That’s why our starting point was a picnic plus plotting in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens.  We were blessed by beautiful weather and the company of 50 folk, friends old and new.  We gained support that day for work against the new EHRC code and were quickly able to produce materials for lobbying MPs and MSPs, and guidance on staying trans-inclusive as a service-provider.

But we were not starting from scratch.  The magnificent campaign work by the 100,000 + Not in Our Name Women has been matched by the public voice of over 160 MPs through Early Day Motion 240 in their opposition to the new EHRC code, as do the BMA, Disability Rights UK, the Fire Brigades Union, GMB, Prospect, UCU, Unison, Unite, and every major LGBTQI+ organisation.

Portobello Pride is a highlight of the year, and we were there with our stall.  Thanks to donations received through our Open Collective account we were able to give out lots of free stickers and zines to folk who visited our stall, and speak to them about what our work is about.

RTiE helped call for a radical bloc at Edinburgh Pride this year, and it was a big one; have a look at this video report on Instagram.  It was a beautiful day with loads of support and positivity, thank you to everyone who pitched in to volunteer, and to everyone who showed up to be a part of it.  We marched in our thousands from the Scottish Parliament, cheering our friends at the Augustine Church as we passed on our way to Teviot Row, where RTiE had an outreach stall, clearing out our flyers, stickers and zines.

The day after Pride we had to take to the streets again.  Working with friends from other community based and political groups following a racist attack, our message was that Leith is for everyone - we are stronger in diversity.

Resisting Transphobia in Edinburgh applauds the City of Edinburgh Council for voting, by an overwhelming majority, to condemn the transphobic new EHRC guidance.

We were proud to send a deputation to speak at the meeting along with deputations from Scottish Trans, Trans Pride Scotland, and the Education Institute Scotland.

We are grateful to Councillors Alex Staniforth and Alys Mumford of the Scottish Green Party whose motion not only included powerful and unequivocal language calling the guidance “discriminatory, unworkable, and incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights,” but also laid out several concrete actions for the Council to take in response.

Thank you as well for the impassioned speeches from the Scottish Liberal Democrat and Scottish National Party Councillors supporting the motion.

Their fund raiser to keep the archive open has proven a great success with over 1,100 people providing funds.  This will keep the friendly Menaces menacing over the next year!