On Wednesday 11th June 2025, a group of us headed to Westminster, where we met with MPs to discuss the impact on trans people following the recent Supreme Court Ruling in April.
Our values have remained unchanged over In Focus’s 10 years. Inclusivity is at the heart of all we do, and we are committed to fairness, equity and inclusion, and being a safe space for everyone.
Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary and gender non-conforming people are exactly who they need to be. The LGBTQIA+ community are welcome and celebrated in all we do. It’s a joy for us to support self-expression and empowerment through creativity and community. Recent events continue to affect our team and participants. We want to reassure you: In Focus will ALWAYS be a safe, inclusive space for everyone, where being you is warmly welcomed.
Below, our CEO Kristianne (they/them), Office Administrator Devin (he/him) and LGBTQIA+ DSLR participants Liam (he/him) and Sophie (they/them) share insights into our trip.
I always knew I was non-binary, I just never had the words to describe it or the education to understand that my gender had been designated at birth. Being able to identify as non-binary has opened my own world up to me and let me feel comfortable in my own skin. So why should it bother anyone else?
We make sure In Focus is a safe space for everyone who comes into our spaces. Because why wouldn’t we? It’s that simple.
I was really grateful to Satvir Kaur for offering this opportunity to us to meet with her and Darren Paffey in Westminster, and to Lorna Fielker for supporting us to get there and joining us on the day. To know the voices of these exceptional young people who are our future was heard in a place of power gives us some hope.
Trans people have always existed, always will exist and their lives matter. As we draw a close on Pride month let’s remember the words of Marsha P Johnson the trans black woman who started it all “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.”
Although the day was a bit of a blur, I do remember having a really positive, emotional and exciting day. I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to go to parliament to express my views and share my experience of being transgender with the MP’s.
I'm not sure what the outcome of the visit will be however I personally took a lot away from that day and I hope that everyone else did too.
I was very nervous going into the meeting but came out feeling heard and with a bit of hope for the future of trans+ youth. We discussed everything from healthcare and day to day struggles to education and what it feels like to be part of a minority group. I was able to share through the medium of art and am so grateful I had the opportunity to use my voice in such a personal matter. Thank you In Focus for making me feel supported enough to go and share my experiences. I hope the take away point from this meeting is that Trans people are people.
Our recent visit to Parliament was a powerful moment – our young people spoke with vulnerability, courage, and fluency on tough issues. In such an intimidating setting, they held their ground. What restored a little faith for me was Satvir Kaur MP: in keeping her promise to meet with us, receiving us with respect, and standing with us in solidarity.
You wouldn’t tell a blind person that they’re not blind just because you can see.
So why tell a transgender person their experience is not valid because you are lucky enough to not know what they are going through?
I grew up very aware I was different. That left me isolated, scared and feeling lonely for most of my childhood.
I didn’t come out as trans until I was 18. But when I was 13 I remember watching a show about a transgender boy trying to change the gender on his passport.
After watching it I remember sitting on the floor in my room and breaking down. It was the first time I had seen someone like me. This terrified me because even back then I saw the challenges he faced.
I buried that very deep, trying to tell myself I wasn’t trans. I knew the logic, I was born a girl and that was ok, I’d just keep being a tomboy. But it kept showing up in other forms. I was trying to run so far from the idea of being trans because even back then I felt it was something to be ashamed about.
Thanks to a local LGBT+ charity I felt supported enough to come out. I don’t think without it I’d be here today without them and I don’t mean just in this room.
I’m very proud of how far I have come and extremely grateful for the charities like Breakout Youth and In Focus that have supported me when I couldn’t support myself.
I have a privilege not all trans people have, because I pass.
I can take off a badge or flag and not have to worry about my safety because I blend in with society.
This is why the new ruling makes me angry. It feels like an attack on my friends that has come from nowhere.
Constantly seeing news articles using the word ‘transgender’ for clicks pushing the idea that trans people are monsters. Causing people that aren’t educated on the subject to believe it.
With my privilege, I’ve had people who laugh and chat with me daily, speak negatively about trans people. When I reveal I’m trans and prove their stereotypes wrong, their views shift because they know me.
This world is already tough for trans people. I pay towards the NHS like everyone else, yet I’ve had to spend an extra £7,000 on my transition. Waiting 6 years on the NHS for my first appointment and another possible 3 years to get gender based mental health support. Support that many transphobes are quick to suggest I need to “fix” my mental illness.
The government should be supporting trans people rather than making the world more difficult. This is because we are just people, people who just want to get on with their lives in peace. We all live on the same massive rock, and have to play the cards we were dealt, to make the most of it. I think it’s wrong that anyone should have to hide themselves to make others happy, because at the end of the day it’s not their life.
Trans people make up less than 1% of the population and yet everyone seems to have their opinions. Opinions that have come from misleading information, making an already difficult world for transgender people more dangerous
Postcard and poem created by young person from the DSLR LGBTQIA+ group, who presented it to those we met at Parliament. They also gifted copies of their book, Like a Swan, to Satvir Kaur MP and Darren Paffey MP.
The poem reads:
Upon hearing the ruling my heart sank
A day where the country took a step back
It’s not just Rowling we have to ‘thank’
For our freedom being under attack
After years of anti trans legislation
Me, my friends and community
Have become the scapegoat for this nation
What happened to the unity?
I don’t feel safe walking down the street
Wearing anything that identifies me as trans
How on earth can my life be complete
When everyday people die by these plans
Why do I have to hide my they/them pin
Having lived most of my life hating who I am
Having lived most of my life feeling like a sin
Why should others label me as woman
I feel like my fate has been decided by those
In power who don’t even know my name
So please don’t continue to impose
These laws that don’t treat us the same
We are just people trying to survive
So show solidarity and stand with us
Give us the chance to thrive
Give us a reason to trust