Draft:Trans Aid Cymru

Trans Aid Cymru is a transgender mutual aid organisation based Wales that aims to support transgender, intersex, and non-binary people in Wales with grants and local events.

History
Trans Aid Cymru was founded in June 2020 after holding a protest outside Cardiff Castle. in response to the Conservative government scrapping the reform of the Gender Recognition Act. Originally named the South Wales Trans and NonBinary Mutual Aid Fund (SWTN Mutual Aid), they later rebranded to Trans Aid Cymru in 2021.

In September 2020 they held a second protest outside the Senedd after The Sunday Times reported that proposals to allow people to self-identify their gender through the Gender Recognition Act had been dropped. The report also confirmed that a diagnosis of gender dysphoria would still be needed to apply for a gender recognition certificate. This angered protesters, who pointed out that over 70% of respondents to the reform consultation agreed that the medical requirement should be removed. Organisers for Trans Aid Cymru called on the Welsh Government to listen to what the trans community had to say regarding future reforms.

Around 100 people attended a protest held by Trans Aid Cymru outside the Tŷ William Morgan in April 2022. The protest was held after the UK government announced that a proposed Conversion therapy ban would not extend to protest transgender people in the UK. One of Trans Aid Cymru's founders, Shash Appan lead the protest by speaking about her own experiences with conversion therapy. Later the same day, Deputy Minister for Social Partnerships Hannah Blythyn, shared that the Welsh Government would be taking steps to ban all forms of conversion therapy across Wales.

In February 2023 they stuck fake birth, death, and marriage certificates to Tŷ William Morgan to protest the UK Government blocking the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. The group explained in an online statement that they were intended to represent "trans people across the UK who are unable to get married, have children, or even die without being misgendered." In response to the protest the Deputy Minister for Social Partnerships, Hannah Blythyn stated the Welsh Government supported simplification of the Gender Recognition Act and that Wales was committed to seeking the devolution of the act.

Projects
Since forming Trans Aid Cymru has provided transgender community in Wales with financial grants. Initially this was to support transgender people who lost work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This continued, with Trans Aid Cymru providing around £2000 of grants every month during 2023.

Awards
In 2022 the group was nominated for the Community Group of the Year award at the PinkNews Awards. In November 2022 they were awarded the Trans Charity of the Year at the Trans in the City gala.