People in Teesside reminded the region is inclusive to LGBTQ+ community
We have been speaking to a transgender woman
We are being reassured that Teesside is inclusive to LGBTQ+ in communities across the region.
It is after a group of teenagers, one as young as 12, stabbed a transgender woman almost a week ago.
Cleveland Police called the incident 'a hate crime'.
Ellie Lowther is a transgender woman based in Stockton and she runs a collective which champions intersectional inclusion in the area and the UK.
She said: "When we see things on the news, it's easy for an area or a town or a place to get labelled as a 'no-go' area or some people may think this is the norm, this is what happens, but we created one of the first trans-specific safehouses in the UK in Stockton.
"Communities around here is very inclusive and I worry about people being isolated, people not wanting to go out because they're feeling as if the world's against them. I'd also like to remind our allies that please don't be a silent ally.
"The community builds and grows because of everyone that's in it. A community's strength is in its diversity, and we know that the entire LGBTQ+ movement just brings so much. I feel as if we sometimes miss out on all of these beautiful inclusive aspects.
"To not be a silent ally, it's meeting somebody without bringing that judgement of whether you feel somebody should exist or not into the conversation. It's recognising the inequalities with healthcare, currently if you're coming out as trans, you might have maybe eight years to wait for your first appointment within the NHS.
"So in the street we might look as if we might stick out a bit because of presentation but that's because we aren't getting the proper healthcare and stuff that we should be getting, so instead of looking at somebody and judging them, sometimes just a smile and a simple 'hello' is all it takes to make someone feel a part of a community."