{"id":109,"date":"2025-08-13T14:45:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/?p=109"},"modified":"2025-08-16T01:07:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T00:07:35","slug":"rainbow-under-threat-how-the-lgbtq-community-builds-safety-in-a-hostile-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/2025\/08\/13\/rainbow-under-threat-how-the-lgbtq-community-builds-safety-in-a-hostile-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainbow under threat: How the LGBTQ+ community builds safety in a hostile world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The vibrant pulse of Oslo’s Pride celebration was shattered on a summer night in 2022 when a gunman opened fire outside the popular gay bar London Pub, claiming two lives and injuring many more. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The attack, deemed an act of terror, sent shockwaves through Norway’s LGBTQ+ community, leaving a sense of vulnerability and a profound need for safe spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zaniar Matapour, a 42-year-old Norwegian of Iranian descent, carried out the attack. The prosecution characterized<\/a> Matapour as a \u201cradicalised Islamist,\u201d emphasizing that the attack was ideologically driven and intended to spread fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attacked on the dance floor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Espen Aleksander Evjenth and his partner were about to step onto the dance floor inside London Pub when the shots were fired. In the instant that followed, he felt a devastating impact. \u201cWhat was this\u2014did I get hit with a hammer?\u201d he thought, moments before collapsing on the floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt was ironic\u2014feeling safe in a situation where everyone else felt the opposite. They chose to take care of a complete stranger.\u201d – Espen Aleksander Evjenth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

His partner\u2019s frantic calls for him echoed through the chaos. Yet, in the midst of violence, complete strangers chose to stay and help him rather than flee. \u201cIt was ironic\u2014feeling safe in a situation where everyone else felt the opposite. They chose to take care of a complete stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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CREATING SAFETY<\/strong>: Espen Aleksander Evjenth has worked to create safe spaces for those affected and to strengthen the LGBTQ+ community\u2019s resilience.<\/em>
Photo credit<\/strong><\/strong>: Sindre Deschington \/ St\u00f8ttegruppa 25. juni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That moment of solidarity became the seed of his mission. In the months after, frustrated by the lack of coordinated follow-up for survivors, Evjenth helped establish St\u00f8ttegruppa 25. juni<\/em> \u2014 a support group dedicated to creating safe spaces for those affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were 600 people present that night who didn\u2019t get much understanding for the danger we\u2019d been in. So that room \u2014 that safe space \u2014 we had to create ourselves.\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lingering fear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And the need for a “safe haven” is urgent. A 2025 study by the National Knowledge Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress<\/a> (NKVTS) found that 40% of participants now avoid queer events, while 70% feel less safe, reporting heightened fear and hate in the wake of the attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Evjenth, the Oslo attack sits within a wider trend of polarisation and global culture wars. \u201cTrans people are the biggest scapegoats now,\u201d he warns, drawing parallels with the treatment of gay men in the 1980s. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Despite good social support for survivors, the 25 June study indicates a rise in avoidance of queer events after the attack Illustration<\/strong>: ChatGPT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Sources<\/strong>: EU Agency for Fundamental Rights<\/a> & NKVTS<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safe havens in the UK: personal networks over public spaces<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Across the North Sea, the question of safe havens is equally pressing. Ashley Kwan, a bisexual former LGBTQ+ Officer at Newcastle University Students\u2019 Union, says her sense of safety relies less on physical venues and more on trusted people. \u201cIt\u2019s just having people around me that I trust to have my back,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kwan, originally from Hong Kong, notes that visibility can be a double-edged sword. \u201cI\u2019m a lot more cautious in public spaces. I don\u2019t want to put myself or my family in danger.\u201d She often weighs whether being publicly out is worth the potential risk, especially in an era of rising far-right politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m a lot more cautious in public spaces. I don\u2019t want to put myself or my family in danger.\u201d – Ashley Kwan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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SHARED COMMITMENT<\/strong>: Ashley and Lily share a commitment to building community-led safe havens and standing together against rising hostility toward queer and trans people. Photo credit<\/strong><\/strong>: Martine Arnoe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Lily Smart, her successor at NUSU and a trans woman, echoes that feeling. She appreciates queer venues but says even these can feel unsafe. For her, safety comes from community bonds: \u201cWhen you\u2019ve got good people around, it feels like almost anywhere can be pretty safe for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both have noticed a harder political climate. Smart points to the UK\u2019s Reform Party and anti-trans rhetoric: \u201cIt feels like we\u2019re moving backwards\u2026 splitting a community that now more than ever needs to be sticking together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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TRUSTED NETWORKS<\/strong>: Ashley Kwan focuses on finding safety in trusted networks amid a shifting political climate. Photo credit<\/strong><\/strong>: Martine Arnoe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The political and cultural climate: visibility, backlash, and commercialisation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Professor Gareth Longstaff, Senior Lecturer and Faculty Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Newcastle University, sees these tensions as part of a broader cultural paradox. \u201cThe more visible we become, the more the right wing gets pissed off,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visibility \u2014 from Pride parades to rainbow flags in banks \u2014 can create solidarity, but also new targets.<\/p>\n\n\n

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STUDIES FORCES<\/strong>: Gareth Longstaff studies the social and political forces shaping LGBTQ+ visibility and vulnerability. Photo credit<\/strong><\/strong>: Martine Arnoe\/Screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Longstaff traces the fragmentation of LGBTQ+ \u201ccommunity\u201d to commercialisation and social media. \u201cPride can be a protest, but it\u2019s also a stage for celebrity appearances and corporate branding. Sometimes the market eats up the lived joy or trauma of being LGBT.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He warns that safe spaces, once invisible havens, are now ultra-visible \u2014 and that visibility can both protect and endanger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For him, the most enduring safe havens are not necessarily institutions or events, but micro-communities: \u201cA small queer caf\u00e9, a reading group, five friends having dinner\u2026 people become those spaces of safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building safety from the ground up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Evjenth\u2019s support group is one such community. They organise commemorations, advocate for survivors, and provide spaces to talk. But the work is fragile. On the first anniversary of the attack, a disruptive voice in the audience sparked panic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fear that bubbled up in that room was one of the worst things I\u2019ve ever felt,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n

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VITAL ROLE<\/strong>: Lily Smart highlights the vital role of community and institutional support in creating safe spaces. Photo credit<\/strong><\/strong>: Martine Arnoe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Evjenth believes governments and society must actively protect LGBTQ+ spaces and resist the erosion of rights. \u201cWe can\u2019t let history repeat itself,\u201d he says. \u201cThe fight is both to heal and to make sure this doesn\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve come too far to give up now\u201d – Lily Smart<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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SILENT MOURNING<\/strong>: In the days after the attack, Oslo mourned, laying flowers outside the pub in silent solidarity. Photo credit<\/strong>: Even Hye T. Barka<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Longstaff sees the future in grassroots action. \u201cMillennials and Gen Z are saying: \u2018We\u2019re going to do it ourselves.\u2019 Whether it\u2019s an art gallery, a caf\u00e9, or a cinema, they\u2019re creating spaces defined by community, not government approval.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Kwan and Smart, resilience comes from holding onto those bonds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve come too far to give up now,\u201d Smart says. \u201cIf the day comes when it\u2019s impossible here, we\u2019ll find another way \u2014 but until then, we keep fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of the Oslo attack, the need for safe havens has never been clearer. But the reality, both in Norway and abroad, is that these spaces are often not handed down from above\u2014they are built from the ground up, by the very people who need them most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please read this disclaimer!<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the wake of the Oslo attack, the need for safe havens has never been clearer. But the reality, both in Norway and abroad, is that these spaces are often not handed down from above\u2014they are built from the ground up, by the very people who need them most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":301,"featured_media":223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,3],"tags":[19,27,20,12,21,23,25,22],"class_list":["post-109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lgbtq","category-politics","tag-lgbt","tag-lgbtq-2","tag-london-pub","tag-newcastle-upon-tyne","tag-oslo","tag-pride","tag-safe-havens","tag-terrorist-attack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journalists.org.uk\/martine-arno\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}