A thought about Pride and Safety

CN mention of anti trans hate groups and police

EDIT: There are some other chill events going on on the day, links at the bottom of the article.

I want to use this space today to talk about the upcoming London Trans+ Pride March, but also a bit more generally about the safety of trans people at protest.

I write this in full knowledge of past events that have left trans people seriously at risk and vulnerable from the privileged members of hate groups, and from the police.

London is having a trans pride march this weekend, 14th September. This event was going to be a sober, indoor event, but there was disagreement amongst the organisers, and all plans got shifted to a march. Although the possibility of both events running was there, the indoor event organisers decided to cancel. I am also thoroughly disappointed that what was going to be “London Trans and Intersex pride” has been renamed to “London Trans+ Pride” — contrary to the wishes of the community and once again pushing intersex people onto the sidelines.

Now, I’ll be the first to argue that police have no place at any pride, and I personally do not believe that they are needed to facilitate a safe pride. However, to host a large march through central London, involvement of the authorities (including the closing of roads, full preparation, etc) is one way to ensure a smooth march. A march with little authoritative backing may be legal, but will also be met with resistance — it is disruptive by its nature, resulting in the unplanned closure of roads and potential last minute involvement of police. Disruption has its place in protest, but when a protest is disruptive, all those present at the protest must be prepared and aware that what they are attending is a disruptive protest.

The organisers have released “a statement on accessibility” after members of the community expressed serious concern that a march would not be accessible for all trans people. There are a few points of note in this:

1. It makes clear that logistical planning is minimal. “Accessible toilets” listed are simply cafe toilets that are along the march route. There is no indication that these cafes have agreed to this, and no indication that they will therefore allow attendees to use their toilets (without buying a coffee). Although it states that the end point (Soho Square) is accessible, the City of London itself states that Soho Square is not accessible for all, and once again no disabled toilets will be provided.
2. In addition to this, the route has been kept a secret to prevent/deter the presence of hate groups. The result of a secret group, however, is also the prevention of those unable to march the entire route. It also suggests that the route has not been fully disclosed to City authorities, and that the roads will therefore not be closed. This means that the marchers will have to contend with angry road users, and the possibility of last minute police involvement.
3. Keeping the route a secret will actually do little to prevent/deter hate groups. I have no doubt that hate groups will be present, especially after the anti-trans lesbian march in Leeds was protested by trans rights groups last weekend. These anti-trans hate groups go out of their way to bate trans people, and regularly film and photograph them. I know many people who have been doxxed by these groups and had their lives seriously impacted. Without a coordinated plan to deal with these groups, it risks serious rising tensions and trans people being seriously at risk both at and after the event.
4. The “accessibility statement” contains a great deal of information from Green & Black Cross about how to respond to police and, importantly, how to react after an arrest at a protest. GBC provides important legal support at protests, and although the information from their website has been included it is not clear if GBC have been officially approached by the march organisers, and if they will be present to provide direct legal support.
5. The further worrying point about the inclusion of GBC information is the fact that, although people should be prepared for the antagonistic involvement of police at a march/protest, it implies a directly antagonistic relationship with authorities from the off. This event hence appears to be a disruptive protest for trans rights. I’m all for protest (especially when it comes to pride being a protest), but when the attendees expect it to be a “pride march like any other”, it is likely that they will not be fully prepared for a disruptive protest and all that that entails.

Questions have been raised to the organisers of the march about many of these issues, and these have largely gone ignored and have been deleted from their social media pages.

I can’t tell if this event is a grand exercise of self-promotion by the organisers, a quiet pride march, or a full-on disruptive protest. What I can tell is that this event is not safe and, more importantly, extremely unsafe for trans people. Obviously, if you still think it’s for you, then by all means go. But before you do, be fully aware that what you are getting yourself into looks to be a large-scale protest, with seriously lax logistics, no provisions for disabled people, and no clear way to safely deal with hate groups.

If you would still like to go to something tomorrow other things happening are:

London Bi Pandas Trans+, Nonbinary and Intersex Picnic

Open Barbers Trans Friendly Afternoon Social