This Valentine’s Day, take a cue from Chappell Roan and be a giver. What you do once the ‘do not disturb’ sign is hung is your business, but beyond that, Mr & Mrs Smith’s charity partner, the Human Dignity Trust (HDT), has worked tirelessly to make matters of LGBTQ+ loving its concern. Passionate advocates for LGBTQ+ rights across the globe, its work has helped to open it up for many, as it dismantles discriminatory policies, provide millions in pro-bono legal work and help to decriminalise consensual, same-sex sexual activity.
The HDT’s work takes courage and persistence, but with its new Legacy of Love campaign (which coincides with both V-Day and LGBTQ+ History Month) it has made it easy for you to support and help LGBTQ+ couples love freely in the 65 countries that still discriminate against same-sex relationships. HDT has partnered with Farewill to offer a free will-writing service through which you can donate a gift of any size (some might say the larger the better). And it has made the process more heartwarming than head-spinning, with a free Gifts in Wills guide to help you understand this method of giving and how you can donate. To find out more, we spoke with HDT’s Chief Executive Téa Braun.
How did the idea for the Legacy of Love campaign come about?
By launching a new free will-writing service, we wanted to give supporters a meaningful and accessible way to turn their values into long-term impact. The campaign invites people to reflect on the love they want to leave behind — and how they can help secure equality and dignity for future generations. Gifts pledged through the Legacy of Love campaign will support the Human Dignity Trust’s work.’
What was the reason for focusing on legacy gifts?
Legacy gifts offer people a powerful opportunity to reflect on what truly matters to them and how they want to be remembered. Research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that more than half of UK adults do not currently have a Will, despite it being one of the most effective ways to protect loved ones and support causes close to their hearts. While writing a Will can feel daunting, it can also be a positive and empowering process. By focusing on legacy giving, we aim to remove barriers, encourage thoughtful planning, and show how even a small decision today can create lasting change in the future.
Do you have any stories of previous legacy gifts that you can share?
We were delighted to receive a £30,000 bequest even before we had developed our Legacy of Love campaign. We were told that the Executor of the Will had researched organisations that the Legator would have strongly believed in, and we were the clear choice given our concrete and measurable work to overturn criminalising laws that impact LGBT people globally.
Tell us the ways in which the HDT have made Will-writing a fuss-free process.
To make legacy giving as simple and accessible as possible, our new free will-writing service removes many of the practical and financial barriers people face. Supporters can write a new will, which will be checked by award-winning experts, and the service includes unlimited updates. Alongside this, we’ve developed a free Gifts in Wills guide, which clearly explains how charitable giving through a Will works and helps supporters make informed decisions at their own pace.
What have been some recent wins for you and your team?
In 2024, history was made when the High Court of Namibia struck down discriminatory laws that criminalised consensual same-sex intimacy. Supported by the Trust, the legal case was initiated by long-term activist Friedel Dausab in 2022, and the win is hugely significant for Namibia, Africa and beyond.
Later that year, the Seychelles National Assembly adopted the groundbreaking Penal Code (Amendment) Act, the first legislation in the country’s history to protect all citizens, including LGBT people, from crimes motivated by prejudice and hatred. We played an active role in this achievement since 2020, offering technical legal expertise to the Seychelles Attorney General’s Office in the drafting of the Act’s hate-crime provisions. Most recently, last summer, a court in Saint Lucia struck down a discriminatory colonial-era law that criminalised LGBT+ people, reducing the number of criminalising countries in the Western Hemisphere to just five.
We were also encouraged to receive a formal request from the Government of Lesotho to support the advancement of hate-crime legislation, and we’re looking forward to continuing that work in partnership with them in order to address bias-motivated violence against LGBT+ people and other marginalised groups.
Our work was also recognised internationally when we were shortlisted for the Charity Initiative Award at the British LGBT Awards. We also hosted a major private decriminalisation convening, bringing together more than 100 legislators, partners and funders from around the world to share expertise and strengthen global collaboration on ending criminalisation.
Can you tell us about any important legal cases you’re currently working on?
Over the next year, our legal teams will support litigants and engage with governments across more than 20 countries worldwide. For safety reasons, much of this work must remain confidential, which limits what we can share publicly. However, we can share that following the successful Namibia ruling, the government filed an appeal that will be heard by the Supreme Court. We are working closely with our partners and local legal teams to ensure the decision is upheld. We are also supporting legislative reform aimed at strengthening protections against hate-motivated crime. Most recently, the Leader of the Opposition in the Cook Islands invited us to develop draft hate-crime legislation, which we hope will be introduced to Parliament by the end of 2026.
How will you and the rest of the team be celebrating LGBTQ+ history month?
We are going to be interviewing a former Trustee — a retired senior member of the UK Diplomatic Service and Home Office — on her experiences living in the pre-decriminalisation era in the UK and working in criminalising Commonwealth jurisdictions abroad. Our aim is to highlight how far we’ve come, how legal change makes a difference, and how far we still have to go in changing these relics of our shared legal history. Check out our website after Valentine’s Day when the interview will be online!
At Mr & Mrs Smith, we’re also firm believers in love without borders and the right to romance-laden trips for hotel lovers of all persuasions. Through this initiative and your generosity, your enduring legacy will be a world where holding hands while strolling along a beach, dancing late into the night and kissing under the stars could be free of fear for all, everywhere. Truly, what a gift — so sign up for your free will now.
STAYS FOR EVERY HOTEL LOVER
To honour LGBTQ+ history month, we’re highlighting the hotels that have long held space for marginalised communities, throwing open their doors to same-sex couples, some before it was widely acceptable to do so, and remaining welcoming, safe spaces:
Hazlitt’s
The tangle of Soho streets surrounding Hazlitt’s hotel acted as analogue Grindr even back in the late 1800s when art critic William Hazlitt lived there. By the time it was rescued from dereliction and turned into an antique-filled townhouse hideaway in 1986, it had likely witnessed pretty much everything. But its behind-doors discretion is what’s made it so popular: guests have their own entrance key; resident celebs go about undisturbed; and even that hook-up from Circa nightclub across the road will feel like a romance for the ages in damask-draped four-poster beds.
The Asbury Hotel
For fans of the reality show: the Jersey Shore isn’t all questionable haircuts and life choices — in its premier LGBTQ+ destination, Asbury Park, the atmosphere is wholly life-affirming. Co-founded by David Bowd and Kevin O’Shea (partners in business and in life ), The Asbury Hotel could be called the area’s queen bee, so buzzy is this come-all hideaway with a roof terrace for alfresco movie screenings; jazz, burlesque and drag karaoke nights; a vinyl library in its lobby bar; and famed bowling, booze and big-name-gig venue Asbury Lanes next door. Plus, bars catering to the whole LGBTQ+ ecosystem within easy reach.
Belmond Mount Nelson
South Africa’s pink lady, the Belmond Mount Nelson, is emblematic of the country’s open mindset. Iconic for its camp blancmange hue and check-ins such as Marlene Dietrich and Noël Coward, it’s gathered a few tales over its 100-plus years (John Lennon meditating in its garden; the Dalai Lama dispensing wisdom in the ballroom; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle holding séances). Belmond took over in 1988, with its dedicated LGBTQ+ advisory board working to make guests feel as welcome as possible; and the hotel has a long-running partnership with the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, who hold their conference there each year as rainbow flags flutter proudly. Rosy, indeed.
Hotel San José
LGBTQ+ hotelier Liz Lambert is a legend in the hospitality sphere, founding the immensely stylish and delightfully fun Bunkhouse Group of hotels, all of which are inclusive to the core. It was acquired by The Standard group, who kept Bunkhouse’s sense of inclusive fun. Hotel San José in Austin’s cool South Congress ‘hood invites the whole community on in, hosting an annual chili cook-off, its own mini SXSW festival and more pop-ups and gigs. Retro rooms and bungalows show impeccable taste (the custom kimonos, grandma-print bedspreads and incense can be bought on-site); and hipster elders will thrill at the Polaroid cameras and typewriters you can borrow.
Leave a Legacy of Love and find out more about the Human Dignity Trust’s impressive work; and see how LGBTQ+ activists believe travel is evolving for the better