to the debate. We also cannot ignore the alarming scale of online abuse that is directed at transgender people. It is not just harassment or bullying but a form of targeted sustained violence. A Brandwatch report analysed 10 million social media posts from the UK and US over a three-and-a-half-year period. It identified 1·5 million transphobic posts. The same report found that transphobia was politically driven and that there were clear spikes in abuse when political leaders proposed restrictions on trans rights or made comments about the rights of —.

I have a lot to get through. I am really sorry. That data leaves us in no doubt that online spaces have become battlegrounds for trans people. What we say in the Chamber and the actions that we take as political representatives matter. We have to acknowledge the toxic public discourse that surrounds trans communities today, as my colleague pointed out. As highlighted by the advisory panel, growing media hostility that is targeted particularly at trans individuals is not just harmful in the abstract or the intangible but actively discourages LGBTQI+ people from entering or remaining in public life. When the headlines are filled with dehumanising language, television debates treat people's identities as opinion fodder and political discourse regularly undermines or seeks to push out trans existence, it sends a clear message: "You are not safe here". The consequences of such abuse are that eight in 10 trans people have reported anxiety and more than half have reported shame, fear and isolation. Higher rates of mental health issues are experienced by trans people: 40% have self-harmed and nearly 43·5% have attempted suicide. Those are not just numbers: they are a crisis in motion, driven not by trans identity but by rejection, marginalisation, neglect and the narrative that continues around them. When it comes to education, schools should be a refuge and a safe haven, but fewer than half of our LGBT+ pupils feel safe at school. Some 61% of trans pupils report difficulty in accessing appropriate toilets. Over 60% are negatively impacted on by sports policies. Forty-eight per cent of trans pupils have been bullied due to their identity. Of those who report, 54% feel unsupported in their school environment. In my previous role as the manager of youth projects in the arts sector, I worked with a wide community of facilitators and young people, including, but not limited to, those who were trans, non-binary and queer. I want to put forward a bit of a human aspect. On one occasion, a parent contacted me about a project that I was delivering. They wanted to thank me for providing a truly diverse and inclusive experience for their child. They said that it was the first time that really interesting conversations had opened up at home, and that the process of actually meeting someone with that identity had demystified some of the tough questions that they had. On another occasion, a young person came to me on work experience. On completion of their week, they came back to volunteer because they had loved it. Before their first day of volunteering, they took me aside and very anxiously asked me whether it would be OK if I called them by another name because, when they came for work experience, their school had banned them from telling me the name that they had chosen and the fact that they were transitioning. They apologised and said that they had felt dishonest with everyone whom they had met that week. What kind of world do we want to create for young people who are not encouraged or supported to be their genuine selves? With regard to the strategy, which is what the motion is about, not the Supreme Court ruling that is referenced by the DUP amendment, on 13 March, the Rainbow Project's Alexa Moore gave evidence to the Communities Committee and described the failure to progress both the gender equality strategy and the LGBTQI+ strategy as a missed opportunity to ensure equality across government and society in Northern Ireland. It was emphasised that those equality strategies were designed originally to be brought forward together: they were interlinked. The current piecemeal approach is not sufficient. Serious gaps in data collection were referenced. Concerns about the lack of inclusion in the Programme for Government of LGBTQI+ voices and the absence of progress on issues such as IVF access for LGBT+ people must not be ignored. Under New Decade, New Approach, the Executive made a promise. It is time that we delivered on that promise. Being trans, non-binary or queer is not the problem: discrimination is; injustice is; delay is; silence is.

Going back to the words of our motion, why would anyone in the Chamber not want to affirm their:

"commitment to equality, diversity and human rights"?

Surely we all believe that every citizen whom we govern deserves to live a life free from discrimination, violence and harm, so why hesitate to bring forward a strategy that reflects those values?

Again, this is not some intangible policy area that we are debating. It is the lived reality for individuals living in our communities, and it is our duty, as my colleague Kellie Armstrong pointed out, to represent all in our society — not some, but all. We need to do all that we can to commit to having justice in law, equality in care and dignity in every corner of life, because every person deserves to walk this world as who they are freely, safely and proudly. I commend the motion to the House.

1,202 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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