York LGBT community on changes in attitudes in recent years

June marks Pride month but in York, the biggest event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community came early with the city’s annual Pride event taking place on May 30.

Reactions to the event were largely positive, with over twenty thousand people turning out to parade through the streets, foster community, and enjoy live performances from Girls Aloud star Nadine Coyle, drag race star Michael Marouli, and Eurovision icon Nicki French.

However, despite this positivity on the day, organisers were hit with an offensive letter a week before the event – referencing Section 28 laws (a clause of the Local Government Act which prohibited authorities from “promoting homosexuality”) and implying that some nearby residents did not agree with Pride.

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Sadly, and whilst York is generally an open and accepting place, the city’s LGBTQ+ community say that incidents like this seem to be on the rise.

According to national data shared by LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, fewer than half (44%) of LGBTQ+ people feel safe holding their partner’s hand in public and across the nation, statistics show that hate crimes are on the rise.

As set out by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service), a hate crime is “ any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice”.

For any incident to be classed a hate crime, it must involve a criminal offence and intention does not matter – a victim may not even belong to the targeted group, but if their (perceived) protected traits of the crime, then it is considered.

After an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill this year, anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes were made an aggravated offense, bringing penalties in line with those for racially or religiously aggravated offenses.

It seems that this couldn’t have come at a more important time.

According to statistics obtained from an FOI to North Yorkshire Police, homophobia was the second most recorded hate crime in the county after racial hate, with transphobic abuse taking the fourth spot.

This sits alongside the national figures with the CPS revealing that between July and September 2025, 4,358 cases referred by police which were flagged as having a hate crime element – an increase of 14.7 per cent on the previous quarter – April to June 2025.

This is a 2.8 per cent increase in all hate crimes the same period a year prior, with 911 of the incidents reported being homophobic hate crimes.

Inspector Nigel Collins said that in North Yorkshire, the police force was committed to supporting local LGBTQ+ people – attending major Pride events in both York and Scarborough and working with charities that support the community.

This is reflected in their outcomes: whilst homophobic incidents reported to the police have remained around the same level (compared to a rise in national figures), there has been a drop in transphobic hate crimes of around 50 per cent.

Insp. Collins said: “We believe that we continue to have the trust and confidence of the LGBTQ+ community. Our dedicated Hate Crime Team, who review every report, provide bespoke advice to investigating officers, and ensure that appropriate support is in place for victims.

“This focuses on recognising hate crime, understanding its impact, reinforcing the importance of reporting and victim support. Internally, all new control room staff, PCSOs, police officers and special constables receive dedicated inputs on hate crime to ensure a consistent and high-quality service.

“While the reduction in transphobic offences is encouraging, we are not complacent and continue to look at ways to improve.

Hundreds of protesters gather in St Helen’s Square, York, on Saturday (April 26) to protest the Supreme Court’s gender ruling (Image: Dylan Connell)

“We remain committed to developing new and more effective ways of engaging with the entire LGBTQ+ community and ensure that all reports are thoroughly investigated and that appropriate action is taken against those who target individuals because of who they are.”

Despite this, changes in attitudes are continuing to affect people of all ages with a report published in The Press last month stating that in York, 41 suspensions from schools were related to abuse over sexuality.

As the NEU York’s LGBTQ+ officer, Debi Saunders said that whilst York schools were generally ‘good’ – with LGBTQ+ clubs, inclusive libraries, and inclusion of a range of figures in the curriculum – she believes the national picture is still actively playing a part in the changing of attitudes of children.

She said: “We’ve noticed that schools across the city are reporting a rise in hate, including racist, ableist, homophobic, and transphobic abuse. We welcome the fact that the schools locally are doing their best to stop that.

“Maybe the government’s ban on social media will make a difference, but I’m not sure that they’re targeting all the right things. We’ve noticed more parents complaining around equalities education and making complaints by attending that their children are being subjected to grooming.

“We get students challenging certain books in the library or that the PSE education covers a particular topic, and I think that’s due to division being whipped up by the far right and politicians in the country.

“That’s part of the challenge of why the society why the society is currently becoming much more open to negative discourse about anybody who’s different.”

She added that this was something she had noticed in all aspects of life, but particularly in education.

Debi Saunders speaking at a protest against the Supreme Court’s recent decision on transgender rights in St Helen’s Square, York (Image: Dylan Connell)

Debi said: “We strongly feel that there should be no exclusion of students who they are. We also feel that members of staff shouldn’t face racism, homophobia, or transphobia, because being at work and living as your true self and inspires young people.

“As an adult, you can make the decision to walk away or you can decide to take the risk, but it’s not the same for teenagers. As a trans teenager, if you’re forced to go into the toilets of your birth gender, that puts you at risk. If you can’t go to the toilet, what are you supposed to do?

“We know of a school in York where trans students are not allowed to use the toilet of their gender and they’re also not permitted to use the disabled toilet either. It’s trying to force students to stop being who they are and detransition, which is disgusting.”

Debi – who is a transgender woman – also said that she had noticed a change in her own experiences, adding that it reflected a change in society.

She said: “When I transitioned three years ago, I rarely got challenged in public and had any trouble. Now, I’m three years further in my transition and therefore less obvious as a trans person, but I get more hassle now.

“I can’t go through a day without somebody misgendering me, being rude, or calling me a name, when I used to maybe go for weeks between those incidents.

“It’s something that’s becoming more common for all people who are in minorities and it’s linked directly to political parties who are othering people and trying to ferment dissension among people.

Schools at York Pride 2026 (Image: Kevin Glenton)

“York is better than other cities, but it’s not immune to the rising hate. The council are very good and there’s lots of amazing allies in the city, so there’s strong political support for the community in the city.”

When approached, City of York council were keen to reaffirm their support for the community – stating that Equalities was listed as the first of their four council plan commitments to the city to ensure equal opportunity to all.

Cllr Katie Lomas, Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion said: “City of York Council supports our LGBTQIA+ communities. York is home to an above-average percentage of LGBTQIA+ people and we believe that this is a real strength of the city.

“Once again, we had a strong and visible presence at York Pride, including our new Chief Executive, Richard Webb, celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion alongside thousands of residents across the city.

“We will stand up to hate and work hard to champion our communities. We are committed to providing inclusive services and to supporting LGBTQIA+ people throughout the year.

The York Pride bus (Image: Kevin Glenton)

“The rise in hate crime directed towards LGBTQIA+ people is unacceptable extremely concerning for us as a Council, and extremely distressing for those affected.

“We know that many LGBTQIA+ people face significant challenges and barriers in their everyday lives, and we are working with affected communities to provide practical support.”

Another organisation key to supporting the city’s community is the York’s LGBT Forum – a registered charity which supports the people across the city of York and further afield into North Yorkshire.

Dr Graham Dykes, co-chair, said that the current focus for the group is advocacy, adding that the forum had always changed what it does over the years to suit the needs of the community.

He said: “As the LGBT community, we’ve been used to getting more rights over the years. Historically, things have been built on us campaigning and getting more laws to protect us and changing views and having more facilities.

“It’s just very recently that the political climate that all protected characteristics groups are being increasingly attacked and having rights rolled back a bit. It’s the rise of the right– just as people are discussing more racism, more issues with disability rights, we’re going through the same thing.”

He added that online, there had been an increase in negative comments and whilst most of the mild ones were “absurd”, the group had noticed more concerning extreme abuse cropping up and that the frequency of comments had been increasing across the board.

Reaffirming their support to their members, Graham added that the forum was pushing to provide more support for people.

He added that they hoped to create an LGBTQ+ nightlife venue for the city and they had recently received mayoral funding to create a mental health scheme called MINT – male, intersex, nonbinary, and trans – aimed at helping members who may be struggling.

Graham said: “I think gaining the rights in the first place has been a long, slow process and I think people are anxious about the current direction. There’s still a reason to be positive in the fact that organisations like us that can be that voice.

The York Pride bus entering Knavesmire on May 30 (Image: Kevin Glenton)

“We’ve had a big setback with the recent Supreme Court on trans rights, but we’ve had positive conversations with our politicians and I think, ultimately, there’s a need for legislation to maybe clarify the positions.

“It isn’t just an LGBT matter either, because some politicians are rolling back on all the protected characteristics and with talk around the Human Rights Act being repealed by Reform, this would be rolling back on the protections of everyone.

“It’s a worrying situation, but we’re hoping that it doesn’t get too bad. We’re trying our best. We’ve come a long way and we’re standing on the shoulders of giants to get where we are. If we’re going back then we have to come together and speak as one, and make sure people understand.”

However, despite the difficulties, the York’s community remains strong, with LGBTQ+ businesses, including Portal Bookshop and This Shop is So Gay (both in York city centre), continuing to thrive.

As reported by The Press last March , gay siblings Claire and Xander (who did not want to give their surname) opened their doors on a second shop, ‘This Shop is So Gay’ in Parliament Street, which came as a reaction to experiencing homophobic abuse.

Since then, the shop targeted by vandals and their flags have been pulled down, but the pair have continued to grow their business with a third shop opening in nearby Stonegate.

Another way that the LGBTQ+ community are standing their ground is through community groups, with one of these being the York Templars – a York RI RUFC associated and International Gay Rugby (IGR) affiliated club.

They formed in 2019 after York Pride was approached by England Rugby and IGR to support the development of an inclusive team in the city that caters to all men – both members of the community and allies.

David Carr, inclusion officer and a founding member of the club, said that his first time visiting a rugby club was far outside his comfort zone, but that it had introduced him to a new community entirely.

He said: “I still remember walking through the gates of the club and thinking okay, this is a very different environment than I’ve ever been in before. Back then, there was four of us from the Pride committee and three others that we didn’t know at all, then week on week, more people started showing up.

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have even walked into the club if it wasn’t for the club. Now, we’re part of the wider rugby community too and it’s incredibly friendly – some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet are in your local rugby club.”

This was an experience shared by other members, who spoke to The Press about the positive impact that getting involved in the sport has had on their lives, with one member, Daul, saying: “I’m actually going out and doing things on weekends. I finally have a community.”

David Carr of the Templars (Image: Alice Kavanagh)

David added: “Sport has so many benefits for both physical and mental health, so to combine that with the community, we’ve got a really good thing going. I’ve met so many people I’d probably have never come across in my normal life and you meet people in a different way through the sport.

“At the time we set up, there wasn’t really anything like this. There are more options now – like Queer Arts, who do amazing work with their choir. All we were really doing was going out having drinks as a social life and this felt like something totally different.

“I wouldn’t have thought at the time that it would have changed my life – it’s just a lot of fun to play, but then there’s everything around it too. With the world feeling not so great, it’s just really nice that we still have fun places to go.”