The Students’ Union at UWE LGBTQ+ History Month campaign was carried out in partnership with the LGBTQ+ Officer, Trans Welfare Officer and LGBTQ+ Society here at The Students’ Union. This month is celebrated throughout February, please read on to hear about what we got up to…

Our first objective for the Month, recommended to us by The LGBTQ+ Society, The LGBTQ+ Officer and VP Community and Welfare, was visability – to make it clear that we are recognising the month and the importance it holds to our students.

I hope if you stepped into the SU at any of our campuses you feel we hit this brief – look how great they all look.

Also as part of the visibility piece we put up a daily LGBTQ+ Recommendation of Bristol across all our instagrams, each day we shared a LGBTQ+ Club, hobby group or support group.

We celebrated the Month in  some of our regular crafty days – including Pride patches and rainbow bunting making.

We held a Gender Free hair and nail pop up at Bower and Glenside. we had invited in a local hair service - Dooo, where we offered gender free hair cuts, an additional treat was the offer of head massages, and UWE’s own team from the Beauty Bar came to do nails, this was offered free for the students but if they could, the LGBTQ+ Society nominated a LGBTQ+ Charity that they could donate to. They were both really popular, and raised £162 for Albert Kennedy Trust.

We had a live Q and A with Dan Wood, Chief People Officer at UWE and Adelaide Miles – Nilson, the Students Union LGBTQ+ Officer, presented by Kolawole Samuel Olure the president, they spoke very openly about a range of topics including the importance of the month and how to bring about change, they shared their personal histories and stories of challenges and positive experiences they have had, of accepting themselves and being excepting by others, role models and coming out in different era’s through to hate crime and how everyone including allies can report or get support and advice on good allyship.

To watch the video follow this link: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3sUUZmMGfm/

Do check out UWE LGBTQ+ Society who’s mission is to provide for LGBT+ and ally students at UWE, creating a welcoming space for students who identify with a minority or marginalised sexuality or gender identity. They run regular events and socials, raise awareness of LGBT+ issues around the university, and help with building the community in Bristol and across the Southwest:

https://www.thestudentsunion.co.uk/organisation/uwelgbtplus/

SUPPORT AND RESOURCES

akt: akt supports lgbtq+ young people aged 16-25 in the uk who are facing or experiencing homelessness or living in a hostile environment.

Brigstowe: Providing local, independent and free HIV and Long Term Health Condition services

Kiki Bristol: Kiki Bristol is a space for QTIPOC (Queer, transgender, intersex, people of colour) to meet, greet, eat, discuss, dance and more importantly feel free to be yourself!

Mindline Trans: Mindline Trans+ provides a safe place to talk about your feelings confidentially.

Off the Record: OTR is a mental health social movement by and for young people aged 11-25 living in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

Outstories Bristol: Collect and preserve the social history and recollections of LGBTQ+ people living in or associated with Bristol, England

Pride without borders: Bristol Pride Without Borders is our support group for Bristol-based LGBTQ+ people seeking asylum and those with refugee status.

SARI: SARI provides free and confidential support for anyone who is a victim of hate crime. Whether that’s based on race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or sex. 

Trans Pride South West: Small but dedicated team of trans / non-binary people, working together with the LGBTQI+ community to bring events, talks, socials and resources in the south west.