Congrats @tomdolphin.bsky.social !

✅ Vote & organise: Laws change because people demand them to.

✅ Protect each other: Mutual aid, support networks, and direct action keep us safe.

They want us to believe oppression is inevitable, but history tells us otherwise.

How do we fight back?

✅ Stay visible: They want us erased, so our visibility is an act of resistance.

✅ Challenge bad science: LGBTQIA+ healthcare and mental health care is a fundamental human right.

✅ Educate & archive: They cannot erase history, try as they might. Keep our legacy alive.

We are also not the first to resist.

Our history also teaches us how powerful our collective solidarity is, and how the millions of us will persist despite the odds.

Perhaps most comfortingly, one lesson is that there is inherently nothing wrong with us, no matter what narrative the oppressors try to spin.

We can also recognise that we are not the first generation to face this kind of oppression.

Left: Oppression today
Right: Oppression back then

1️⃣ Pathologisation: Framing LGBTQIA+ identities as illnesses.

2️⃣ Legislation: Using laws to control our bodies, relationships, and existence.

3️⃣ Censorship: Banning LGBTQIA+ book and public expression.

4️⃣ Moral Panic: Claiming we are a "threat to children or women” to justify discrimination.

History can teach us how to fight back against the "LGBTQIA+ oppression playbook". The playbook comprises 4 tactics, which historically has been used to marginalise us. What are they?

Across history, LGBTQIA+ people have faced systemic oppression from laws criminalising our sexuality to the pathologisation of our identities.

In 2025, rising anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments follow a very similar playbook. The attacks we’re seeing today are not new.

Find it on voda.co!

bsky.app/profile/uklg...

I recently shared the founding story of www.voda.co, the world's leading LGBTQIA+ mental health app with the Daily Mirror here - www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...

And if you’d like to explore the world’s largest free mental health resource for trans+ communities - check out Voda’s Trans+ Library! 🌍

www.voda.co/trans-library

To every trans+ person who shared their story, thank you. 🙏

To every employer + mental health provider reading this: there is work to do.

If you’d like to learn more or how you can support trans+ mental health, check out the full 34-page report here: www.voda.co/trans-report...

7️⃣ Love and community still exists.

We often focus on "what’s broken" but 1 thing we've learned 2.3k voices is that community saves lives.

Over 50% said they rely on p2p resources like forums and support groups. Even while living in a difficult world, trans people find and support each other.

6️⃣ 84% of trans+ people want mental health services with trans+ people in it.

It sounds obvious but many healthcare systems simply don't involve trans people in their service design or delivery.

There's a huge need for resources created by people who get it - and have lived it.

5️⃣ Family rejection is one of the most painful obstacles.

59.9% of trans people list family rejection as one of their main challenges.

For many, home is supposed to be a refuge but the reality is far from it. The impact of this also leaves a lasting mark on self-worth and relationships.

4️⃣ Mental health outcomes are concerning with over half (51.3%) of trans+ people report their mental health as "poor" or "very poor."

That's significantly higher than the general population, and is likely because being trans in a society that shames and isolates you takes a toll.

3️⃣ Non-binary people have distinct mental health needs.

Non-binary respondents reported higher levels of anxiety about social acceptance and face distinct mental health challenges related to erasure.