Transforming the experience of students who are Trans

About 10 years ago, there was a growing recognition that trans students studying at our university – for many, their first experience of leaving home – often experienced discrimination, bullying, harassment and being subjected to negative stereotyping. Attempts to bring in some trans friendly signage failed and remained a source of contention.

In response we set up a project team (with both trans and non-trans members) to carry out a piece of participatory action research – a method whereby people whose experiences and identities are central to an enquiry become involved as co-researchers on an equal footing– to try and bring about improvements. Our goal was to provide recommendations that might transform the environment (facilities and culture) – so that trans people on campus, students, staff and visitors, felt more welcome and able to fully engage as members of our learning community.

All trans students interviewed as part of the research said they had experienced feelings of isolation and withdrawal, alongside anxiety about ‘passing’ (being perceived as not trans or ‘cis-gendered’). Interviewees also wished to avoid being publicly ‘outed’ as a trans person and hoped that neutral signage for bathroom facilities and some additional changing spaces for the health and fitness suite could be introduced. The project later came to the attention of internationally renowned scholar Professor Wendy Stainton-Rogers who cited it as a ‘world changing’ case study: ‘World Changing’ Trans Student Experience Project Included in International Social Psychology Text | Bishop Grosseteste University. Since then, our university has benefitted from some modest, reasonable adjustments, such as all gender toilet facilities (as well as single sex provision) across the campus, and a genuine desire to work for a culture of inclusion and sense of belonging.

Fast forward ten years, and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has recently rushed to publish some ‘interim guidance’ (EHRC, 2025) hot on the heels of the UK Supreme Court judgement that provides an interpretation of certain (already existing) exceptions on the basis of sex in the Equality Act (The Supreme Court UK, 2025). The judges explicitly stated precisely what their judgement referred to, and that the law itself has not changed. Indeed, in the days that followed, Lord Sumption, a former Supreme Court judge,

warned against misrepresenting the judgement as a requirement to exclude and discriminate against trans people, (Maddox, 2025). Amnesty UK described the ruling as having potentially concerning consequences for trans people and emphasised that the vilification of a marginalised minority group is absolutely wrong. In light of this and the social and mainstream media frenzy surrounding it, and the apparent growth of anti-EDI sentiment here in the UK and across the globe, we, the BRIDgE team, alongside Senior Leaders at the University and our new Vice Chancellor, Andrew Gower, would like to highlight our efforts, such as the one outlined above, to create a richly diverse and inclusive community, where all are welcome, valued and can fully belong. We emphasise that we will continue such work to establish a fully inclusive community and will strive to protect the rights of marginalised groups.