SUPPORTING MY GLOBAL COMMUNITY: Antonia Belcher

31 March 2021

In 2018 Antonia Belcher established the Antonia & Andrea Belcher Trans Fund with GiveOut to support trans organisations working for equality around the world. Regularly appearing in the Financial Times and OUTstanding Lists of LGBT+ leaders and other equality lists of influence, Antonia is a founding partner of the building consultancy MHBC and uses her position to be a role model and mentor for the trans community and allies. 

To mark Trans Day of Visibility we sat down with Antonia to find out more about her work to support trans activism around the world. 

What inspired you to support trans rights globally?

When I transitioned in my late 40s, I was very lucky. I had money and a home, an accepting and loving family. But I had no trans role models to look up to. I worked in the construction industry, which is very conventional and male dominated. The firm I’d worked with since leaving school had no LGBT influences at all, but my workplace was very supportive. However, I know that for many others this kind of support is not always there.

I’ve met with trans activists working around the world, from India to Tonga, and heard about the challenges they face. In many places, trans people suffer widespread human rights violations ranging from discrimination and a lack of legal recognition, to violence and killings. Courageous activists are doing vital work to protect and improve the lives of their communities, but funding is insufficient and fragile. 

Why did you establish the Antonia & Andrea Belcher Trans Fund with GiveOut? 

I believe fervently that we need to support these activists with reliable funding so they can advocate for their communities in the places where it’s hardest to be trans. That’s why I established the Antonia & Andrea Belcher Trans Fund with GiveOut. By providing long-term, reliable financial support, the Fund enables our community in the UK to stand in solidarity with trans communities around the world. 

I feel very proud about what we’re achieving through the Fund. In 2019 I was able to travel to Tirana in Albania to attend the first regional conference of trans, nonbinary and intersex activists, which we had supported. I met activists working in countries including Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Turkey – countries where it’s still very hard to be trans. The energy in the room changed when they heard that support for the conference was coming from me, a trans businesswomen. They told me that it was so empowering that this support came from within their own community.  

What are your hopes for the future of the Fund? 

We are now supporting six trans organisations working across four continents to help their communities live freely as themselves. But I know that there are many more organisations out there that need our help. 

I want to be the role model that I never had and inspire others to support trans communities worldwide. I hope that others will feel inspired to support the Fund to ensure that these brilliant activists have the sustainable resources they need to continue their vital work. If I can help one soul to be free and true with this Fund, then I will be the proudest transgender woman alive.

GiveOut is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Registered Charity Number 1176434).