A number of organisations and companies in the UK, including Channel 4, IBM, Tesco, Attitude, Diva Magazine, Stonewall and Barclays, have shown their support for transgender people in the UK by placing a full-page ad in the Metro.

The message from the organisations read:

“To all our trans family, colleagues, customers and friends, we are proud to stand alongside you in the fight for trans equality. We support your right to be yourself and you deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in all parts of daily life. We will keep on playing our part to make that happen and we send you our support and strength in the face of hostility directed at you.”

The final part of the resounding message is written in bold:

“We are proud to come out for trans equality.”

Incredible ? Over 100 organisations from business, charity & public sectors have come together today to show our unwavering support for trans equality. Want to help? Fill in the government's #GRA consultation today to #ComeOutForTransEquality https://t.co/Ir1qEHL7La pic.twitter.com/mF8mks3mrn

— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) October 17, 2018

Last week, Metro faced criticism after they ran a full-page advert for TERF group Fair Play For Women. The advert encouraged readers to “say no to self-ID (self-identification)”, in advance of a government consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004. The consultation will examine the ways in which transgender people can legally change their gender.

The UK LGBT+ organisation Stonewall spoke about the need for TERF rhetoric to be challenged in the current climate:

“We, along with our partner organisations, have created this advert to show our unwavering support for trans equality.”

The message continued:

“Over the past years, we’ve seen a disturbing increase in hate directed at trans people in the media and online.

“We wanted to send a clear message: we’re proud to stand with our trans family, colleagues, customers and friends and we will keep working together until we achieve equality for trans people everywhere.”

While a number of TERF organisations are seeking to increase the visibility of anti-trans rhetoric in the UK, a recent study from the Thomson Reuters Foundation found that up to 80% of women worldwide believe trans women should have equal rights.