Oxford SU is proud to be part of the annual celebration of LGBTQ History Month. It has been amazing to see so many students and staff put together a programme of events and activities that highlight the history and achievements of LGBTQ communities.
Highlights included:
- ‘Gender Diversity Panel’ at Exeter College, for their Equalities Week.
- Oxford University’s LGBTQ+ Society screened ‘Two Weddings and a Funeral’ (a queer Korean film)
- Just Like Us (a local LGBT+ charity for young people) has been recruiting to train volunteers throughout the month. These ambassadors go into local schools to provide workshops and are also given mentorship from senior LGBT+ professionals.
- Kellogg College organised a "Wrecking Ball" Bop which, together with Plush, raised £546 pounds for LGBTQ victims in Chechnya. The money to ILGA Europe, the major European based NGO for LGBT rights.
- Oxford SU's LGBTQ+ campaign hosted a series of soapbox sessions and local history workshops, to raise awareness throughout the month. The campaign has also been supporting the #USSStrike, alongside other SU campaigns and societies.
- The University's LGBT+ Advisory Group hosted Asad Dhunna for the annual LGBT+ History Month lecture. This led to interesting questions from the audience, with discussions around the importance of Pride as a form of protest, the value of Stop Funding Hate as a campaign, and how to navigate intersecting systems of oppression.
- The Oxbridge Feminist Conference also included a panel discussing trans activism, highlighting the specific concerns on access to healthcare and lack of visibility.
- The new Transgender policy and guidance have been published: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/transgender/. This is an overhaul of existing policy, goes beyond the legal requirements of the Equality Act and aims to cover a wider range of gender identities (e.g. including non-binary identities). Students, Oxford SU’s LGBTQ+ campaign, the LGBT+ Advisory Group and SU representatives (including predecessors of the sabbatical officers) have fed into this policy throughout the consultation process. We are delighted that it has been published, and hope that Colleges will use this to enhance their support for trans and non-binary students, staff and visitors to the University.