A year on from Supreme Court ruling, Trans+ History Week back bigger with bold national campaign, new stories, and cross-party support
Third annual week (4–10 May) launches with Reflections, lifting Trans+ voices into public space, as community responds to hostile rhetoric with solidarity and growing support
London, 30 April 2026 – Trans+ History Week (THW) returns for its third year from 4–10 May 2026, anchored by Trans+ History Day on 6 May – the anniversary of the 1933 Nazi raid on the world’s first Trans+ clinic in Berlin, Germany.
This year’s edition arrives with Reflections, a national awareness campaign carrying Trans+ voices and stories to audiences across the UK; a slate of new reporting of Trans+ history commissioned with partner QueerAF; and a programme of events across London.
Trans+ History Week’s 2026 campaign, Reflections, runs from 30 April to 10 May, including at Outernet London and out-of-home sites across the nation. Download photos and mockups here.
Outernet London photos credit: Trans+ History Week and Ciaran Christopher
Out-of-home mockups credit: Trans+ History Week, Uncharted, Open Media UK
Growing support for Trans+ people across sectors and parties, as equality and rights in UK face consequential moment
Trans+ History Week 2026 returns as Trans+ people are navigating an increasingly politicised media and policy landscape following the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers – and weeks before MPs are due to scrutinise the EHRC's revised Code of Practice. In turn, Trans+ people and their allies have been stepping up in their battle for fundamental rights.
Marty Davies (she/they), Founder and Director, Trans+ History Week said:
Trans+ history runs deep, and it runs through everything. In calm waters and rough tides, Trans+ communities have always found a way — and we will keep finding it: fighting for our dignity, our rights, our community, and our right to simply exist.
Trans+ History Week is about telling that story, on our own terms – that matters more now than ever. In the face of erasure, Trans+ people have had to discover and claim our own history, making ourselves visible and refusing to disappear. I’ve been heartened to see tremendous allyship grow across sectors in response, as more and more people recognise the injustice our community is facing for what it is.
The 2025 Early Day Motion welcoming Trans+ History Week (EDM 1181, tabled by Labour MP Kate Osborne (she/her)) drew 69 signatures from MPs across seven parties – Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, Plaid Cymru, SNP, SDLP, and Alliance, alongside Independents. Community campaigning has also successfully pressured the Government to amend the Crime and Policing Bill, making hate crime based on LGBT+ identities an aggravated offence under the law.
Other Government commitments are still waiting on legislation and action. After community campaigning secured a commitment to a ban on conversion practices — and ensured it would be trans-inclusive — Trans+ communities and allies have had to continue to call for that ban to be brought forward in law. They are also pressing the Government to listen to Trans+ people on healthcare: increasing access to gender-affirming care, cutting NHS waiting lists, and removing the barriers Trans+ youth face in reaching life-saving services.
Kate Osborne (she/her), Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East said:
Trans+ people have always existed and will continue to do so, even as they endure persistent attacks on their right to exist both here and across the globe. Trans+ History Week offers us the chance to reflect on the contributions made by the trans+ community in our own shared history as human beings, and why this matters when it comes to fighting for the justice and dignity of trans people today.
We as MPs must listen to trans+ people and resist the politics of hate and division. We must be clear that homophobia, transphobia and interphobia are interconnected, and we must fight them together to create a society that is based on equality, safety and respect.
Carla Denyer (she/her), Green Party MP for Bristol Central said:
Contrary to what you might think from the current toxic debate, trans people have always existed, across all ages and cultures, from the Gallae of ancient Rome to the Māhū of pre-colonial Tahiti and Hawai’i. That’s why Trans+ History Week is so important, as it gives us all a chance to expand our minds, and reassess what we call ‘traditional’ or ‘normal’.
I hope that my fellow MPs and other policymakers engage with this week – it’s vital they understand not just the inequalities that trans people face now and have experienced through history, but also the many ways that trans people have contributed to cultural, scientific and social progress.
Reflections: new national campaign takes over Outernet London and beyond
Spanning the week is a powerful new national awareness campaign that gives voice to the Trans+ community in a time when 99% say UK media coverage of Trans+ lives has harmed their mental health, 96% report it has changed how strangers treat them, and 91% say it has changed how their own family members treat them (according to TransActual’s Trans Lives report, released in March 2026).
The campaign is built around water: a surface for reflection, a reminder that even the smallest ripples shape what comes next, and a metaphor for how the Trans+ community has shifted, adapted, and always found a way through. It reminds us all that Trans+ people have always been here, and always will be.
Reflections runs from 30 April to 10 May across the nation in out-of-home sites – including Liverpool Central Station, Manchester's Hotel Football, Brighton's Churchill Square, Newcastle Haymarket, London’s Boxpark Wembley, and Edinburgh Towers – as well as in UK-wide publications.
Anchoring the campaign is an immersive installation at Outernet London, where evocative headlines sit beneath a calm bed of water, each revealed by a falling droplet that sends a ripple across the space. An original three-minute ambient soundscape by TRANS VOICES turns one of the UK’s most-seen public screens into a moment of calm and reflection.
The Reflections headlines span history, collective courage, and resilience, including:
In the reflections of the past, we see our strength.
Our history runs deeper than most realise.
Today’s waves began as ripples.
Like water, we always find a way.
In calm water and rough tides, we rise.
Stories of Trans+ history, told by 21 Trans+ creatives
The awareness campaign invites people to explore and be inspired by the often erased history of Trans+ identities and communities. Each headline connects with long-form journalism on the Trans+ History Week hub at QueerAF – from research on the enduring ways Trans+ communities have built family and support across cultures to the story of a Jewish transgender couple who escaped Nazi persecution.
It was, after all, the ongoing erasure of the Trans+ clinic at the center of the Nazi regime’s infamous book burnings that first inspired the founding of Trans+ History Week and shaped its principle that Trans+ history needs to be told – and by those who live it.
2026 marks the third year of the paid commissioning and mentoring programme run with creative mentoring partner QueerAF. This year the non-profit publisher is working with 21 Trans+ creatives to author, illustrate and produce original stories for publication across the week, with support from Creative Talent Sponsor Publicis Groupe UK. Through this and other programmes, Trans+ History Week has invested in over 100 Trans+ creatives over the past three years.
Stories this year include histories of gender diversity in pre-colonial Philippines, to the UK’s first symposium on Trans+ healthcare which led to the creation of the gender clinic system we have today. They also explore notable names from history who show gender diversity has long existed and runs deep. From the author of Little Women to a composer for Star Wars and Watership Down, the articles this year show how often forgotten Trans+ people are in contemporary understanding.
Jamie Wareham (he/him), Founder of QueerAF CIC,said:
The Trans+ community is devastated, and worried about the way the judiciary, parliament and media are vilifying them – but they’re finding hope, and lessons for the fight ahead by learning about and from Trans+ history. There is widespread misunderstanding about this community's rights, and policies that affect them because this history is ignored or devalued or lied about by those who seek to undermine Trans+ rights. The work of our journalists speak to the power of trusting people with lived experience to shape stories and having them in the newsroom, delivering huge value to our audience with in-depth, long read articles.
Kate Williams (she/her), Inclusion & Wellbeing Director, Publicis Groupe UK, added:
Partnering with Trans+ History Week is a powerful step in supporting future generations of LGBTQIA+ talent in our industry. By amplifying their voices, we not only foster cognitive diversity and equity of opportunity, but also counter misinformation, driving a more inclusive and informed industry. At a time when standing our ground with marginalised communities is more important than ever, this partnership reaffirms our commitment to equity, representation, and driving meaningful change.
Complementing the commissioning programme is the Trans+ History Week workbook, also in its third year. These free toolkits have been downloaded thousands of times and used by community groups, educators, and workplaces running their own sessions across the UK and beyond. The 2026 edition, launched in January, features documented stories spanning the UK, US, Uganda and Japan, built around four lessons including “We’ve always been here” and “We can’t be erased”.
Week of community events includes live podcast recording and comedy night
Across the week itself (4–10 May), Trans+ communities and allies will come together at events, including two flagship events in London hosted.
On Wednesday, 6 May – Trans+ History Day itself – a community evening with Headline Sponsor Deloitte UK will feature a live recording of the QueerAF podcast. Hosted by Lars Fellows (he/him), known from BBC’s I Kissed a Boy, the recording will bring together Big Brother stars Nadia Almada (she/her) and Zelah Glasson (he/him) for a conversation about representation on reality TV. The evening will also include a panel discussion on the power of storytelling hosted by Ki Griffin (he/they), featuring Rebecca Jane Morgan (she/her), HRH Aphrodite I (she/her), and Alexandra Parmar-Yee (she/her). Tickets are available now via Outsavvy.
On Friday, 8 May, a comedy night and fundraiser with Partner Diageo will feature an all-Trans+ line-up, including host Don One (they/them), headliner Alex Franklin (she/her), and comedians Christopher Lieberman (he/him), Alex Gibbon (they/he), and Ki Griffin (he/they), with a DJ set from DARKWAH (they/them). Tickets are available now via Outsavvy.
Helen Evans (she/her), Deloitte UK LGBTQ+ network partner sponsor said:
Deloitte is proud to sponsor Trans+ History Week in its third year. Our firm is built on the contributions of our people, and we firmly believe we are stronger when every individual feels valued, respected, and heard. We are looking forward to celebrating the long history and amazing contributions of the trans+ community during Trans+ History Week 2026, while recognising the challenges they face and the strength it takes to live authentically.
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Trans+ History Week 2026 is led by Trans+ History Week CIC, a Trans+ led nonprofit and social enterprise, with storytelling and talent development programmes delivered in close partnership with QueerAF CIC.
Trans+ History Week 2026 is supported by:
Headline Sponsor: Deloitte UK
Creative Talent Sponsor: Publicis Groupe UK
Partner: Diageo
Workbook powered by: DIVA Charitable Trust
Creative Mentoring Partner: QueerAF
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Trans+ History Week CIC is a Trans+ led nonprofit, social enterprise that exists to popularise the global awareness week: Trans+ History Week, 4–10 May 2026 — anchored by Trans+ History Day, 6 May. It is a week-long reflective period to learn and celebrate the momentous and millennia-old history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse and Intersex people.
The organisation commissions content and hosts events and exhibitions that reflect on history and surface learnings for our present to secure a better future. Trans+ History Week has raised over £100,000 and, with QueerAF, invested in over 100 Trans+ creatives: writers, illustrators, audio producers, musicians, photographers, speakers, journalists, poets and comedians. Trans+ History Week itself was originally incubated as a QueerAF launchpad project.
Recognition received includes:
British Podcast Awards 2025 – ‘Impact’ – Finalist (QueerAF podcast)
Audio Production Awards 2025 – ‘Changemaker’ – Gold (QueerAF podcast)
Rainbow Honours 2025 – Community Initiative of the Year – Highly Commended
DIVA Awards 2025 – Charity or Community Project of the Year (Finalist)
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QueerAF is an award-winning independent publisher and the only press regulated and non-profit LGBTIQA+ publisher in the UK. It reinvests its revenue to launch the careers of emerging and underrepresented LGBTQIA+ creatives through mentoring and commissioning schemes. QueerAF’s weekly newsletter publishes investigations, unique features and helps 10K people understand the queer news every Saturday. As creative mentoring partner for Trans+ History Week, the publisher delivers the initiative’s official content, mentoring schemes and production services, including at its events and this year’s workbook.
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We’ve used the term ‘Trans+’ to be inclusive of the many ways people describe and define their relationship to their own gender or absence of gender. This term is inclusive of transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, bigender, gender non-conforming and agender people – or indeed inclusive of any of the other ways people define their gender. This term is also inclusive of Intersex people who have natural diversity in sex characteristics.