Which countries are "Safe" for (trans) women?

[Charlotte Kitty ✅]

I will soon be finding out how Istanbul is in terms of welcoming and safety for trans people. I believe that the touristy parts of Istabul are fine mostly. I'll be starting in Taksim square which is fairly diverse. I'm not sure how the area around my recovery hotel will be as it's not a tourist area. Having my cis male boyfriend with me feels like a real benefit. Turkey is somewhat tolerable to lgbt people but it's very much determined by area and if you're a visitor or not.

I'll feedback more once I get a feel for the place.

Charlotte 😻

[Stottie Girl]

Reprimand duly noted Sarah. I shall zip my trap.

[Tills]

England and Wales, but not Scotland, are in the process of adopting an integrated health data platform built by US tech giant Palantir, owned by Trump's close ally Peter Thiel.

https://news.sky.com/story/nhs-hospitals-urged-to-reject-330m-data-platform-part-owned-by-trump-ally-13519263 🔗

It goes without saying that I think this is deeply disturbing. It may relate to the issues I've faced in Surrey Heartlands. https://www.susans.org/index.php?topic=253232.new;topicseen#new

Scotland is not adopting Palantir.

The more I see and experience, the less I feel England & Wales is a safe place for me.

[big kim]

Bad as things are I think its hell of a lot better today than the early 90s when I  started transition. Can remember being unemployable for much of the 90s and refused service in cafes and pubs etc.

[Jillian-TG]

Bad as things are I think its hell of a lot better today than the early 90s when I  started transition. Can remember being unemployable for much of the 90s and refused service in cafes and pubs etc.

I agree with you.

Yes there remains a HUGE amount of work to do to get to equal rights so transgender people can live in peace and enjoy a safe and normal life, but yes most countries have advanced some of their legal protections and there are many examples where the private sector (particularly in employment) has embraced the LGBTQ community.

It's far from perfect but it's trending in the right direction.

[Tills]

I agree with you.

Yes there remains a HUGE amount of work to do to get to equal rights so transgender people can live in peace and enjoy a safe and normal life, but yes most countries have advanced some of their legal protections and there are many examples where the private sector (particularly in employment) has embraced the LGBTQ community.

It's far from perfect but it's trending in the right direction.

Hi Jillian,

Well my remark was specifically about England and Wales where it is absolutely NOT "trending in the right direction." It is speeding in the wrong one. Live here and you'd know this.

I'm guessing not many transgender people in the U.S. right now would think things were trending in the right direction either 🫣

xx

[Stottie Girl]

Maybe we should all move to Canada!

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Hi Jillian,

Well my remark was specifically about England and Wales where it is absolutely NOT "trending in the right direction." It is speeding in the wrong one. Live here and you'd know this.

I'm guessing not many transgender people in the U.S. right now would think things were trending in the right direction either 🫣

xx

Based on the LGBTQ+ 'equality scores' from the Movement Advancemet Project, we moved from the lowest scoring state (Arkansas at -14.25) to the highest scoring state (Colorado at +45.5). Although we feel safer, we still don't feel safe. I've already made 'loose' plans to flee if the mid-term elections don't go well. I'm planning a trip in April to deliver a few small family heirlooms to relatives in case we need to leave quickly. Am I paranoid? Maybe, but I don't want to be caught without any plans if the elections don't provide hope.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

[Tills]

Maybe we should all move to Canada!

I love western Canada and have generally found Canadians to be some of the friendliest, most chilled, people.

Nippy out west in winter though!

I'm not sure what the migration rules are these days for UK citizens? I know that there's a LOT of angst from some people in places like Vancouver over an influx of migrants and lack of housing. Same thing happened in Perth, WA.

xx

[KathyLauren]

I'm not sure what the migration rules are these days for UK citizens?

Here is where you can check what rules apply to you: Immigration Canada 🔗 [Link: canada.ca/en/services/immigration-​citizenship.html/].  I don't think there is any special treatment for UK citizens, but there would be no special objections either.

Anyone who can document, via birth certificates, a direct line of descent from an ancestor who was a Canadian citizen is eligible for Canadian citizenship.  Something to keep in mind for anyone wanting to move here.

[Stottie Girl]

I love western Canada and have generally found Canadians to be some of the friendliest, most chilled, people.

Nippy out west in winter though!

I'm not sure what the migration rules are these days for UK citizens? I know that there's a LOT of angst from some people in places like Vancouver over an influx of migrants and lack of housing. Same thing happened in Perth, WA.

xx

Mr parents tried to emigrate there when I was a child (it was there, Australia or Hong Kong) but it was incredibly strict requirements and they could'nt meet them. I'll have a read of Kathy's link to see if it's relaxed any.

My great uncle Sydney was a merchant seaman and he always said of all the places he had been, Vancouver was the best. I've always fancied checking out if he was right!

[Lori Dee ✅]

Here is where you can check what rules apply to you: Immigration Canada 🔗 [Link: canada.ca/en/services/immigration-​citizenship.html/].  I don't think there is any special treatment for UK citizens, but there would be no special objections either.

Anyone who can document, via birth certificates, a direct line of descent from an ancestor who was a Canadian citizen is eligible for Canadian citizenship.  Something to keep in mind for anyone wanting to move here.

Good information. Thanks, Kathy!

My great-grandfather brought his wife and kids from Leeds to Ontario in 1876. The family settled in Schomberg, near Toronto. I don't know about citizenship status, but we have a family plot in a cemetery in Toronto with many family members there.
I have photos of the plot, but I have never seen it myself. I will have to visit someday and maybe stay a long while.

😁

[Tills]

Mr parents tried to emigrate there when I was a child (it was there, Australia or Hong Kong) but it was incredibly strict requirements and they could'nt meet them. I'll have a read of Kathy's link to see if it's relaxed any.

My great uncle Sydney was a merchant seaman and he always said of all the places he had been, Vancouver was the best. I've always fancied checking out if he was right!

Thanks @KathyLauren - that's really helpful for anyone coming to this thread. I am personally now pretty much committed to Scotland. But the region where I'm settling, Argyll and Bute, has links with Canada. There's even a small peak called Canada Hill from whence families would wave goodbye to loved ones emigrating to Canada:
https://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst90353.html 🔗

Oh wow about your links with the country @Lori Dee and also your great uncle @Stottie Girl

I know that the Canadian Government relaxed the rules a few years ago. As in, welcomed about 2 million people, to boost the labour market. Some places changed greatly, Vancouver being one. Awesome city but very different from a couple of decades back.

I first went to Canada twenty years ago and was absolutely spellbound by the Rockies. I'd almost put it up there with Norway. I went back again a couple of years later and it was just as lovely. Then in 2024 I flew from Fiji to Vancouver on my round the world trip and came east. I'd really like to spend some time around Hudson Bay and see the polar bears.

Aaaah it's a wonderful country 💕

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Good information. Thanks, Kathy!

My great-grandfather brought his wife and kids from Leeds to Ontario in 1876. The family settled in Schomberg, near Toronto. I don't know about citizenship status, but we have a family plot in a cemetery in Toronto with many family members there.
I have photos of the plot, but I have never seen it myself. I will have to visit someday and maybe stay a long while.

😁

Lori, based on this information, you may be a Canadian.

https://immigration.ca/claiming-canadian-citizenship-by-descent-under-canadas-new-citizenship-act-bill-c-3/ 🔗

Example 2: Reaching Back to the Great-Grandparent (Or Beyond)
The new law allows the restored citizenship to travel up the family tree and flow back down, reaching individuals whose connection is three generations removed from the original Canadian anchor.

Generation 1 (Original Citizen): Your Great-Grandparent was a Canadian Citizen.
Generation 2 (Your Grandparent): Born abroad.
Generation 3 (Your Parent): Born abroad.
Generation 4 (You, the Applicant): Born abroad, previously excluded.
The Result Under Bill C-3: The law will sequentially recognize citizenship in the lineage:

The Grandparent is retroactively recognized as a citizen.
The Parent is retroactively recognized as a citizen.
You are now recognized as a Canadian citizen at birth.
This is a significant victory for people tracing their lineage, as the law, for past births, does not set an arbitrary limit on how far back the Canadian ancestor can be.

[KathyLauren]

But the region where I'm settling, Argyll and Bute, has links with Canada. There's even a small peak called Canada Hill from whence families would wave goodbye to loved ones emigrating to Canada

I grew up mostly in Calgary, which is named after Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Lori, based on this information, you may be a Canadian.

https://immigration.ca/claiming-canadian-citizenship-by-descent-under-canadas-new-citizenship-act-bill-c-3/ 🔗

Example 2: Reaching Back to the Great-Grandparent (Or Beyond)
The new law allows the restored citizenship to travel up the family tree and flow back down, reaching individuals whose connection is three generations removed from the original Canadian anchor.

Generation 1 (Original Citizen): Your Great-Grandparent was a Canadian Citizen.
Generation 2 (Your Grandparent): Born abroad.
Generation 3 (Your Parent): Born abroad.
Generation 4 (You, the Applicant): Born abroad, previously excluded.
The Result Under Bill C-3: The law will sequentially recognize citizenship in the lineage:

The Grandparent is retroactively recognized as a citizen.
The Parent is retroactively recognized as a citizen.
You are now recognized as a Canadian citizen at birth.
This is a significant victory for people tracing their lineage, as the law, for past births, does not set an arbitrary limit on how far back the Canadian ancestor can be.

That's awesome!

I have certified birth certificates for everyone, but great-grandpa's is from England. So I would need to see if he applied for citizenship after he immigrated.

Always good to have a Plan B in your back pocket.

[Tills]

I grew up mostly in Calgary, which is named after Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull.

Oh wow. I never knew that about the Isle of Mull link.

I love that wall of the Rockies you see looking west from Calgary. Do you ski / snowboard / ice skate?

Cold and pretty bone dry in winter though, right? (I mean, dry this side of the continental divide in the lee of the mountains.)

I used to dial up the Canadian weather service reports and names like Saskatchewan River Crossing send a visceral thrill down my spine even now. There is, or was, true wild out there.

I kept trying to encourage my late brother to go and adventure west from Calgary. Now my sister is doing so in a couple of months, taking in lots of sights including the beautiful Lake Louise.

It's a stunning part of the world. If you like the wild and don't mind a long cold winter it's got to be right up there as one of the most awesome places on the planet.

[KathyLauren]

I love that wall of the Rockies you see looking west from Calgary. Do you ski / snowboard / ice skate?

Cold and pretty bone dry in winter though, right? (I mean, dry this side of the continental divide in the lee of the mountains.)

When I was a kid (newly arrived from Scotland), one of the things that made getting up early on a cold winter morning worthwhile was watching the first pink rays of sunlight hit the snow-covered mountains.  When I lived there as an adult, I did a lot of cross-country skiing in the mountains.  East coast snow is just not the same.

Yes, it was cold there, but being on the lee side of the mountains, we got chinook winds that broke the cold spells and melted all the snow.  A chinook might last last two hours in the middle of the night, or it might last a week or two.

[Stottie Girl]

I grew up mostly in Calgary, which is named after Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull.

I thought it was the other way round. That's cool to know. I've been to Calgary Bay a few times it's a beautiful bit of Mull.

We have the villages of Toronto and Quebec in nearby County Durham. They were named after their namesakes in Canada. We also have the village of Washington (now a town but was a little village when my mum lived there) which the US president's family took the name from. They were the land owners there.

[KathyLauren]

It's a stunning part of the world. If you like the wild and don't mind a long cold winter it's got to be right up there as one of the most awesome places on the planet.

All true.  On the other hand, returning to the alleged topic of this thread, Calgary is in Alberta, which has a trumpist government and is hostile to trans people.