Trans+ History Week Returns with Powerful Stories of Resistance

This year’s edition arrives with ‘Reflections’, a national awareness campaign carrying Trans+ voices and stories to audiences across the UK running 30 April–10 May; a slate of new reporting of Trans+ history commissioned with partner QueerAF; and a programme of events across London.

Trans+ History Week 2026 returns as Trans+ people are navigating an increasingly politicised media and policy landscape following the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling in ‘For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers’ – and weeks before MPs are due to scrutinise the EHRC's revised Code of Practice. In turn, Trans+ people and their allies have been stepping up in their battle for fundamental rights.

Marty Davies (she/they), founder and director, Trans+ History Week said, “Trans+ history runs deep, and it runs through everything. In calm waters and rough tides, Trans+ communities have always found a way — and we will keep finding it: fighting for our dignity, our rights, our community, and our right to simply exist.”

“Trans+ History Week is about telling that story, on our own terms – that matters more now than ever. In the face of erasure, Trans+ people have had to discover and claim our own history, making ourselves visible and refusing to disappear. I’ve been heartened to see tremendous allyship grow across sectors in response, as more and more people recognise the injustice our community is facing for what it is.

“Having championed true representation of Trans+ people in advertising for years, I take a particular pleasure in being a part of bringing this new campaign, Reflections, to communities up and down the country.”

‘Reflections’: new national campaign takes over Outernet London and beyond

Spanning the week is a powerful new national awareness campaign produced by Trans+ History Week, QueerAF, and creative agency Uncharted Studio, drawing on research from The Diversity Standards Collective with Trans+ people across the UK.

It gives voice to the Trans+ community in a time when 99% say UK media coverage of Trans+ lives has harmed their mental health, 96% report it has changed how strangers treat them, and 91% say it has changed how their own family members treat them (according to TransActual’s ‘Trans Lives’ report, released in March 2026).

The campaign is built around water: a surface for reflection, a reminder that even the smallest ripples shape what comes next, and a metaphor for how the Trans+ community has shifted, adapted, and always found a way through. It reminds us all that Trans+ people have always been here, and always will be.

‘Reflections’ runs from April 30 to May 10 across the nation in out-of-home sites – including Liverpool Central Station, Manchester's Hotel Football, Brighton's Churchill Square, Newcastle Haymarket, London’s Boxpark Wembley, and Edinburgh Towers – as well as in UK-wide publications.

Anchoring the campaign is an immersive installation at Outernet London, where evocative headlines sit beneath a calm bed of water, each revealed by a falling droplet that sends a ripple across the space. An original three-minute ambient soundscape by TRANS VOICES turns one of the UK’s most-seen public screens into a moment of calm and reflection.

Laura Jordan Bambach (she/her), CCO, Uncharted Studio said, “Throughout this year’s campaign, it was important to us to continue working with Trans+ creators from across Uncharted and the wider LGBTQ+ community, ensuring that Trans+ voices and creativity are truly centred. We’ve used water as a metaphor to show how small actions and stories from Trans+ history can create ripples of change. Together, these moments build movement, encouraging people to explore the richness of Trans+ history and take positive action, now and into the future.”

Rich Miles (he/him), CEO, The Diversity Standards Collective said, “The Diversity Standards Collective was proud to have been the community research partner on this campaign. We pre-tested the creative concept and visuals with 100 Trans+ people across the UK.”

Coda Nicolaeff (she/her) and Ilā Kamalagharan (they/them and she/her) of TRANS VOICES said, “Bearing witness to the dismantling of our hard-won rights is a deeply disorienting part of the modern trans experience. We created this track as a reminder that we are not the first to carry this, that we belong to a vast ocean of extraordinary people who have endured, loved and survived. When the world feels impossible, sometimes the most radical thing we can do is dissolve into the tide and rest before continuing the fight.”

The ‘Reflections’ headlines span history, collective courage, and resilience, including:

• In the reflections of the past, we see our strength.
• Our history runs deeper than most realise.
• Today’s waves began as ripples.
• Like water, we always find a way.
• In calm water and rough tides, we rise.

Stories of Trans+ history, told by 21 Trans+ creatives

The awareness campaign invites people to explore and be inspired by the often erased history of Trans+ identities and communities. Each headline connects with long-form journalism on the Trans+ History Week hub at QueerAF – from research on the enduring ways Trans+ communities have built family and support across cultures to the story of a Jewish transgender couple who escaped Nazi persecution.

It was, after all, the ongoing erasure of the Trans+ clinic at the centre of the Nazi regime’s infamous book burnings that first inspired the founding of Trans+ History Week and shaped its principle that Trans+ history needs to be told – and by those who live it.

2026 marks the third year of the paid commissioning and mentoring programme run with creative mentoring partner QueerAF. This year the non-profit publisher is working with 21 Trans+ creatives to author, illustrate and produce original stories for publication across the week, with support from Creative Talent Sponsor Publicis Groupe UK. Through this and other programmes, Trans+ History Week has invested in over 100 Trans+ creatives over the past three years.

Stories this year include histories of gender diversity in pre-colonial Philippines, to the UK’s first symposium on Trans+ healthcare which led to the creation of the gender clinic system we have today. They also explore notable names from history who show gender diversity has long existed and runs deep. From the author of ‘Little Women’ to a composer for ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Watership Down’, the articles this year show how often forgotten Trans+ people are in contemporary understanding.

Jamie Wareham (he/him), founder of QueerAF CIC, said, “The Trans+ community is devastated, and worried about the way the judiciary, parliament and media are vilifying them – but they’re finding hope, and lessons for the fight ahead by learning about and from Trans+ history. There is widespread misunderstanding about this community's rights, and policies that affect them because this history is ignored or devalued or lied about by those who seek to undermine Trans+ rights. The work of our journalists speak to the power of trusting people with lived experience to shape stories and having them in the newsroom, delivering huge value to our audience with in-depth, long read articles.”

Kate Williams (she/her), inclusion and wellbeing director, Publicis Groupe UK, added, “Partnering with Trans+ History Week is a powerful step in supporting future generations of LGBTQIA+ talent in our industry. By amplifying their voices, we not only foster cognitive diversity and equity of opportunity, but also counter misinformation, driving a more inclusive and informed industry. At a time when standing our ground with marginalised communities is more important than ever, this partnership reaffirms our commitment to equity, representation, and driving meaningful change.”

Complementing the commissioning programme is the Trans+ History Week workbook, also in its third year. These free toolkits have been downloaded thousands of times and used by community groups, educators, and workplaces running their own sessions across the UK and beyond. The 2026 edition, launched in January, features documented stories spanning the UK, US, Uganda and Japan, built around four lessons including “We’ve always been here” and “We can’t be erased”.

Week of community events includes live podcast recording and comedy night

Across the week itself (May 4–10), Trans+ communities and allies will come together at events, including two flagship events in London hosted.

On Wednesday, May 6 – Trans+ History Day itself – a community evening with Headline Sponsor Deloitte UK will feature a live recording of the QueerAF podcast. Hosted by Lars Fellows (he/him), known from BBC’s ‘I Kissed a Boy’, the recording will bring together 'Big Brother' stars Nadia Almada (she/her) and Zelah Glasson (he/him) for a conversation about representation on reality TV. The evening will also include a panel discussion on the power of storytelling hosted by Ki Griffin (he/they), featuring Rebecca Jane Morgan (she/her), HRH Aphrodite I (she/her), and Alexandra Parmar-Yee (she/her). Tickets are available now via Outsavvy.

On Friday, May 8, a comedy night and fundraiser with Partner Diageo will feature an all-Trans+ line-up, including host Don One (they/them), headliner Alex Franklin (she/her), and comedians Christopher Lieberman (he/him), Alex Gibbon (they/he), and Ki Griffin (he/they), with a DJ set from DARKWAH (they/them). Tickets are available now via Outsavvy.

Helen Evans (she/her), Deloitte UK LGBTQ+ network partner sponsor said, “Deloitte is proud to sponsor Trans+ History Week in its third year. Our firm is built on the contributions of our people, and we firmly believe we are stronger when every individual feels valued, respected, and heard. We are looking forward to celebrating the long history and amazing contributions of the trans+ community during Trans+ History Week 2026, while recognising the challenges they face and the strength it takes to live authentically.”