Transphobia

(asked on 15th November 2021) - View Source

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to reduce transphobia in the (a) media, (b) NHS and (c) UK.


Answered by
Mike Freer Portrait
Mike Freer
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 18th November 2021

The Government is clear that transphobia is unacceptable and has no place in British society. We are working across Government to tackle transphobia, homophobia and biphobia. This action includes working with stakeholders to tackle transphobic hate crime, and we have committed to publishing a new Hate Crime Strategy later this year.

Also announced this week, the Department for Education has confirmed funding for five leading organisations, worth over £1 million in total, to support schools and colleges in championing tolerance and respect as part of their responsibility to tackle all forms of bullying.

On tackling transphobia in the media, the Government’s Online Safety Bill will deliver a ground-breaking new system of accountability which will require internet companies to protect users from online abuse, and will make it easier to report harmful activity. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport will also be examining the current advertising regulatory framework to make sure it is equipped to tackle online harms.

Within the NHS, a range of activity is in place to ensure that transgender people receive appropriate support and do not face discrimination. This includes the provision of Gender Identity Clinics and training for staff. NHS England also runs the Rainbow Badges scheme which is an initiative that enables staff in participating Trusts to demonstrate to service users that they offer open, non-judgemental and inclusive care for patients and their families, who identify as LGBT.

Next year, we will be holding Safe To Be Me: A Global Equality Conference, which will bring together government representatives, businesses, civil society and international parliamentarians to address the safety of LGBT people at home and abroad.

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