Teenage trans activists occupy Department for Education headquarters in protest for safe, inclusive education for trans students

LONDON, 23 August 2024—Today, 14 young trans activists, all aged 18 or under, initiated an occupation at the Department for Education’s (DfE) Westminster headquarters to protest for their right to a safe and inclusive education, as well as the overall rights of trans youth and adults. Hundreds of people of all ages also turned up outside the building in support of their cause.

The activists aim to underscore the urgent need for policy changes that respect and protect the rights of trans youth, including their rights to autonomy, safety, trust, respect and inclusion. Their occupation, taking place in the multiple arched recesses in the DfE building along Great Smith Street, is intended to continue for multiple days.

Their protest comes amidst increasing pressure on the Government to respect and uphold trans rights, following a decision by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting to extend a ban on puberty blocker access, as well as concerning draft guidance from the Department for Education that if implemented would potentially violate the Equality Act and harm a whole generation of trans and non-binary children.

“As trans youth, our rights are constantly violated, our health and safety are put in jeopardy and our very existence is demonised—in policy and in practice, everywhere from our schools to our doctors’ offices,” said one of the teenage activists staging the protest. “It is unacceptable that 10% of trans children are bullied every day and 54% experienced bullying at least once in the last year. Our lives and our education are at stake, and we unfortunately must take action to remind politicians and policymakers that we’re real kids, and we deserve safety, respect and representation at school.”

“I have never felt safe as a trans person in school, unless I'm around other trans people. I have been bullied in school for my gender to the point I feared I would be hunted and killed. Not once have I felt I can truly be myself without risk of judgement, criticism, hate speech or violence,” said one of the activists, aged 15, staging the protest. “I'm out here because I want school to be safe. I want to not be outed by my teachers, I want my name to be respected, and I want every other young trans person in school to not have to undergo what I have. I want to stop this from ever happening again, because it is a truly torturous experience that needs to be stopped.”

“My school is so afraid of the right-wing media that they've been advised to not talk about trans issues (the trans ‘problem’, which is all I am to them). It changes nothing for the school, all it means is I cannot talk or educate others about myself. I have such a depth of knowledge that I want to share with my school so they do not go about the world ignorant or hurtful of people like me, but I'm not allowed to because a minority of people in power regard the very fabric of my being as ‘contested’,” said another one of the activists, aged 16. “I am an ideology, not a person, to them, let alone a vulnerable child. So we're scared and we're angry, but most of all we're fed up with the way we are denied any say in the discussion about ourselves.”

The protest calls for respect and protection for the rights of trans youth, including:

• Autonomy: “We deserve to make our own decisions about our social transition, and about who gets to know about it.”

• Priority: “Our comfort and safety deserves to take priority over theoretical disapproval from people who are unaffected by us.”

• Safety: “We should be protected from transphobic bullying and harassment, including misgendering and deadnaming.”

• Trust and respect: “Our identities are not up for debate, and shouldn’t be subject to any external validation.”

• Inclusion: “Who we are is not a contested ideology, and our reality should be reflected in what we learn about in school.”

The activists are part of the trans+ youth-led UK action network “​​Trans Kids Deserve Better”. The group previously staged a four-day occupation of NHS England headquarters in July to call for equal access to gender-affirming healthcare, protection from discrimination in all areas of life and the right to be heard in all decisions that affect them.

The latest photos for press use will be made available here.

To learn more about the Trans Kids Deserve Better action network, visit https://transkidsdeservebetter.org or contact [email protected].

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Notes to editors:

Research conducted by Cibyl, on behalf of the charity Just Like Us:

• 10% of trans children said they were bullied on a daily basis, and over half (54%) had experienced bullying in the past year prior to being surveyed (compared to 21% of their non-LGBT+ peers).

• Just 19% of transgender young people report feeling optimistic about the future on a weekly basis, compared to 36% of their nontransgender peers. 15% of transgender young people said they had never felt optimistic about the future in the past 12 months.

• 15% of trans children never feel optimistic about their future.

• Almost half of LGBTQIA+ children (48%) had experienced no positive messaging on LGBTQIA+ inclusion at school over the last year.