Welsh advocate launches UK’s first organisation for rural trans communities

A Welsh advocate has launched the UK’s first national organisation dedicated to improving the lives of transgender people in rural, remote, and semi-rural areas.

Rural Trans Alliance CIC, founded in 2025 by Powys native Dewi Emberton, tackles the disproportionately high barriers rural trans people face.

These barriers include restricted access to life-saving gender-affirming healthcare, limited inclusion within rural communities, and a profound lack of clear, trustworthy information.

Rural Trans Alliance also seeks to ensure that the lived experiences of rural transgender people are heard, understood, and represented in policy, practice, and public discourse.

A UK-wide study by TransActual documented persistent problems for trans and non-binary individuals in UK healthcare. Respondents reported discrimination, lack of provider understanding, difficulties accessing gender-affirming care and other general health services, and challenges in updating records or receiving respectful treatment.

As for rural-specific issues, a 2023 academic study published in the Journal of Rural Studies presented qualitative evidence showing that rural environments can intensify the marginalisation of transgender people.

Drawing on lived experience narratives, the research highlights heightened isolation, increased vulnerability to transphobia, and limited access to supportive services, arguing that countryside contexts often amplify the social and structural challenges trans people face.

The situation is similar in Scotland, where only 39% of LGBTQ+ young people in rural areas said their local area was a good place to live, compared to 59% of non-rural youth, illustrating rural-specific disadvantages in safety, inclusion, and access.

With unique challenges shaped by geography, social isolation, scarcity of specialist services and limited visibility, Rural Trans Alliance was founded to close these gaps for transgender people in rural areas.

They aim to improve the situation by working to ensure equitable access to services, strengthening community inclusion, and empowering both trans individuals and professionals in contact with the trans community with accurate, accessible information.

They deliver their work through three core modes:

• Research
• Education
• Advocacy & Consultation

The Rural Trans Alliance explains: “Despite making up a large proportion of the UK’s landmass and a significant portion of its population, rural communities have historically been overlooked in policy, service design, and representation, this issue is even more acute in relation to transgender communities belonging to these regions. Rural Trans Alliance is the first organisation to focus exclusively on these systemic inequalities.”

Dewi Emberton, a 22-year-old advocate originally from rural Powys, founded the alliance to address these persistent and often invisible inequities.

His lived experience growing up in rural Wales fuels his commitment to ensuring that trans people can live, work, and thrive in the communities they call home, from agriculture to local business.

Dewi said: “Growing up in Powys shaped me. I’ve seen both the beauty and the challenges of rural life: the strength and solidarity of its communities, and also, the isolation that many face.”

Dewi began his community work in his late teens with the LGBT Foundation, where he researched and authored educational materials helping trans people navigate complex processes such as NHS gender-affirming care pathways and Gender Recognition Certificate applications.

He later advanced into organisational leadership within major regional LGBTQ+ community events, strengthening governance and community engagement.

Driven by a desire to return to his rural roots and create long-term change in the areas he cares about most, Dewi launched the Rural Trans Alliance in 2025. His vision centres on education, open dialogue, and practical solutions.

Dewi added: “I firmly believe that rural life is further enriched for all when transgender people are fully included in every aspect of it.”

For more information about the Rural Trans Alliance, visit their site here.