Trans advocacy in Victoria and Australia - part 2 of a 3 part series

Forward:

Last week, I wrote of the success of achieving state anti-discrimination protection. Sadly, after the success, there was a "blip."

Trigger warning: lateral violence

Part 2: Victoria 2001 to present

Unfortunately, dark days ensued from around 2002 to 2004 when the Victorian trans community was set back, almost permanently,  by a series of “label wars” e.g. transgender vs. transsexual, as part of intense lateral violence. Some people objected strongly to the idea of transgender as an umbrella term and were quite derogatory to those who had not completed surgery while others saw surgery as “mutilation.” While everyone has a right to define/ label themselves and live as is their need, it was forgotten that other people also have that right and there may be differences. People experiencing intersex were also dragged into this situation.

The effects were, to be frank, horrible, noting first and most of all, the toll on trans and intersex people’s health, well-being and morale. Further, on a practical level, the ALP government had been re-elected in 2002, this time with a comfortable majority in both houses of Parliament. They had promised to make the next trans reform in relation to birth certificates, which for trans people were still based on body at birth and without any possibility of change. We had a great chance to get birth certificates based on affirmed identity rather than surgery which would have been the first state or territory in Australia to do so. The in-fighting resulted in key public sector officials and politicians threatening – and reasonably so – “to take the whole thing off the table.” Public sector officials were being bombarded by rude angry emails and were understandably upset.

The result was that the legislation that came into effect in January 2005 could be best described as minimalist in that it was based on surgery, a married trans person had to divorce so as not a “create a same-sex marriage” and minors (those under 18) could not change their birth certificate at all. It was a major opportunity lost. Some close allies among gays and lesbians still remind us of those difficult times nearly ten years on.

The only good thing to come out of this was the trans community learnt its lesson and in Victoria, the community has co-operated professionally and amicably since then and grown to be one of the strongest in Australia. People do their best to sort out issues away from politicians and then present a united voice. Even if that is not possible, people can agree to disagree respectfully. Now, a coalition of 10 Victorian, trans, gender diverse and allied (family member) groups works together to hold workshops and ensure good communication.

There was during this period, one ray of light, proving that trans people can be strong and resilient when we need to be. In July 2003, word leaked of the first known trans applicant to enter the Victorian police academy. The relatively tabloid Murdoch daily newspaper the Herald-Sun ran with the headline “sex swap cop.” Commercial talkback radio only interviewed the head of the police union rather than asking trans people for their views. Discussion focussed on doubts about the applicant’s suitability and pathologising ideas as to whether trans people could handle the stress of police life. TGV had to “cold call” into one program to get any voice. Others monitored radio while at work. And then state Opposition leader Robert Doyle uttered the infamous phrase “In my view, there are some things which would discriminate against people joining the police force, I mean, are you allowed to join the police force if you’ve been found guilty of an indictable crime? The answer is no...” Trans people immediately called radio stations and Doyle withdrew the comments. The prejudice was largely defeated.

This was probably the first time the Victorian trans community had acted primarily on its own initiative and with our gay and lesbian mentors sitting back and letting us take the lead. We had grown up and were now well on our way.

As a postscript, the applicant, since identified as Bernice Canty, graduated easily and also received a medal for bravery for actions in the terrible situation that was the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, proving she could easily handle the pressure. Bravo Senior Constable Canty, you are a pioneer by just being yourself.

In 2010, the state government, still the ALP, aimed to streamline the Equal Opportunity Act. TGV was called on for its opinions by a range of human rights organisations and we were able on occasions to offer ideas to them in return. Trans people were now firmly established as a valuable part of the whole human rights community, a situation that grows stronger to this day.

To finalise this section, the ALP lost office in 2010. The new LNP government seemed to allow ministers to run their departments according to their own philosophical leaning and as such legal reform for trans people stopped due to the conservative nature of the Attorney-General Robert Clark. On a positive note, the ministers for health and mental health have been highly supportive of trans issues and prioritised them after reconvening the health advisory committee in 2013. Credit goes to a young trans person, Sim Kennedy, who at the first meeting of the committee raised trans and gender diverse issues with a combination of fact and passion that was a brilliant piece of advocacy. Progress is likely to resume given the election of the ALP in 2014.

next week - part 3 - national co-operation

Trans advocacy in Victoria and Australia - 1st in a 3 part series

Introduction 
I recently wrote an article on my historical perceptions of TGD advocacy in Victoria & Australia.

I though that as the TGD community continues to emerge and evolve it might be helpful to look back and see what we could learn to ensure we continue to move ahead effectively.

The background is written to ensure understanding from a perspective beyond Australia.

All opinions are my own.

Part 1 - Background & Victoria to 2001
Part 2 - Victoria 2001 to 2014
Part 3 - National Co-operation

On with the show!


Background

Australia is a country covering a large geographical area with a small population. Our current population of 23.5 million is 10% more than New York state’s population - in an area slightly less than that of the United States.  As well, our country has a 3-level system of government being the federal (dealing with matters such as defence and foreign affairs), 6 states and 3 territories (the difference between states and territories not being of relevance for this paper) and local government.

Further, the evolution from 6 colonies in the 1890’s to a federation in 1901 is of relevance. Australia’s constitution, rather than largely enshrining freedoms or human rights has on occasions been described as a power-sharing arrangement between the colonies which were to become states and the federation-to-be. As a result, similar legislation e.g. anti-discrimination protection (often called equal opportunity law in Australia) needs to be achieved 9 times - in each state or territory and at the national level. Further, different jurisdictions have different wording for their laws e.g. definitions around gender identity, birth certificates. With tongue wedged firmly in cheek, getting nine groups of politicians to agree to standardise matters can be a challenge. Finally, Australia’s constitution provides that in the event of an inconsistency between a state and a federal law, federal law overrides state.

Local government, similar to counties in the United Kingdom or the USA, has the role of service provision. However, it has little relevance to legislation and advocacy. Work done at this level is becoming more relevant as policy and law reforms are achieved at state/territory and federal levels.

The result of this has been that until at least 2005, most trans movements were focussed on state/territory reform and there was little communication and co-operation around the country. The shift in the last 5-10 years has in part due been due to the advances of internet, email, social media and expanding technology e.g. Skype and decreasing telecommunications costs. While the full benefits of face-to-face communication will remain as long as the human race exists, technology has been critical for Australian trans people.

It is also worth introducing the political background in Australia. Similar to the UK and USA, Australia is largely a 2-party system with party lines enforced relatively rigidly. The Australian Labour Party (ALP) is roughly a centre-left social democrat party (approximately the equivalent of the US Democrats or British Labour Party), although critics would argue in recent times it has struggled to stick to a cohesive philosophy. The Liberal/National Coalition (LNP) represents the right of centre (similar to the UK conservatives and USA republicans). The National Party was until 1974 named the Country Party in line with its rural origins. The Liberal Party, despite its name, has become more conservative since the late 1980’s and the “small-l liberal” wing has declined in influence. The Liberal and Nationals are very similar in philosophy and therefore mostly work together in coalition, whether in government or not.

Until around 2004, the third largest party was the Australian Democrats, a largely centrist party founded by a small-l liberal and former Liberal government minister (Don Chipp) who was concerned about increasing conservatism. The Greens have since assumed the third-party mantle after rising to prominence in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Both these parties have been key supporters of LGBTI rights.

Further, compared to the USA and Europe the philanthropic sector is relatively small and our tax system also tends to limit funding available to advocacy. The voluntary nature of most advocacy work remains a major challenge

Finally: a note on definitions. Through most of this paper transgender and trans are used as umbrella terms for those people whose sense of gender identity or expression differs from broader societal expectations given their body at birth. This expands to trans and gender diverse towards the end of the paper to note the rapid expansion in numbers of those more comfortable identifying in non-binary ways. These terms are used for consistency rather than because they are “more correct” than others and acknowledgement is given to the right of people to use labels (or none at all) that authentically represent their own life experience.

In light of this background, I have chosen to focus on the history of the trans movement in the state of Victoria and expand this to a national perspective from around 2010.

The story of Transgender Victoria (TGV)

The story of TGV begins around 1996 with the demise of a Victorian group called GLAD (Gays and Lesbians Against Discrimination). This group had played some part in achieving the inclusion of the attribute “lawful sexual activity” in Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act in 1995. (This development emerged following the 1994 Tasty nightclub raid, which was a case of systemic harassment by Victoria Police similar to the events at Stonewall in 1969). While this gave, albeit with very poor wording, some protection for people in the area of sexual orientation, it did nothing for trans people. This was despite the great efforts of Victorian advocacy pioneer Julie Peters, a trans woman who had also run many times for state and federal parliament for the Australian Democrats.

In the latter part of 1997, community members held 3 public meetings to form a new advocacy organisation. According to Julie and others, there was much debate about for whom the new body should advocate. Some said it should cover trans people rather than simply avoid us; the other argument was trans issues would be subsumed and progress delayed because gay and lesbian issues would receive priority. (It was unclear where bisexuality came into this scenario, if it all).

A better alternative arose from the excellent leadership from the two people who became the founding co-convenors of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, Braith Bamkin and Janet Jukes. They promised to help the trans community set up their own organisation and to offer mentoring and community development until the new organisation was able to stand on its own feet. As a result, TGV was eventually formed in 1999. The vision and foresight of that kindness resulted in a great foundation for trans people Victoria and a close partnership that lasts until this day. Trans people were able to have an organisation that focussed on specialised issues while working with gays and lesbians to combat common issues e.g. harassment and violence. This outcome paid dividends very quickly.

In late 1999, the LNP state government, which had won huge majorities in 1992 and 1996, experienced a huge drop in popularity. As a result, the ALP won 43 of 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly (the lower and governing house of the state parliament) and with the help of three independents, two of whom being very conservative, was able to form government.

The ALP had promised at community meetings and during the election campaign to introduce two new attributes to the Equal Opportunity Act, namely sexual orientation and gender identity. It moved very quickly to fulfil this promise, with progressive Attorney-General Rob Hulls introducing the bill to Parliament in March 2000.

The bill was delayed for eight weeks by one of the two conservative independents. It was understood this member was heavily influenced by religious fundamentalist thinking. Two days before the end of the (southern hemisphere) autumn session of Parliament he proposed amendments that would have watered down the proposed laws e.g. exempting trans people who worked in contact with the public from protection, proposals re toilets that are unmentionable. Over the winter, parliamentary secretary to Mr Hulls, Richard Wynne, spent 2 days negotiating with him (the independent refused to meet with trans people, claiming he didn’t meet with “paid lobbyists”). To Mr Wynne’s immense credit, using a combination of fact, logic and social justice arguments most of the proposed amendments were withdrawn. Any subsequent adjustments had little effect on the effectiveness of the law and when Parliament resumed, it comfortably passed both houses in early September 2000.

The effects of having this law were hugely positive. Trans people had a seat at state ministerial advisory committees on law reform and health. A police GLBTI liaison unit was established as well as a GLBTI police reference group. TGV was either directly represented on these groups or had people who were able to report back to TGV and the community. Further, individuals facing alleged discrimination had access to the processes for conciliation offered by Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission rather than outing themselves in a court process. The tide had started to turn.

Next week - part 2 - Victoria 2001-2014

Transfamily starts today!

Well, I can only be awake at 730 AM on a Saturday for a good reason...and today there is good one for sure!

Today is definitely a Gorilla Monsoon of WWE fame moment - history made in Melbourne. :) 25 January 2014 is the first meeting of Transfamily, a group for family (in the broadest sense) of trans* and gender diverse people and supporters in general e.g. friends, work colleagues etc. Excitement and adrenalin build without caffeine...

Things happen when they happen and while this has been floating in my head for nearly ten years, it has happened largely because of Lynette McDonald #adoptedmum and the Opening Doors program http://www.iepcp.org.au/opening-doors. Thanks to Sarah Burton for connecting me to the program, to the awesome Alex Mills (A.M. - altruistic mischief) program co-ordinator and the 2013 Opening Doors crew.

We've gradually built some sense of a foundation for trans people here in climate-diverse Melbourne over the last 10-15 years - acknowledging of course there is still much to be done - but support for those around trans has lagged behind. Today it catches up in a big way. With a Facebook group recently starting for cisgender partners of trans, gaps are being filled - so much exciting stuff!

I'm going to dedicate today equally in two parts. The first is to Nanette Rae McGregor.
Nan did so much with P-FLAG in the 1990's and whether you know it or not Nan, you helped light a flame inside me re this need. I still have an email exchange with you from 2005 about such a group (that's accounting training, always back everything up) about having a box of tissues on hand - I'm now making the mental note to stop at the supermarket on the way. There could be happy tears too...

The other dedication is of course is to the families and supporters of trans* and gender diverse people. We, the trans people can't do it alone; no person can do it alone on anything really. To have you with us and strengthen our allies is just enormous.

See ya there people!

Trans people wanted for new year's story

trans people wanted for new year's story - journo received my name via a trusted source

Hello Sally,
Thanks for your time on the phone this morning. I'm working on our New Year's Day coverage and I'm looking for someone who is planning to make a major change in their lives in 2014. I thought it would be great to interview someone from the transgender community who is in that position. That person/persons would ideally be doing something like living openly in their affirmed gender for the first time next year or doing that to a much greater extent than 2013. Or they could be starting the ... process in 2014. I'm open to any suggestions but it would need to be someone who will be going through some profound change in 2014. The plan is to publish the story in the newspaper and online and we'd also need to take photographs.
Ideally I'd like to interview someone today or tomorrow. I can be contacted on b.preiss@theage.com.au or 8667 2126.
Many thanks,

Benjamin Preiss
Journalist

Tropfest goes Troppo

(From me as an individual; not on behalf of any organisation I represent).

There are many perspectives to the debate about Tropfest winner (sic) "Bamboozled" ; I add mine as a person who among many other facets is transgender and an occasional stand-up/spoken word performer.

I run by the guideline when doing stand-up of “unless a person identifies as part of that group, they don’t make jokes about it.” As someone who is a person (emphasis) with many facets including transgender and performer, I can - and do - take the Michelle out of myself on those facets. I also used to sit and watch people who didn’t identify that way and who thought they had incredibly funny material about trans that I knew wasn’t funny at all. The good thing was - virtually no one else laughed at their material either.

As rightly noted by Will, “There’s Something About Miriam,” among many issues, was unacceptable  in that played on the emotive and false allegation that trans people are “deceivers” re intimacy. I ask people to note that recently, 20^th November marked Transgender Day of Remembrance and 239 known transphobic murders around the world in the last 12 months. A visit to the official website notes many such brutal murders over the years are because the other person is enraged by the idea of alleged “deception” by the trans person (think Boys Don’t Cry). General violence rates in Australia against trans people can be up to 25% - 12 times that of the overall population.

In this light, I really question the artistic and so-called “comedic” merit of Bamboozled and its worthiness to win an award. I would think it is surely possible to critique reality TV in a way that involves humour without stereotyping groups or possibly putting groups at any greater risk than they already face.

If we are asking organisations such as the AFL to take social responsibility in areas such as transgender, I think we are entitled to ask Tropfest and filmmakers to do the same. Certainly, freedom of opinion and artistic expression are important in society. I think human life and human dignity matter even more – maybe most of all.

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2013

On this Trans Day of Remembrance, I reflect on the amazing strengths of trans people. These include our ability to survive, our courage, our resilience, our ability to speak out and tell the truth about our lives and where it gets a chance, the amazing attributes of trans people such as the creative genius of Lana Wachowski or the political leadership of Georgina Beyer. I think of our ability to build, slowly in some places, faster in others our allies across society and community.

Yes, I reflect also on those we have lost through transphobic hate crimes. TGEU’s monitoring service sadly reports 239 known murders in the 12 months to 31 October 2013. I remember those we have lost to transphobia in general such as inadequate medical care, unemployment or homelessness. I state the extremely obvious: 239 too many.

I ask people to pause for a moment on this day and remember this apparent paradox; remember those lost and remember trans strengths too.

For whatever reason I am also thinking of a trans woman who sadly left us in 2004 (from causes other than transphobia), that person being Jenny Phillips. Jenny was hugely involved in Victoria’s GLBT Anti-Violence Project and was also an editor of Seahorse Club of Victoria’s magazine, the Seahorse Times. At the end of every column she wrote she quoted 2 lines from the song, sung by John Farnham and written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson being “You’re the Voice.”

We're not gonna sit in silence
We're not gonna live with fear

We will stand and speak and we will live with courage. We will courageously seek out allies of all sorts and thereby paint into a corner those who would oppose us and our rights. Every person is entitled to live authentically in line with their soul and that includes trans and gender diverse.

Peace and strength to all on this day.