What this day is
Out and Proud Parents Day is held every year on 30th July.
It is a day to celebrate the parents who love and accept their LGBTQI+ children, and to give other families hope that the same love is possible for them.
It is co-ordinated by the Naz and Matt Foundation, and it began in memory of one person.
Why the day exists
On 30th July 2014, Dr Nazim Mahmood, known to everyone as Naz, tragically took his own life. Two days earlier, his deeply religious family had confronted him about being gay for the first time. He was 34, a successful GP, and he was loved.
Naz's fiancé, Matt Mahmood-Ogston, founded the Naz and Matt Foundation in his memory, to tackle the religious and cultural rejection that took Naz from the people who loved him.
For years, 30th July was the hardest day of the year. So in 2019, five years on, we chose to reclaim it. Rather than a day of grief, we made it a day of hope:
a day to celebrate the parents whose love never wavered, and to show families still struggling that acceptance is possible.
That is Out and Proud Parents Day.
Why it matters
Parental acceptance saves lives.
When a family accepts their LGBTQI+ child, that child is safer, healthier and far more likely to thrive.
The opposite is also true, and it is stark. Our research found that 64% of LGBTQ+ people rejected by their parents struggled with anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts. For people from religious or culturally conservative backgrounds, a painful coming out can make them twice as likely to feel suicidal as their peers.
This is why proud, accepting parents matter so much. When they are visible to other families, they become proof that love can win. Over the years, parents have taken part from across the UK, India, North America, Australia and beyond, and the day has reached more than a million people in a single 30th July.
Why this year is different
For most of its life, Out and Proud Parents Day has been about visible pride. Parents showing their faces, telling their communities, sometimes coming out to their own families, about how much they love their LGBTQI+ child.
But the world has changed.
Anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ hate has risen sharply in just a few years, here in the UK and around the world. For many parents, and many of their children, being visible now carries real risk. Speaking up in public can draw attention that lands on the very person a parent is trying to protect.
We will never ask anyone to choose between being seen and being safe.
So this year, we are doing it differently. We are inviting parents, LGBTQI+ people and allies to send us a message, anonymously.
On 30th July, we turn those messages into graphics that everyone can share together, all standing behind the same words, so no one can be singled out. The pride is still loud. The names stay hidden.
The love that Naz was denied is the same love we celebrate every year. This year, we are simply making sure it can be shared safely.