TL;DR: The rapid rise of 'gender critical' organisations in the UK and accompanying high volume of anti-trans media coverage has been mapped for the first time by Amnesty International UK. Financial data was available for just three of the 51 'gender critical' groups, which shows that LGB Alliance, Sex Matters and FiLia spent £3.6 million between 2019 and 2024.
Seventeen thousand articles were published about so-called 'trans issues' by just four British newspapers in five years, according to new research from Amnesty International UK.
The vast majority of the reporting excludes Trans+ perspectives and platforms' anti-trans talking points, the research found.
The four newspapers – The Sun, The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph – mentioned JK Rowling 106 times in their coverage, with 202 mentions of a prime minister or political party leader.
Trans people themselves were mentioned by name just 24 times. Sixteen of those mentions were murdered teen Brianna Ghey, and eight were convicted rapist Isla Bryson.
Most of the media reports in the four newspapers, between 2020 and 2025, had a negative sentiment about trans people. When trans people were mentioned in reporting it was as criminals or murder victims, the research found.
As well as analysis of media reporting, Amnesty International UK also mapped the rise and spending of 'gender critical' groups in the UK for the first time.
These are organisations that focus on removing legal gender recognition for trans people, excluding trans people from public spaces and services, and try to limit access to trans healthcare and education.
Of the 51 'gender critical' organisations identified, just three were established before 2017 – when the UK government first proposed reforming the Gender Recognition Act, which was opposed by trans-exclusionary radical feminists and catalysed anti-trans organising in the UK.
This rapid rise in the number of 'gender critical' groups is matched by the huge volume of newspaper articles about so-called 'trans issues' published, as well as high spending by 'gender critical' organisations.
More than half of the 51 organisations mapped are informal, with just three – LGB Alliance, Sex Matters and FiLiA – being registered charities that publish accounts. Analysis of available financial data for these three organisations reveals that altogether they spent £3.6 million between 2019 and 2024.
Additionally, Sex Matters' most recent accounts show it spent £843,730 in the 2024-25 financial year - QueerAF
“This research provides stark evidence of how anti-trans organisations have shaped media
coverage and political debate in the UK since 2017," said Chiara Capraro, Amnesty International UK’s gender justice programme director. “This is not happening organically. What we are seeing is a coordinated and increasingly well-resourced effort to roll back trans people’s rights and reshape public debate."
Capraro added that while Trans+ people are the immediate target, hard-won freedoms that everyone enjoys are also under threat of being rolled back by "powerful forces".
"Anyone who cares about equality and human rights must consider this an alarm bell and make clear that this kind of bias has no place in our society," she said.
Amnesty International UK situates the rise of anti-trans organisations within a broader movement campaigning against abortion rights, LGBTQIA+ rights and gender equality in the UK.
The new research into media coverage and 'gender critical' groups follows an Amnesty International UK report last year into groups promoting so-called 'conversion therapy' in the UK.
So-called 'conversion therapy' groups’ spending in the UK has hugely increased since a ban on the practice was first proposed. QueerAF exclusively revealed that these groups increased their spending by 165% between 2019 and 2023 - QueerAF
Some £2 million was dished out on lobbying and promoting the practice in the UK over four years by organisations that advocate for the widely discredited and harmful approach that falsely claims to change or suppress people’s LGBTQIA+ identities.
The pseudoscientific practice, which falsely claims it can change or suppress a person’s LGBTQIA+ identity, is still legal in the UK – with millions of people at risk of being forced to undergo harmful and discredited practices. As many as one in five LGBTQIA+ people have experienced the practice, which in some cases can amount to a form of torture.
Analysis: Finally, evidence for what we could all see
The new research from Amnesty International UK will not come as a surprise to people who have been engaged with the media or politics in the UK over the past decade.
The huge upswing in media articles about Trans+ people, directly preceded by a massive rise in the number of organisations campaigning against trans rights, was in public view for all to see.
What is new, though, is having evidence to back up what our eyes are telling us. And Amnesty International UK's report is just that: comprehensive and high quality research that is important evidence showing the impact and influence of 'gender critical' organisations.
In a time when many charities are quietly stepping back from trans advocacy, Amnesty International UK is an example of a charity showing that work can continue – regardless of the political climate.
We need more investment in queer accountability journalism.
Our rights are under attack, and navigating how to fight back is only possible with quality, fact-checked, accessible information - written by LGBTQIA+ journalists.
We're a small but mighty publisher, and are so glad you trust us every week to bring you a selection of the top queer news, unique perspectives and content everyone's talking about in this newsletter.
If QueerAF had more resources, I can assure you - we'd double down even further on our investigations and news output, but even more so: We'd train, mentor and invest in an even bigger new generation of queer journalists.
In just four years, we've supported 150 LGBTQIA+ creatives to develop their craft and careers.
We're not going anywhere, and that work continues.
We can't do it without you, so if you can - please start your monthly or annual membership to QueerAF, so we can help even more people fight back.
