Advert featuring LGBT+ couples proudly, passionately kissing released to send anti-hate message this Christmas

The campaign wants to encourage LGBT+ people to “kiss goodbye to hate”

After a disastrous year for LGBTQ+ rights and equality in the UK in 2021, Stonewall – the UK’s leading LGBT+ charity – this week released a campaign hoping to promote some love.

Announcing the initiative on Twitter, the charity said: “Reports of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes continue to rise in 2021. Help create a world where all LGBTQ+ people can show affection without fear. This Christmas, kiss hate goodbye. “

Speaking of the campaign, Stonewall said: “LGBTQ+ people deserve to feel safe everywhere. On the bus. In the pub. At the supermarket. In the street. And especially when we’re with our loved ones”.

“So, this Christmas, we’re encouraging LGBTQ+ people to kiss goodbye to hate”

The charity added in a statement: “Let’s fight hateful attacks with love, and help create a world where all of us can show affection to our friends, family and partners without fear. By continuing the legacy of LGBTQ+ trailblazers, who used kiss-ins as a form of protest in the 1970s and ‘80s, we too can reclaim public spaces in the name of love and pride.”

The UK Government’s National LGBT Survey found that 40% of respondents experienced a negative incident in the 12 months before the survey, rising to an astonishing 54% for trans people. Since then, reports of hate crime have increased even further.

You can get involved digitally, either at home or wherever you are, by kissing under the new Stonewall #proudmistletoe Instagram filter, and can find out more by visiting the Stonewall website.

Check out the moving promo video below: