Be part of making LGBT+ history this February

Pledge your support

February is LGBT+ History Month in the UK, a time for us to reflect on the often hidden histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and other people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. 

This LGBT+ History Month, we’re reflecting on progress in the global struggle for LGBT+ rights over the last ten years – history in the making!

Just last year we saw colonial-era laws criminalising LGBT+ people overturned in both the Cook Islands and Mauritius. And over the last decade we’ve also seen:

• 17 countries abolish laws which criminalised same-sex intimacy.
• 19 countries legally recognise same-sex marriage.
• 13 countries implement protections against discrimination in the provision of goods and services, such as a landlord refusing to rent a property to an LGBT person.
• 5 countries change their constitution to protect LGBT+ people.
• 16 countries protect LGBT+ people from discrimination at work.
• 23 countries institute specific penalties for crimes motivated by hatred.

We know that we can make even greater strides in the next ten years. But we also know that we are facing a huge challenge if we want to continue to make the world a safer and friendlier place for our communities. 

The struggle for LGBTI+ rights is a global one and the voices who promote intolerance and hatred are also being amplified across the world. The anti-rights movement is well-resourced and coordinated. They are taking strategies which have worked in one country and applying them in the next. 

At a time when we’re seeing this fierce global backlash, with a worrying rise of violence and hate against our communities and draconian new anti-LGBT+ legislation being enacted in several countries, it’s easy to feel despondent. But progress continues to be possible. 

Over the last decade, Kaleidoscope Trust has directly worked with and supported over 100 different LGBTI+ organisations in 40 different countries, many in places where LGBTI+ people are directly criminalised or where their rights are under attack. You, our supporters, help us to ensure that these brave LGBTI+ activists have the resources, skills and knowledge they need to change hearts and minds, laws and policy, as well as to ensure that we can continue to advocate for global LGBTI+ rights here in the UK.

We’re in this fight for the long-term and this LGBT+ History Month we’re asking you to join us and be a part of making history: please pledge a monthly donation so we can continue to fight for as long as it takes for a world where LGBTI+ people can lead free, safe and equal lives everywhere.

Pledge your support