A social media ban will not keep young people safe | by Heather Paterson | Jun, 2026 | Medium Today’s announcement of a social media ban for under 16s will be welcomed by some people as a bold step to protect children. I understand why. There is a lot about social media that is ugly, harmful and frightening. I am not someone who thinks the internet is all harmless fun or that concerns about online safety are somehow overblown. I am an active user of social media. I have seen

Issue 55 Forever with Pride 1st June 2026 Pride has always meant more to me than a date in the calendar. Of course, it is joy. It is music, banners, glitter, chosen family, protest signs, dancing, laughing and, for a moment, feeling like the world has made a little more room for us. But Pride is also memory. It is resistance. It is care. It is a reminder that LGBTQ+ communities have always had to build what we needed, often with very little, because nobody else was going to

May Leaders Blog: The UK can and must do better on LGBT+ rights Welcome to the latest in our monthly series of reflections from Consortium’s Senior Leadership Team. Each month, a different member of the team will share updates, insights and sector-wide reflections, helping to connect our strategy to the realities of our work and the experiences of our members. ILGA-Europe’s 2026 Rainbow Map has been released today, and it makes for deeply uncomfortable reading. The UK now sc

(2) Visible, well and stronger together: reflecting on Lesbian Visibility Week 2026 | LinkedIn Today is Lesbian Visibility Day, and the final day of Lesbian Visibility Week 2026. It feels like a good moment to stop and reflect on a week that has been joyful, powerful, emotional and much needed. This year’s theme is Health and Wellbeing, which feels especially important. Visibility matters, but it is not just about being seen. It is about being able to live well, love openly,

https://medium.com/@heatherpaterson/will-we-still-say-lgbt-in-50-years-29aa11f54476 I was having an interesting conversation with a colleague recently about the language we use in the LGBT+ sector. I have recently found myself wondering whether, at some point in the future, we might actually stop using the term LGBT+, or any of its variations like LGBTQ+ or LGBTQIA+. Let me explain. Over time the language we use to describe our communities has gradually expanded. In the 1970s

'Young people paying the price' for DEI cuts to Pride in UK Corporate brands in the UK are seemingly bowing to the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI), leaving Pride organisations struggling to survive. Earlier this week, National Student Pride – the UK’s largest LGBTQ+ student event – announced its 2026 festival will be its last in its current form , due to the number of corporations which are slashing their DEI budgets. This year’s Na