Xiaohongshu
Launched in 2022 at the request of UCL’s LGBTQ+ Student Network, the Gender Expression Fund (GEF) provides financial assistance for students to purchase items that will make them more comfortable with their gender expression. The fund is part of a commitment made by UCL’s President & Provost Dr Michael Spence in February 2022 to supporting transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming students and staff. Equity and Inclusion Officer, Eda, summaries our report evaluating the GEF and outlines some key work for 2024/2025.
Last year, one of our student researchers investigated the impact of Student' Union UCL's Gender Expression Fund and found that it has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the students who accessed it.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, 84 student received funding of up to £100 via the GEF, supporting them to purchase gender expression products (or services and travel related to gender expression). Our evaluative report illustrates that this is a crucial measure for supporting trans-inclusivity at UCL, having a hugely positive impact on the students who access it. All students who accessed in GEF in 2022/2023 agreed that the fund had a positive impact on their well-being and experience as a student at UCL, and 80% agreed that accessing the fund had a positive impact of their academic engagement with UCL.
The ability to present as the correct gender, and therefore have the correct pronouns used more frequently, is vitally important in enabling transgender students to navigate university both academically and socially. Students commended the GEF for acting as a remedy to the more usual dismissal of gender expression products as frivolous. The existence of the fund, administered by staff who were knowledgeable about transgender and non-binary identities, allowed students to feel validated by the union. Students’ Union UCL strives to represent and support all students at UCL, and I am delighted to hear that the GEF has gone someway to improving the transgender and non-binary student experience at UCL.
Students especially praised the GEF’s ‘no questions asked approach’ which requires only a list of products to be purchased without explanation of necessity or proof of financial hardship. While most students who took part in the evaluation of the GEF did cite financial concerns as a barrier to accessing gender expression products, some commented on familial surveillance of their bank accounts limiting their ability to purchase necessary items. This sensitive and discreet approach has allowed the GEF to reach students who might otherwise be ineligible for other forms of financial support.
There are always improvements to be made, and we are committed to improving how the fund is accessed and administered. While 84% of students reported that the application process was easy, the report makes several recommendations for how the GEF’s accessibility could be improved including increasing knowledge and visibility of the GEF amongst UCL staff and students and creating a webpage showcasing the experience of previous recipients. We will be exploring these in the coming year.
Successes of the GEF aside, it is clear that there is still more we can do at UCL to make sure that trans folk feel safe. Following UCL’s departure from Stonewall and the growing influence of anti-trans rhetoric in the media, transgender students report feeling increasingly unsafe and unwelcome on campus. The report makes several recommendations for improving trans-inclusivity at UCL including:
- Continuing to raise the fund’s profile amongst UCL staff and student leaders, allowing for more trans students to be signposted towards the fund.
- Improving the accessibility of the fund by sharing testimonies from past GEF recipients regarding their experiences accessing and using the fund.
- The establishment of a campus ‘hub’ for queer students to function as a common room and ad-hoc events space.
- The development of advice material for academic staff members to refer to when working with trans students.
Following the report’s recommendation and as part of our commitment to trans-inclusivity at UCL, I will be championing these recommendations across both the union and the university. We will also be conducting research into the experiences of transgender students with sports at UCL in the academic year 2024/2025. We hope the findings from this report will enable us to introduce impactful initiatives empowering transgender students to access sports facilities more easily. Check back later in the year for this.