• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

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NHS Business Services Authority Celebrates Pride Inside

NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is celebrating Pride Inside which is currently taking place online and runs until 10 July this year, with a series of virtual events with staff.

As COVID-19 forces lots of Pride events to be cancelled, Amnesty International, UK Black Pride, Gendered Intelligence, Stonewall and ParaPride have joined to bring celebrations online.

At the start of the week a virtual ‘Privilege Walk’ was organised at NHSBSA, aimed at recognising privileges embedded in society (those which are present through no fault of an individual). The walk aimed to help visualise the number of challenges faced when you are afforded certain privileges. At the end of this week, there will be a catch-up for everyone to get together, discuss and socialise.

Michael Brodie, Chief Executive of NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) said: “I am so proud of our colleague networks and the work that they do within NHSBSA to bring people together, to help us celebrate and be proud of our identities and our diversity. Stonewall recognised NHSBSA as one of the top 100 LGBT employers in the UK and we continue to be proactive.”

Helen O’Donnell, a member of NHSBSA’s LGBT+ Colleague Network said: “It is incredibly important to raise awareness of the difficulties still faced by certain communities. Pride Inside celebrates those who are People of Colour and LGBT+, and their allies, whilst informing others of what it means to be QTIBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Intersex, Black people, Indigenous people, People of Colour).”

Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate effect on LGBT+ people, who are historically marginalised and discriminated against in their access to health care, employment, housing and basic services. There are still at least 68 countries across the globe where same-sex relationships are illegal. For many reasons, LGBT+ individuals and communities are at risk and in need of support. Pride Inside raises awareness of their cases and provide opportunities for people to take action and make change.

Sarah Hagger-Holt, from Stonewall UK, said: “Pride season is the highlight of the year for many LGBT people, so it’s been hard to hear that most Prides have had to cancel this year. But this has opened up new ways to bring us together to celebrate and show that defiant spirit our community is known for.”

Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Co-Founder and Executive Director, UK Black Pride, said: “Our lives as LGBTQ people of colour are far more than the sum of our negative experiences with structural, societal and intercommunal discrimination….Now more than ever, we need spaces to call our own so we can share our experiences with each other, support each other, find our joy and do some much-needed healing work.”

To learn more about Pride Inside, go to: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/pride-inside-online-lgbti-festival-line-announced

By Sahdia