Lewis Henshall

I am a 31-year-old Mancunian, passionate about civil and human rights and angry about the discrimination and injustices experienced by minorities.

I’m a gay man advocating for social equality and legal protections for LGBT+ people around the world and this is what I often talk about. I’m not just about the ‘G’ of the LGBT+ umbrella, I am a fervent supporter of the whole cause.

In my early twenties I ran a global online community for LGBT youth (ages 13 to 25), where young people were given a sense of agency to make up their own minds about themselves and challenge how they were raised to believe they should be. Kids are more clever than they’re given credit for, especially when it comes to their own gender and sexuality.

I know well though, that, along with the wonderful benefits of our Internet-connected world, the online world brings about the ease of bullying, fraud, grooming and exploitation. I am passionate about people being empowered online whilst being informed and safeguarded, whether 13 or 93.

You can find me on Twitter at @ljhenshall.