.png)
.png)
LGBTQI+ Rights in the UK: What’s Changed, What’s at Stake, and Why #SaferToBeMe 2026 Matters
For years the UK was held up as a global leader on LGBTQI+ equality. Today, many LGBTQI+ people, especially trans and non-binary young people, tell us they feel less certain and less safe than they did even two years ago. That is why ReportOUTand OUT North East are bringing people together for #SaferToBeMe 2026 on Friday 6 November.
Earlier this year, the IGLA-Europe Rainbow Index released showed that the UK has fallen to 22 out of 49 countries for LGBTQI+ equality. But what does the reality of this decline look like for LGBTQI+ young people?
A changing landscape for trans people
One of the biggest changes in recent years has been the growing focus on transgender rights. In April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. The Court also confirmed that transgender people continue to be protected from discrimination under the Equality Act. The judgment has had significant consequences for how single-sex services and spaces are understood. Following the ruling, the Equality and Human Rights Commission developed updated guidance on how the Equality Act applies to single-sex services, including toilets and changing facilities.
For transgender people, these changes can affect ordinary parts of everyday life. Being able to use a toilet, access a changing room, participate in sport or access a service should not become an experience that creates fear or forces someone to explain or defend their identity. ReportOUT has previously raised concerns that guidance based on biological sex could increase the risk of stigma, discrimination and hostile confrontation for transgender people. Whatever the wider debate around these issues, the impact on trans people themselves needs to remain part of the conversation.
What does this mean for LGBTQI+ young people?
Young LGBTQI+ people are growing up during a period of significant change. They are hearing public conversations about their identities, their rights and their access to services, often at the same time as they are trying to understand who they are themselves. For some, supportive families, schools and communities can make an enormous difference. For others, discrimination, bullying or uncertainty about where they can safely be themselves can have a lasting impact.
This is why creating safer environments matters. Being safe is not simply about being protected from physical violence. It means being able to be yourself without constantly having to consider whether it is safe to tell someone who you are. It means being able to access education, healthcare and public services without fear of discrimination. It means knowing that you belong in your community.
LGBTQI+ communities are diverse, and people can experience discrimination in different ways depending on their sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, ethnicity, faith and other aspects of their lives.
The UK has been here before
There is an important lesson in the UK's history. Section 28, introduced in 1988, barred local authorities from "promoting homosexuality" and from promoting the teaching in schools of homosexuality as an acceptable family relationship. Although it was repealed in the early 2000s, its effects lasted far longer. Teachers were afraid to speak openly, homophobic bullying often went unchallenged, and LGBTQI+ young people were left without support or visible role models.
Why #SaferToBeMe 2026 matters
This year's #SaferToBeMe focuses on LGBTQI+ young people in the UK. It is a chance to listen to their experiences and to ask what needs to change to make our communities safer and more inclusive. The UK's decline in rankings is an important backdrop, but the real issue is far more personal than a number on a map. It is whether a young person feels safe walking into school. Whether a trans person can use a public toilet without fear of confrontation. Whether someone can tell their family who they are. And whether LGBTQI+ people can reach healthcare, education and public services without facing discrimination.
#SaferToBeMe 2026 is a one-day conference for teachers, youth workers, health professionals and frontline staff. It will offer clarity on the changing landscape, lived experience from young people and practitioners, and practical tools for supporting LGBTQI+ young people safely and with care.
Join us on 6 November at the ONE Centre, Gateshead, or online.
