Quakers in Britain pledge to stand with trans community

Quakers in Britain made a decision at their 2021 Yearly Meeting to “seek to provide places of worship and community that are welcoming and supportive to trans and non-binary people".

“With glad hearts we acknowledge and affirm the trans and gender diverse Friends in our Quaker communities, and express appreciation for the contribution and gifts that they bring," Quakers in Britain agreed.

Paul Parker, the most senior staff member at Quakers in Britain, would like this to be reflected in their national organisation's public position and in its workplace, as well as across the Quaker community in Britain.

Trans and non-binary people are facing an unprecedented level of hatred in the UK, which is affecting all aspects of their daily lives. One in four trans people (26%), and almost two in five non-binary people (37%), say that they aren't 'out' at work.

Attacks on charities that support trans inclusion are accelerating, forming part of a wider climate of hostility towards charity campaigning.

In signing the pledge, charity leaders committed to unite against this hate and offer support to those attacked. They stated that the sector must remain a safe place for all trans and non-binary people to work, volunteer and seek support.

The diverse range of signatories includes the leaders of the Alzheimer's Society, Samaritans, Teenage Cancer Trust, Jo Cox Foundation, and the 2050 Climate Group.

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"As charity leaders, we want to reiterate our absolute commitment to supporting the rights of our trans, non-binary, and gender diverse communities.

We invite you to join us and say a firm NO to anti-trans hate, whether you are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or a proud ally. Together we will make a stand to support our trans colleagues, volunteers, supporters, and service users.

We believe that we, as voluntary sector leaders, have an important role to play in helping to shape the fibre of our communities both now and in the future by stating clearly that our sector MUST remain a safe place for all trans and non-binary people to work, volunteer or seek support.

Attacks on charities that support trans inclusion are accelerating, and over the past month we have seen one after another attacked for explicitly supporting trans inclusion in their Pride messaging. We must stand united together against this hate and offer support whenever any of us are subjected to an attack by the transphobic movement.

This campaign offers all of us an important opportunity to start having conversations with our trans and non-binary colleagues, volunteers and service users, both within our organisations and across the sector. It offers us the opportunity to come together to say that we – as a sector – are determined to stand alongside trans and non-binary people now and will remain here for all trans and non-binary people in the future.

We know that we're not all in the same place with regards to trans equity, indeed, many of us are very early in our journey when it comes to discussing trans and non-binary inclusion, but wherever you might be on your organisation's journey, we encourage you to stand alongside us, learn alongside us, and commit to ensuring that we are offering spaces where trans and non-binary people are simply able to be themselves, free from discrimination, prejudice and hate.

We must not allow hate to proliferate within our sector. We must not remain silent.

We will continue to #StandWithTrans, today and always, and we invite you to join us."