The Impact Storytelling Collective opens 9 November. Founding members join free.
01
Campaign
Ban Conversion Practices
London, UK
©2015 to present
This one is personal.
After the tragic death of my fiancé, Naz, in 2014, I began campaigning for a ban on conversion practices, sometimes called "conversion therapy". Two days before he died, Naz's parents told him to see a psychiatrist to be "cured" of being gay. They believed it was an illness, because that is what they had heard on the radio. My charity, the Naz and Matt Foundation, is a founding member of the Ban Conversion Practices Coalition, and we campaign together for a ban that protects everyone.
Client
Ban Conversion Practices Coalition, with the Naz and Matt Foundation
Location
London, UK
Year
2015 to present
What I did
Photography, storytelling, public speaking, press and campaigning
Used for
Campaigning for a full, trans-inclusive ban
02
The approach
Evidence, stories and the street.
I have given evidence to ministers and to panels as someone with lived experience, spoken to the press and the media, and given talks. I have also photographed the community protests across London, including in Whitehall, where campaigners called for a ban that includes and protects trans and non-binary people too.
03
What it made possible
Why it matters.
When parents believe that being gay or trans is an illness, something that can be prayed away, hidden, forced or suppressed, the harm to mental health can be devastating. People who have been pushed to hide who they are face an unacceptably high risk of suicidal thoughts. That is why the ban has to be full, and has to include everyone. If anything here affects you, Samaritans are there day or night on 116 123.
04
Gallery
