‘Fear of violence influenced the way I moved around’: improving safety for LGBTQ+ people

‘The Peer Action Collective is one organisation that’s trying to make a difference when it comes to youth violence against young LGBTQ+ people, and young people more generally.’ Illustration: Abbey Lossing/Guardian

LGBTQ+ people are more visible than ever, but violence and harassment are still prevalent. For young people, this often takes the form of bullying: Stonewall reports that 64% of LGBTQ+ pupils are bullied at school due to their identity.

I count myself in that statistic. I am a trans man who formerly lived as a gay woman, and I have been bullied for both. Those experiences will likely stay with me for the rest of my life; but what can be done to protect the next generation of young LGBTQ+ people?