Pride without borders: Standing together in a broken world
OTN Trustee Sue Say speaking at Liverpool Parish Church during Liverpool’s Pride vigil in solidarity with LGBT+ people worldwide. PHOTO: Emma Burnie.
LIVERPOOL’S PRIDE on Saturday 26th July included ‘Remember With Us’, a vigil at Liverpool Parish Church to remember LGBTQ+ people who are no longer with us - including those lost to violence, illness, social isolation and the long-term impacts of discrimination and exclusion.
The Open Table Network (OTN) co-hosted the vigil in partnership with Sahir, Liverpool City Region’s largest and oldest LGBTQ+ charity. OTN Trustee Sue Say offered this reflection:
As we remember those we have loved and lost in the Liverpool City Region, we also stand in solidarity with our LGBT+ siblings around the world, whose rights, safety, liberty and even their lives, are often at risk.
Close-up of the large world map with LED candles representing the 64 states where same-sex love is criminalised in 2025 and the 41 states where trans people died between November 2023 and October 2024. PHOTO: Emma Burnie.
On the sanctuary here beside me is this beautiful world map, which shows six continents in the colours of the rainbow flag. It was a three-day painting project led by local artists Yolanda Talikowska, Dorota Modlinger, Lilly Nelson and Laura Burton in 2022, and restored in 2023 by Tony O’ Connell.
As we reflect in solidarity with our LGBT+ siblings around the world, you may find some of what you hear distressing. Please feel free to take the time and space you need, and go gently whenever you need to, but know you are not alone, and reach out to our community for support.
Criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts
For International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on 17th May each year, ILGA World, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, publishes data on LGBTI people’s human rights globally.
OTN trustee Sue Say (left) lights the candle of volunteer Mark Christopherson from Sahir, Liverpool City Region’s largest and oldest LGBTQ+ charity, at the Remember With Us vigil.
Some of the LED lights on the map represent the 64 states where same-sex love is criminalised in 2025 - 31 in Africa, 21 in Asia, six in South America, and six in Australasia. Criminal penalties range from six months in prison to a life sentence. In seven of these states, the maximum penalty is death.
Trans people lost to violence
For Transgender Day of Remembrance on 20th November each year, the Trans Lives Matter website publishes a list of trans people around the world known to have died because of transphobic violence in the previous year.
The rest of the LED lights on the map represent the 41 states where trans people died between November 2023 and October 2024. Five of these states were in Africa, 11 were in Asia, six were in Europe, eight were in North America, and eleven were in South America.
The total number of deaths recorded for Transgender Day of Remembrance 2024 was 418. Many of their names are unknown as there was no one to identify them.
These are just the countries and cases in which the transgender identity of the person who died was recorded - there may be more which are not recorded.
Causes of death include injuries while in police custody or medical care, suicide and violence. Three of the trans people reported to have died because of transphobia in Europe were in the UK.
ILGA Europe Rainbow Map and Index
In May 2025 ILGA Europe published its annual Rainbow Map and Index, which ranks all 49 European countries on legal and policy practices for LGBTQ+ people.
The latest rankings show that the UK had dropped to 22nd, with an overall score of 46 per cent, making it now the second-worst country for LGBTQ+ laws in western Europe and Scandinavia - above only Italy.
Ten years ago, the UK was named the best place in Europe for LGBTQ+ rights, with an 86 per cent rating. But it has been falling ever since and dropped seven places from last year’s position.
For laws that relate to the recognition of trans people’s gender identity, the UK is now ranked 45th. The only other European nations in a similar position are Bulgaria, Georgia, Hungary and Russia.
Call to action
Although these figures seem bleak, let us not be discouraged but let us remember every act of courage, every moment of compassion, every time we show up for one another - it all matters. It all adds light.
Even in the face of injustice, we are not powerless. We are many. And we are rising.
We honour those we’ve lost by continuing to love boldly, live truthfully, and fight fiercely for a world where everyone - no matter who they are or who they love - can live free from fear.
