Earlier this year, Brianna Ghey, a transgender teenager, was murdered in England by two teens who have not been named by the media. The horrifying incident sent shockwaves through the entire country—especially when transphobes in the British media refused to grant her any dignity in death.
Now Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey has launched a campaign that she hopes will, in her own words, “prevent what’s happened to Brianna from happening again.” Along with the newspaper The Warrington Guardian, she is raising money for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), which aims to teach children how to deal with negative and angry emotions and improve their mental health.
The official website for the MiSP states, “Our view is that everyone deserves to not ‘just get by’ but to positively flourish. By introducing key skills to help young people, and those who care for them, to work more skillfully with what comes their way, we observe real shifts in how they navigate the difficulties in life, as well as engaging more positively with the opportunities that arise.”
The plan to help the trans community
Esther told PinkNews on September 7 that in the wake of Brianna’s death, she received multiple messages from transgender people which made her even more determined to pursue the project, named Brianna Ghey: Peace in Mind.
“The LGBTQIA+ community are at higher risk of mental health issues, and it looks like this is due to things such as stigma and discrimination,” she said. “I think [the campaign] is hitting it from both angles, making people more empathetic, understanding and resilient and also giving people coping strategies so that if they do have mental health issues, or encounter issues in society, they have better ways of coping with it.”
Unfortunately, even after having their daughter ripped away from them, the Ghey family are still having to face that stigma and discrimination. On September 15, Esther spoke to the BBC’s North West Tonight program about the horrific abuse she and her family have had to deal with since Brianna’s murder.
Brianna Ghey’s family are now the target of trolls
Esther told the BBC, “I don’t want to give [the trolls] too much attention but it’s something that needs to be spoken about.” And unfortunately, a quick glance at the comments beneath any of the news stories about Brianna on Twitter/”X” confirms just how bad the problem is. It’s also hard to argue the BBC themselves, with their insistence on platforming TERFS, haven’t been complicit in some of this.
It’s a relief to hear that Esther has been able to keep herself strong while dealing with the worst possible nightmare of any parent. The same mindfulness she wants schools to teach, she says, was what allowed her to be able to cope after Brianna’s death. She and her partner, Brianna’s stepfather, also took part in the Great North Swim in June to raise money for MiSP. She’s been an amazing advocate for her daughter’s memory … but she should never have had to be.
Esther says on the GoFundMe page for Peace in Mind, “The crime that was inflicted on Brianna is not a one off. Senseless acts of violence are happening far too often. I believe, to prevent this from reoccurring we need to weave empathy, compassion, and resilience throughout our society.” Currently, the gofundme stands at £6,066 raised of a £50,000 goal. But regardless of how much money it does ultimately make, Brianna’s legacy will live on, and the circumstances of her death, its aftermath and the reaction to it by “gender criticals” will never, ever be forgotten.
(featured image: Leon Neal/Getty Images)
