Bristol SU launches new gender expression fund for students this academic year

Students can apply for up to £100 to buy gender affirming products

2 months ago

Bristol University Students’ Union has launched its Gender Expression Fund for the 2024/25 academic year.

The fund will allow students who are trans, non-binary, intersex or otherwise gender diverse to receive money for purchasing gender-affirming products or to use on necessary travel.

Anyone can apply for the funding if they identify in any gender diverse way, and can apply to receive up to £100 from the SU.

The fund can be used on any gender-affirming products, including new clothes or underwear, chest binders, breast forms, packers, wigs, affirming sports/swimwear, costs arising from a name change, makeup, etc.

It can also cover travel costs of students going to medical therapy, or counselling appointments, but cannot be used to fund treatment, prescriptions, or other medical procedures or to fund private counselling/therapy.

Bristol SU website says, “We hope this scheme will benefit transgender students who would otherwise be financially excluded from purchasing these items despite wishing to do so.”

To qualify to apply for the fund, the requirements state you must be:

Be a current student at the University of Bristol, this includes UG, PGT, PGR and part-time students
Identify as trans, non-binary, intersex, gender diverse, or gender non-conforming
Have not used the full allocated amount before (with the option to justify if there is a reasonable explanation like extreme hardship, change of circumstances, clothing size etc.)

The form, which can be found here, is open to submitting funding requests.

Students will find out if they have qualified for funding from October 14th. The SU panel will meet to discuss applications and make decisions on who is successful in receiving the grant. Successful applications will be asked for bank details and receive their payment within 10 days.

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Students who are unsuccessful will be contacted by the SU with feedback. The fund will be open until the end of July 2025, or until funding runs out.

The panel making these decisions consists of the Equality, Liberation and Access Officer, Postgraduate Education Officer and Liberation and Campaigns Coordinator.

Linlu Ye, Bristol SU’s Equality, Liberation and Access Officer said: “I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to get the new Gender Expression Fund up and running this academic year. The project was initiated by the previous ELA Officer Saranya Thambirajah, and the previous chair of Trans Network Jamie Jewkes, and has been made possible thanks to funding from the University of Bristol. We launched the fund last week and it is already proving popular with students.

“The Gender Expression Fund allows students who are trans, non-binary, intersex or otherwise gender diverse to apply for up to £100 for gender-affirming products and/or necessary travel according to certain criteria.

“There are a number of universities and SU’s with similar schemes already in place, and it’s great that we’ve been able to set one up here at Bristol. It could make a huge difference to the students who apply and will hopefully lead to them having a more positive student experience. We’re committed to a world where marginalised genders feel safe and empowered, and we will continue to work proactively to make this a reality, and to support students of all genders at the University of Bristol.”

The funding for the scheme referenced came from the £540K that last year’s officer team secured for a number of schemes to support the student experience.

Additional information can be found on Bristol SU’s website.