Pride through a personal lens and the reality behind the rainbow

Daisy Welland | 15.06.2026

I feel fortunate to have been raised in an LGBTQIA+ environment, with my uncle being a gay man. I have fond memories of us playing dress up in his flamboyant clothes, him buying me Lady Gaga’s first album in 2008, knowing all the words to Just Dance and Poker Face at 6 years old – arguably my first truly iconic era. We would choreograph our own dances and perform them to my mum and to my nan, and he taught me and my friends at my 16th birthday how to Vogue. I had the best time when we went to see Beyonce perform her Lemonade album together. 

A number of my friends have also come out to me, and I feel incredibly honoured that they felt able to share that part of themselves and that they felt that they would be supported by me in doing so. I am proud to be an ally and I love encouraging everybody to be their true self. 

What I have also seen firsthand is the struggles experienced by members of this community and the battles that they can still face daily. I wanted to highlight some of these battles by drawing your attention to some appalling and distressing statistics.

United Kingdom

  • 2 in 5 LGBTQIA+ people reported experiencing harassment or violence in the past year. 
  • 35% of LGBTQIA+ employees have hidden their identity at work out of fear of discrimination.
  • 79% of transgender employees report workplace bullying.

Global 

  • Only 52% of countries have anti-discrimination laws covering sexual orientation. 
  • Around 80% of countries lack workplace protections for LGBTQIA+ people.
  • Only 38 countries recognise same‑sex marriage (there are 195 countries in the world). 

Violence, Harassment and Hate Crime

United Kingdom

  • 18,702 sexual orientation hate crimes and 3,809 transgender related hate crimes were recorded in England and Wales between 2024/25. 
  • Only 1 in 8 LGBTQIA+ people report their experiences of hate crime to the police. 

Global

  • 70 countries criminalise same‑sex relationships. The death penalty for same-sex relationships is either ‘allowed’, or evidence of its existence occurs, in 11 of these countries.

Barriers in Healthcare 

United Kingdom

  • 1 in 8 LGBTQIA+ people experienced unequal treatment in healthcare. 
  • 70% of transgender people report negative experiences when accessing healthcare.