Nothing can top the moment Shaneel Lal found out Aotearoa was banning gay conversion therapy. The news marked a monumental breakthrough for queer youth and would see the 23-year-old featured in Vogue and named Young New Zealander Of The Year (YNZOTY) for leading the movement to pass the legislation.
Now, for the first time, Shaneel –who identifies as nonbinary – is sharing how their all-consuming activism efforts stem from a traumatic upbringing, which saw them tormented, beaten with Bibles and whipped from age seven in attempts to change
