LGBTi+ Committee highlights equality message ahead of Pride Day

The LGBTi+ Committee of Gibraltar has called on the community to attend Pride Day at Casemates on Saturday, saying the event is both a celebration and an opportunity to highlight issues affecting LGBTQ+ people in the world. 

Committee representatives Paul Perez and John Peace said final preparations were under way for the annual event, which begins at 10.30am with a family-focused programme featuring charity stalls, community organisations and performances by local dancers, choreographers and singers. 

“It’s like a real community feel,” they said. 

All the political parties will deliver speeches from midday, while the annual Pride Award will be presented to what the committee described as “an outstanding member of the community”. 

The event will also include drag performances and the traditional parade along Main Street. This year’s parade will feature a car for the first time. 

Mr Perez said the event was becoming “bigger and bigger every year”. 

Despite the celebratory atmosphere, the committee said Pride Day remained an important opportunity to hear commitments from Gibraltar’s political parties on LGBTQ+ rights. 

“It is really important to hear what the political parties are going to do to protect LGBTQ+ rights, especially in a day and age where some rights across the world are being scaled down,” they said. 

“We're very lucky in Gibraltar because this is also a way to give us an annual confirmation that they still support our rights, and that they still have us in mind and that they're literally giving us our best interest.” 

The committee said it continued to focus on inclusion, education and challenging misinformation. 

Members said maintaining the community roots of Pride remained a priority. 

“We want to keep it friendly for all to access and everyone to enjoy in some way,” they said. 

The committee also highlighted the role social media plays in both supporting and challenging the LGBTQ+ community. 

It said the organisation was originally established in response to online abuse and continues to engage with people who post negative comments online. 

“Anyone that's put any negative comments online, I'll reach out to them, happy to meet up with them for a coffee, talk to them as well personally, so that they realise what they're saying is either informed by misinformation and online stuff that's not real,” they said. 

The committee said many people changed their views after discussions and improved their understanding of LGBTQ+ issues. 

At the same time, social media remained an important tool for outreach and education on issues including sexual health and equality. 

The committee described Gibraltar as a safe place for transgender people and pointed to legal protections available locally. 

However, it said employment remained a challenge for some members of the transgender community. 

“There is an issue with some businesses not wanting to employ someone who's trans,” the committee said. 

“And so, a lot of our job is trying to continue to educate the wider community businesses on what being trans is and not to be afraid of it and not to worry about what other people might say.” 

The committee also said it would continue working with agencies, the Gibraltar Government and the Royal Gibraltar Police on issues including homophobia and support for victims of abuse. 

Pride Day is organised by the LGBTi+ Committee and supported by sponsors including Playtech, Entain and Admiral. 

“Pride Day is a big party, but the message behind is the most important thing,” the committee said, highlighting equality, inclusivity and education as its central themes.