About Me

Sarah speaking at Magdalen College in Oxford

My name is Sarah Stephenson-Hunter and I’m a totally blind woman with a trans history.

I’ve spent the past 20+ years working with and advocating for the needs of people with a range of physical, sensory and mental health issues as well as those with long-term medical conditions.

I came out as trans in 2013 and since then have been a passionate advocate, campaigner, trainer and speaker on the everyday issues faced by trans people in all walks of life.

I’ve made a conscious decision to be as open and honest as I can be about my own experiences of being disabled and LGBT+ and I hope that by doing so I can go some way to breaking down barriers that still exist for people in either or both communities.

I have considerable experience of working within the Higher Education sector having worked at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Nottingham and currently the University of Oxford.

I have also delivered training and consultancy for many other
public and private organisations such as:

Nottinghamshire County and City Council.
Nottinghamshire Police.
Oxfordshire County Council.
Boots Walgreen Alliance.
Zurich insurance.
the Wellcome Trust.
the law Society.
Norton Rose Fulbright Law Firm.
RPC Law Firm.
Leigh Day Law Firm.

I was named the Stonewall LGBT Role model of the Year (East Midlands) in 2018 and have spoken at their Annual European Workplace Conference on 2 occasions.

Sarah speaking at an event, sat with other speakers

I am a University of Oxford LGBT+ role model and have been a trustee of a number of community led disability and LGBT+ organisations such as My Sight Nottinghamshire, Notss Trans Hub and Transactual.

Being disabled and LGBT+ has its many challenges and my aim is to share what I’ve learned personally and professionally through my journey thus far. I don’t claim to have all the answers, all of us are unique in our own individual circumstances, but by sharing the lessons I’ve learned and am still learning I hope to improve awareness of the real life issues that are faced by disabled and LGBT+ people today.