I’ve reached the end of my tether watching the steady rise of transphobia in this country, and the failure of politicians to challenge it. The attacks in the press, the endless delays and refusals in healthcare, and the surge in hate crimes – all of it paints a picture of a society that is becoming less safe, less kind, and less just for our trans siblings.

Rather than just muttering about it on social media, I’ve written to my MP. Below is the letter I’ve sent, complete with the latest statistics on hate crime and healthcare refusal. Feel free to use or adapt this if you want to contact your own MP – the more of us who speak up, the harder it will be for them to ignore.

I am writing to you out of deep concern about the sharp rise in transphobia across the UK. Trans people, already a persecuted minority living with acute minority stress, are being placed under increasing pressure — both socially and institutionally.

There are repeated reports of GPs refusing to provide gender-affirming healthcare. In fact, almost 1 in 7 transgender people in the UK have been refused treatment by their GP because they are trans, and nearly 30% have been denied access to gender- or sex-specific NHS services (PinkNews, 2021). In the past year alone, 215 trans people were refused hormone replacement therapy by their GPs — even when 56 of them had a recommendation from an NHS gender clinic (PinkNews, 2024). This is not only cruel, but profoundly dangerous for both mental and physical health.

The recent High Court ruling, and the subsequent response of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has left many trans people in legal and medical limbo. Parliament must act urgently to:

1. Clarify the law and guidance so that trans people are not abandoned by the system.
2. Ensure access to safe, timely, and consistent healthcare, including hormones, without discrimination.
3. Challenge openly transphobic narratives that have been allowed to spread unchecked in public discourse.

Meanwhile, hostility towards trans people has escalated sharply. In the 12 months to March 2023, 4,732 hate crimes were recorded against transgender people in England and Wales — that’s about 13 per day, and represents an 11% increase on the previous year (BBC, 2023). The Home Office also reported a 56% rise in transphobic hate crime in 2021-22 alone (GOV.UK, 2022).

The impact on mental health is devastating. A major study found that nearly 47% of non-binary people in England live with a long-term mental health condition, compared with much lower rates among cisgender people. Among trans men and women, the rate is around 1 in 6, still far higher than the general population (Guardian, 2024).

The relentless negative coverage in the press, and the silence from both parliamentary chambers in response, has emboldened open hostility not just towards trans people but towards the entire LGBTQIA+ community. Women too are being targeted — any woman who is taller than average, has a strong jawline, or broad shoulders may now be misidentified as trans and harassed, with little recourse.

The public conversation has been poisoned by the phantasm of “bad actors” who may not even exist, and who are almost certainly not part of the trans community. In reality, it is trans people themselves who face the daily reality of abuse, exclusion, and violence.

I urge you, as my elected representative, to stand with our trans brothers, sisters, and siblings. Parliament must take a clear stance: defending equal rights, ensuring fair healthcare access, and challenging the rise of hate.

Silence is complicity. Please use your voice to make the UK safer, kinder, and more just for those who need it most.

I don’t expect one letter to change the world. But silence is complicity, and I refuse to be silent while trans people are being vilified, denied healthcare, and attacked in the street.

If you’re reading this and you feel the same anger, please consider writing to your own MP. Borrow my words, borrow the stats, or write from your own heart. What matters is that they hear from us – their constituents – that this cruelty cannot stand.