Pride in Education: Statement on the European IDAHOT+ Forum 2027

Pride in Education has decided not to attend the European IDAHOT+ Forum, which the UK Government will host in London in May 2027.

The Government has said that hosting the forum will strengthen the UK's position as a leading voice for equality. The evidence does not support this. In 2015 the UK topped ILGA Europe's Rainbow Map with a score of 86%. In 2026 it ranks 22nd out of 49 countries with 44%. On legal gender recognition, it scores just 6.57%, among the lowest in Europe. The event's name also reduces lesbian and intersex people to a plus sign and does not include asexual people, in a country that scores 0% for protecting intersex bodily integrity.

This decline reflects a series of detrimental policy decisions. Puberty blockers have been banned for young people outside a restrictive research trial. Legal gender recognition has become increasingly difficult to access. A trans inclusive ban on conversion practices, first promised in 2018, has not been implemented. NHS Wales cancelled gender affirming surgery for 451 people overnight. The EHRC's new Code of Practice directs service providers to exclude trans people from single sex spaces where alternatives exist.

Schools have been particularly affected. Since September 2026, new RSHE and Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance has described trans identities as a matter of "significant debate". It restricts trans pupils' access to toilets and changing rooms, and it does not mention intersex, asexual or aromantic people. Many in the sector have described this as Section 28 2.0.

The impact on young people is serious. Between 2019 and 2025, one in six children who died by suicide in England were recorded as LGBTQ+, and 46 of them were trans. LGBTQ+ young people in unaccepting schools are almost three times as likely to attempt suicide. For many, school is the only safe space they have, and the effects fall hardest on those who are also disabled, racialised, migrant or working class.

We believe that participating in a process signals acceptance of its rules, authority and outcome, even when that is not the intention. By choosing not to attend, we are declining to lend legitimacy to these proceedings. A country cannot credibly lead on LGBT+ equality abroad while rolling back rights at home.

We ask the Government to restore timely trans healthcare, guarantee effective legal gender recognition, deliver a full trans inclusive ban on conversion practices, and protect intersex bodily integrity. We also ask it to recognise intersecting forms of discrimination and withdraw the school guidance that leaves trans pupils less safe. More than 5,000 people, backed by the NASUWT, have signed our open letter calling for these changes.

We invite other organisations, particularly those working in education, to join us in this boycott.

Until the Government acts, we will not lend our name or our presence to this event.