For the first time, People with Disability Australia (PWDA), the national cross-disability rights and representative organisation and national peak for LGBTQIA+ people with disability, has taken to the streets of St Kilda for the 2025 Midsumma Pride March on Sunday 2 February. PWDA will be marching under the theme, “Proud and Free to Be Me,” in an unapologetic celebration of LGBTQIA+ people with disability and a powerful reminder of our right to be seen, respected, and included.
40 PWDA members, including representatives from VALID, are joined more than 7,400 marchers and 45,000 supporters at this iconic event, a cornerstone of Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival.
“We march because LGBTQIA+ people with disability belong in every space — proudly, unapologetically, and with the full freedom to be themselves. Our presence at Midsumma is a powerful statement against the invisibility and exclusion that too many in our community still face,” said PWDA President Trinity Ford.
As the national voice for LGBTQIA+ people with disability, PWDA is proud to champion the rights and inclusion of its community. This year’s theme, developed in consultation with PWDA members, reflects a collective call to:
- Be proud of who they are.
- Exist freely in spaces that have historically excluded them.
- Live without the limitations imposed by society.
Participants will wear PWDA t-shirts emblazoned with “PROUD, FREE TO BE ME” and carry placards with messages such as:
- “Nothing About Us Without Us!”
- “Disability Rights Are Human Rights”
- “Free to Exist Without Limitations”
- “Love Every Body”
- “I Get Horny Too.”
“Our presence at Midsumma is more than a march—it’s a declaration that LGBTQIA+ people with disability deserve the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. We’re proud we have the access and opportunity to speak up for ourselves and to live wholly who we are in a public space,” said PWDA CEO Sebastian Zagarella.
PWDA’s participation in Midsumma kicks off a month of LGBTIQA+ pride activities including ‘Free to be Proud’ an online event and a float at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. The organisation invites the wider community to join their call for a world where everyone is Proud and Free to Be Me.