81% think it is all right for a couple to live together without being married, up from 64% in 1994.
67% think a sexual relationship between two people of the same sex is never wrong, compared with 17% in 1983.
Attitudes have improved towards women’s right to choose when it comes to abortion, single-parenthood, and having children outside of marriage.
It’s great to see that attitudes are shifting to become more accepting as time goes on!
However, the study also notes that attitudes have worsened towards transgender people.
The proportion of British people who describe themselves as “not prejudiced” towards trans people, fell from 82% to 64% over the period of the study.
So while progress has been made in some areas, others require increased attention from campaigners.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
MindOut. An award winning LGBTQ community mental health service based in Brighton; run by LGBTQ people, for LGBTQ people.Learn more here.
Switchboard. They provide an information, support and referral service for lesbians, gay men and bisexual and trans people – and anyone considering issues around their sexuality and/or gender identity.Support them here.
LGBT Hero. LGBT HERO is the national health and wellbeing charity for LGBTQ+ people supporting over 100,000 people a month. Find out more here.
The show’s lineup includes: host Matt Richardson, Rhod Gilbert, Rosie Jones, Jen Brister, Cally Beaton, Milton Jones, Paul Sinha, Josh Jones and Joe Wells.
All the money raised will support the charity’s work and ensure autistic people get the support they need to live happy and fulfilled lives.
The charity aims to change attitudes towards autism, improve autistic people’s lives and create a society that works better for autistic people.
That’s great! Tell me more.
The show is hosted by award-winning comedian Matt Richardson. Matt and his younger brother, Alex, are ambassadors for the charity whose cause is close to their hearts.
Matt and his brother are autistic and have become closer as a result of working with the charity.
“There was so much about the way he saw the world that I didn’t know, until we started working together. It’s been really eye opening and I feel much closer to him because of it,” Matt said.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
National Autistic Society. An organisation aiming to transform autistic people’s lives with advice, guidance and changing attitudes.Support them here.
Disability Rights UK. A charity led by disabled people pushing for better rights, accessibility and opportunities.Find out more here.
Sense. They work to support people with complex dissabilities.Learn more here.
Manchester Museum is returning a huge number of artefacts to Indigenous people.
Great! Tell me more.
Manchester Museum is returning 174 items to Indigenous Australian islanders. While the repatriation of stolen artefacts is, thankfully, becoming more common, it is often reserved for items of cultural significance, or that are sacred to religion.
Manchester Museum is making history by returning not only important items but those that are every day – including baskets, dolls, fishing spears and more. The items will be sent back to the Anindilyakwa community, who live off the northern coast of Australia.
What else?
It is hoped that this return will not only strengthen the ties that the Anidilyakwa community have to their past, and to teach younger generations about those who came before them, but encourage other museums to do the same.
“We believe this is the future of museums,” said Esme Ward, the director of Manchester Museum. “This is how we should be.”
Many artefacts, particularly those from indigenous communities, were taken under devastating circumstances – and it is great news that museums are beginning to make reparations for the atrocities of the past. This will surely lead to a better, more just and respectful future.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Windrush Foundation. This is a registered charity that designs and delivers heritage projects, programmes and initiatives which highlight African and Caribbean peoples’ contributions to the UK.Learn more here.
Race Equality Foundation. A national charity tackling racial equality in public services.Find out more here.
SARI. Stand Against Racism and Inequality is a charity that provides free and confidential support for anyone who is a victim of hate crime across Avon and Somerset.Support them here.
A viral cat, Sigrid, and her human, Travis, have set out on a mission to promote charitable work as part of a Smiley News series. In the first episode they met an ex-England cricketer who volunteers for charity. Next they met a passionate cycling advocate.
That’s great! Tell me more.
The cat-owner duo meet Clare Rogers, a campaigner from the London Cycling Campaign to hear about the importance of cycling for women, the environment and cities as a whole.
While Sigrid purs in the spotlight, Clare and Travis discuss all things cycling. Clare shares her charity’s success stories and what it means for the people of London, in particular – for women.
“Less than a third of cycle trips in London are by women,” explains Clare. “So we organised the London Freedom Rides, at which Sigi was a lovely guest. And it kind of took us by surprise because we were expecting maybe 200 women to sign up. But we got over 1,000.”
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
The Fawcett Society. This is the UK’s leading charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights.Support them here.
Gendered Intelligence. This charity works to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people.Learn more here.
Beyond Equality. This charity is disrupting harmful norms and creating possibilities for positive change, working with men and boys towards gender equality.Find out more here.
It’s as clear and straightforward as the name on the tin – Affordable Justice.
Legal representation isn’t cheap, it’s a fact of life. Of course, the job that these incredibly skilled and dedicated lawyers perform isn’t easy, but still, we need to ask ourselves – should justice really be hidden behind a paywall?
That’s why we need the team behind Affordable Justice, a legal charity based in Hull. They make no profit and offer legal services to women at a third of the price.
This family law firm is run by women, for women, and was set up in response to the reduction in legal aid that came in 2013
“We set up in 2016 in response to a piece of legislation called LASPO, which came into force in 2013,” explains Lisa Hilder, one of the directors and trustees at Affordable Justice. LASPO involved cutting a huge amount of legal aid, preventing some of the most vulnerable people from accessing help. “In particular, the impact that it had on women and children fleeing domestic violence and abuse. So we wanted to be able to provide those legal services advice and representation for women in that situation in a way that was affordable. If they could no longer access legal aid to help them do that.”
Under the charities provision in the Equality Act 2010, Affordable Justice works exclusively with women. This isn’t because men or people of other genders don’t also have a need for affordable legal services, but because women really do face a huge disadvantage when it comes to finding legal representation.
Women represent 84% of victims in abuse cases – and while many people, of all genders, can experience abuse and may fear reporting their abuse, the statistics do show that women are considerably more likely to experience abuse than men.
Additionally, on top of the abuse, women are much more likely to be the primary carer for any children they may have, making it more difficult for them to find the opportunity to meet with legal representation. For that reason, having a legal space that is tailored to women, especially those who are feeling abuse, is incredibly important.
“There are lots of technical terms for the different kinds of orders and proceedings that we support with but essentially, it’s about making sure that parental responsibilities in their broadest sense [are] undertaken by the right parents,” explains Lisa. “Particularly where we’ve got women fleeing abuse, we get involved with arrangements for contact for who is allowed to have contact with the child or children, and whether or not they’re allowed to live with one of the parents or the other parent. Obviously, that’s very delicate when it comes to dealing with abusers and victims.”
For those women who are coming into their headquarters in Hull, Affordable Justice has an Ofsted-registered nursery where they can leave their children, enabling them to have adult conversations with their legal representatives. Plus, Affordable Justice will cover the cost of an interpreter for women whose first language isn’t English.
The main benefit of having Affordable Justice on the side of women is that they don’t just look at the legal side of things – they really do put people before profit, and work to make sure that the women they represent are protected from beginning to end.
“We don’t only give legal advice or representation,” explains Lisa. “We do it in a way that supports [and] recognises the trauma that women and kids have suffered, and is understanding of how they’re feeling and the impact the abuse has had on them.”
“Our practice is geared towards supporting women safely through that family court process. And making sure that not only do they get the nuts and bolts of the outcomes that they want, but they’re not re-traumatised by the whole family court process.”
To learn more about Affordable Justice and how they help to support women and children through the difficult, and often terrifying, process of testifying against domestic abuse, you can read their evaluation report ‘An Angel on my Shoulder’.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Solace Women’s Aid. Solace Women’s Aid exists to end the harm done through violence against women and girls.Learn more here.
Refuge. This charity runs life-saving services including our 24/7 Helpline and 44 refuges, for women and their children affected by domestic abuse.Support them here.
Hestia Life Beyond Crisis. Hestia providesdomestic abusesupport services in London and the southeast, including domestic abuse refuges and community-based support.Find out more.
A viral cat, Sigrid, and her human, Travis, have set out on a mission to promote charitable work as part of a Smiley News series. Their first guest: ex-England cricketer Monty Panesar, who volunteers for the food distribution charity, The Felix Project.
That’s great! Tell me more.
The cat-owner duo meet Monty to distribute food together as part of The Felix Project’s Green Scheme. Volunteers complete predetermined routes, collecting food from various suppliers and then deliver the food immediately to charities in the local area.
While Sigrid sits proudly in her bike basket, Monty and Travis discuss all things cricket and charity. Monty explains cricket rules as well as the important work being done by The Felix Project.
“The important thing is that you don’t want anybody to go hungry. And I think The Felix Project is playing an important role towards helping people,” says Monty.
If you’d like to follow in Monty’s footsteps you can sign up to volunteer in London here. Alternatively, you can donate to help The Felix Project carry on their amazing work by donating here.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
The Felix Project. They collect fresh, nutritious food that cannot be sold and delivers this surplus food to charities and schools.Support them here.
Grow to Give. This charity connects local farmers and hobby growers to donate surplus fresh produce to food banks.Find out how to support them here.
FareShare. The UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste, they save good food from going to waste and redistribute it to frontline charities.Find out more.
A Canadian cricketer is making history as the first transgender cricketer to play in an international competition.
Tell me more!
Despite other sports taking a hard anti-trans stand, the International Cricket Council has strict criteria that need to be met – but does allow trans cricketers to take part in the sport.
Danielle McGahey will be part of Canada’s team playing against Bangladesh, as part of a path to the 2024 World Cup.
Danielle told BBC Sport: “I am absolutely honoured. To be able to represent my community is something I never dreamed I would be able to do.”
This is a great showing for trans rights in sports – and hopefully, the ICC will encourage other sports to take a more inclusive stance in the future.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
MindOut. An award winning LGBTQ community mental health service based in Brighton; run by LGBTQ people, for LGBTQ people.Learn more here.
Switchboard. They provide an information, support and referral service for lesbians, gay men and bisexual and trans people – and anyone considering issues around their sexuality and/or gender identity.Support them here.
LGBT Hero. LGBT HERO is the national health and wellbeing charity for LGBTQ+ people supporting over 100,000 people a month. Find out more here.
Activist Malala Yousafzai is challenging gender discrimination in football.
Tell me more.
Malala, whose activism for gender equality stretches back to her childhood, has met with the Afghanistan women’s national football team.
Due to being evacuated from Afghanistan, and not being sanctioned by the Taliban rule there, Afghanistan’s women’s football team was ineligible for formal recognition from Fifa.
That’s terrible.
It is – but support is coming from all over, including from Malala, who visited them in their current home of Melbourne, Australia.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
The Fawcett Society. This is the UK’s leading charity campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights.Support them here.
Gendered Intelligence. This charity works to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people.Learn more here.
Beyond Equality. This charity is disrupting harmful norms and creating possibilities for positive change, working with men and boys towards gender equality.Find out more here.
Massachusetts is offering free community college to people over the age of 25. The program, called MassReconnect, featured in Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s inauguration speech and her first budget proposal.
The budget, which was signed into law earlier this month, includes $20 million for the first year of implementation. Each of the 15 community colleges in Massachusetts will recieve $100,000 to help launch the program.
“This is a long-term investment not just in these students, ultimately, that redounds to the benefit of their families. But it also is about an investment in our state,” Healey said.
To qualify, students who have not previously earned a college degree need to enroll in at least six credits per semester in an approved program of study leading toward an associate degree or certificate and complete the Free Application for Student Aid.
“MassReconnect will be transformative for thousands of students, for our amazing community colleges, and for our economy,” said Healey.
“It will bolster the role of community colleges as economic drivers in our state and help us better meet the needs of businesses to find qualified, well-trained workers. We can also make progress in breaking cycles of intergenerational poverty by helping residents complete their higher education credentials so they can attain good jobs and build a career path.”
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Save The Children. A global children’s charity that runs programmes to break down barriers to education. Find out more.
TheirWorld. This charity works globally to ensure every child has the best start possible in life. Discover their work.
UNICEF. The UN’s organization running programmes to uphold the rights of children around the world. Read more.
Think of the word hacker and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Some might imagine an introverted nerd hacking into a school hard drive or someone straight out of a Matrix convention. Others might hear the phrase “Okay, I’m in” ringing through their ears amidst a pile of late 2000s movie cliches.
But did you think of furries?
For the uninitiated, furries are a subculture of people interested in anthropomorphic animal characters which often come in the form of fursonas: animal personas and even fursuits of the said fursonas.
Furries as a community occupy an interesting niche in the realm of internet subculture, often serving as an open-minded and accepting place for people of all backgrounds, which brings us back to hacking.
A group of self-described “gay furries,” called SiegeSec have taken to distributing sensitive material hacked from agencies in six US states, citing the legislative attacks on gender-affirming care as their motive.
The data released by the group includes South Carolina police files, a list of licensed therapists in Texas, and contact details for court officials in Nebraska.
The goal is to dissuade governmental bodies from attacking gender-affirming care, like in a cyber attack leveled at Texas, one of the leaders in gender-affirming care restrictions.
“Texas happens to be one of the largest states banning gender-affirming care, and for that, we have made Texas our target,” SiegeSec said in a post.
While Smiley News doesn’t endorse hacking, data leaking or any other illegal activities it does show the power that it can have in the right hands.
Take, for instance, Edward Snowden, without whom most Americans would have been unaware of the ongoing surveillance of the general population by organizations like the NSA. Thanks to his leaks individuals became aware of just how far the US government was willing to go.
Civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union even warned that the surveillance went well beyond what Congress intended and what the US Constitution allows.
Leaking information in these ways is usually outside the law. But often it can benefit the public.
Next time you see a furry online think that they just might be taking on the US government.
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
GLAAD. GLAAD is a massive LGBTQ+ advocacy group that helps fight for queer people across the US. Consider donating.
Lambda Legal. This organization helps fight in the courtroom for queer people. Find out more.
The Trevor Project. They focus on suicide prevention and mental health support for queer youth. Support them here.
