LGBT campaigners, trade unions and student groups are calling upon lesbian and bisexual women to take part in the anti-cuts “March for the Alternative” in London this weekend.

Supporters of the march, which has been organised for Saturday 26 March by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), argue that LGBT people will be hit particularly hard by government spending cuts.

“Support for LGBT people is being cut when specialist services have never been more important – homophobic bullying is rampant in schools, and hate crime in the street is becoming more prevalent,” said Brendan Barber of the TUC.

Many organisations also claim that women are likely to be worse-off because of the cuts. The Fawcett Society claim that “it is women who will bear the brunt of the cuts unveiled so far”, citing public sector pay freezes and benefit cuts that will disproportionately affect women.

A number of groups are working together to organise LGBT and women’s blocs for the march. Queer Resistance are planning a “pink and black bloc” with the aim of offering “moral support, companionship, [and] safety in numbers” for queer marchers.

Others are planning more radical actions following the main demonstration. Over 2500 people have joined a Facebook page calling for a one day “mass occupation” of Hyde Park. A similar call for protesters to stay in Trafalgar Square for 24 hours has been signed by a number of politicians, writers and student activists, including the National Union of Students’ LGBT Officers.