Trans refugee voices

On 30 April 2025 we held our very first Trans Refugee Voices event. Our motivation to organise this event was to support the transgender community in these  very troubled times. The timing of the Supreme Court Judgement in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers was completely coincidental. In fact, our intention was to get as close as possible to Trans History Week (5-15 May 2025).

Our firm has a very long and proud history of supporting the LGBTI community. Wilsons has been involved in groundbreaking judicial decisions such as HJ (Iran) (FC) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) and one other action, all the way back in 2010. Many of us have been donating our time for many years to charities such as Micro Rainbow and Rainbow Migration.

Against this backdrop, we felt it was appropriate and timely to organise an evening to amplify trans refugee voices. We were joined by the formidable Moud Goba, National Director at Micro Rainbow, and the wonderful Donnchadh Greene of Doughty Street Chambers. Donnchadh provided a very helpful summary of the Supreme Court judgement and what it might mean in practice. Moud moderated a panel discussion. Four former trans clients of our firm – all with refugee status – took part in the panel discussion, sparking a number of thought provoking discussions that went on late into the evening.

To close proceedings, we were treated to a breathtaking dance number by one of our former trans clients – pictured above, with his permission. The networking session that followed the discussions was riveting and illuminating, resulting in new friendships amongst the attendees, which was lovely to see. Suzi from Rainbow Stores – a trans owned company – was also in attendance with a small sample of her beautiful and unique creations.

It was felt that the evening was a success, with a good turnout from Wilsons staff and friends from both the legal and LGBTI community. We very much hope to make this an annual event.

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