In her acceptance speech, Galop’s CEO Leni Morris said, “Galop has been supporting LGBT+ victims of abuse and violence for over 40 years. We work with thousands of LGBT+ people who’ve experienced abuse and violence every year, and I’d like to tell you about one of them.
“Not long ago we were contacted by a young woman whose family were trying to change who she was, they were trying to make her straight. She’d run away from home and been taken back by the police, she had contacted authorities to try and get help, and no-one had understood what was happening to her. She called us and said “I heard that you can help people like me. I’ve tried everyone else. I’m giving this one last try, and if this doesn’t work, the only way I have out is to die.”
“We have been motivated by stories like hers, and in October we opened the National Conversion Therapy Helpline to support victims and survivors of this invisible abuse, and we will continue to push for a legal ban in the UK.
“There are many others in this room also working towards that change, and it must be a community push, so thank you to everyone for the work you’re doing on that. We must get a ban that protects the entire LGBT+ community from what happens to us.
“Thank you so much to Burberry for this donation, it is the equivalent of funding our helpline for over two months so thank you so much for making a real difference to what we do.”
