Services for the Transgender and Gender Questioning Community of
NSW
Ph:02-9569-2366 Fax:02-9569-1176
P O Box 266 Petersham NSW
ABN 60.347.877.609
Australian
Human Rights
Commission
RE: Consultation on Protection from Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation
and Sex and/or Gender Identity
The Gender Centre Inc welcomes the opportunity to add to the debate in particular on
Transgender Youth Discrimination
About the Gender centre Inc.
The Gender Centre Inc is a specialist state –wide organization providing services to the transgender
and gender diverse communities for the past 27 years.
The gender centre has been in existence since the 1980’s. It was entirely funded by the NSW
Department of Community Services (DoCs) through the Supported Accommodation Assistance
Program (SAAP) by late 1993 Docs and the NSW department of Health entered into a joint
funding agreement this meant that the Gender Centre was now funded to provide services to
minimize the effects of the Human Immunodeficiency virus Acquired Immuodeficiency Syndrome
(HIV/AIDS) on the transgender community, as well as provide housing options for the community
and education to the wider community today the Gender Centre provides a number of services and
programs
Within the GLBTI community, the transgender population remains a seriously neglected group. The
transgender community is at severe risk of violence and discrimination to the point that the
population is now in serious crisis. The gravity of this situation is evident by the fact that one fifth of
transgender people report current suicidal feelings. The transgender community must be provided
with safe spaces where they can find support and respite from the discrimination that they are
subject to within society.
Within this already marginalized group, transgender youth remain an almost invisible community.
Their rates of bullying within the schooling system are unprecedented, with 90% of transgendered
people being verbally harassed, and more than half of transgender people reporting being physically
harassed. With the current trend of youth suicides as a result of bullying, it is as important as ever to
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provide services for those groups at most risk. A US study into transgender discrimination reported
that transgender students are attempting suicide at more than twenty-five times the national
average.
Away from the schoolyard, transgender youth are also subject to institutional discrimination. Their
access to gender literate medical services in Australia is minimal, meaning that the transgender
community is at high risk of turning to illegal methods to gain access to hormones to begin
transition. Under the age of eighteen, transgender youth cannot begin hormone therapy and
therefore turn to their friends or the street to access these drugs. The medical field needs to become
informed on gender issues in a way that accessing services does not result in transgendered patients
having to publicly out themselves. The issue of having to out oneself affects a number of other
institutions and is a major issue when it comes to transgender discrimination.
With the major issues that the transgender community face it is vital that everything possible be
done to ensure that these vulnerable youth are given appropriate support services. These services
must provide a youth friendly, safe space, where this community can find respite from the
discrimination they are subject to within schools and greater society. Whilst there are some services
available under the GLBTI umbrella, these are not necessarily safe spaces for the transgendered
community with their use unwontedly outing individuals and sometimes become a discriminatory
environment in themselves. This situation must be met with the appropriate level of urgency
considering the prevalent risk of suicide within this group.
The Human Rights Commission inquiry regarding federal protection from discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation and sex and/or gender identity needs to take notice of transgender youth as a
group in serious need of attention. It is an unfortunate fact that discrimination will undoubtedly occur
to all transgender people at some point in their lives. For much of the community, especially youth, it
is something they must encounter on a daily basis. Whilst eliminating this gender discrimination is a
long term, and continuing project, what can be implemented now are appropriate services to help
youth deal with the challenges they face. Whilst the GLBTI services do provide vital assistance to a
number of transgender individuals, they are also often unsuitable and potentially discriminatory. It is
imperative that the safe spaces provided remain open and supportive environments, free from
discrimination. This means that what is required is for general services, such as youth, womens or
mens services to become gender literate and informed on the needs of the transgender community.
Education
For transgender youth, their schools are where they are subject to the greatest forms of
discrimination. In a 2009 Canadian study it was revealed that 95% of trans students felt unsafe at
school. With the high rates of reported verbal and physical abuse, it must be accepted that for most
transgendered youth, school is a traumatic time in their lives.
Due to the frequency with which transgenderism remains hidden from society, the process of
watching a student deal with gender issues is a significant event for any school. A large majority of
schools and teaching staff do not have the skills or knowledge to appropriately deal with a student
questioning their gender. For a transgendered youth, who is already experiencing their own
confusion, it is extremely difficult to cope with the inevitable bullying from peers, and ignorance from
the school and staff. Teen suicides due to bullying at school are becoming ever more frequent, and
transgendered youth, who are dealing with a multitude of other issues, are particularly at risk. A US
study showed the 41% of the transgendered respondents had attempted suicide.
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The harassment and bullying experienced within the education system is only exacerbated by the
ignorance of uninformed teachers, with 50% of trans students reporting that staff never intervened
when homophobic or transphobic comments were made. These situations show unacceptable
behaviour from those in charge of regulating the behaviour of the student body. In order to combat
this there must be in depth training of staff and policies regarding transgendered students in all
schools.
The trauma of the schooling system for transgendered youth is exacerbated by the anxiety that
comes with the beginning of puberty. The onset of overtly male or female characteristics, which do
not represent their identities, is a particularly stressful time for transgendered youth. In Australia,
where transitioning is rarely allowed before puberty, the inevitable changes that puberty brings
cannot be halted. A letter written by a 16½-year-old British transgendered girl stated:
The last two and a half years have been horrendous for me, with my body becoming so disgustingly
adult male that I cannot bear it. Imagine how you would feel if, tomorrow morning, you were to
wake up to find yourself in a male body, with a man’s voice and a man’s face looking back at you
from the mirror, with early morning beard and moustache stubble, with no breasts, an Adam’s apple,
large male feet and hands, a body covered in thick black hair and a penis and testicles. Would your
brain be screaming out, in protest, that you are female, not male? Living in a male body hurts
beyond belief. I sometimes feel as if I will go crazy with the sadness and desperateness of it.
The anxiety of puberty is only heightened by the frustration that steps could be taken to prevent it.
Most youth have ready access to the Internet and therefore access to the knowledge that, had they
be born in a different country, they would not be prevented from beginning their transition. Due to
the precedent set in Re Alex, transgendered youth in Australia must endure puberty, only to later
spend many years, and thousands of dollars undoing the changes. Even then, their ability to pass as
their chosen gender is much more difficult.
Healthcare
Access to medical care for transgendered youth can have a significant impact on their well being and
state of mind. Regarding youth, the focus here is on administering replacement hormones to block
the production of normal hormones during puberty. As it currently stands, the law in Australia states
that, under the age of eighteen, in order to legally access replacement hormones, the Family Court
must consider each individual on a case-by-case basis. The unfortunate consequence of this is that
youth will access the required hormones from friends, or the streets. Whilst these youth administer
hormones, without the required medical advice, they are placed in unnecessary danger. Whilst the
law surrounding this area is currently being challenged there is no guarantee that it will be changed.
Aside from the initial process of transition, transgendered people obviously also require healthcare
throughout the rest of their lives. Research in the Netherlands has produced credible evidence that
the brains of transgendered people are programmed before birth to grow in small, but very
significant ways which are inconsistent with physical appearance. Whilst this can only be established
post mortem, this evidence verifies the term transgender refers to an actual medical condition that
can be traced from birth. With this in mind, it is vital that medical services become gender literate, in
order to best treat patients whilst maintaining their respect. This area becomes particularly important
in relation to pre-operative transgendered male or females, who must undergo gender specific
treatments at their doctors. Doctors should be sensitive to the needs of the patient during these,
somewhat embarrassing, visits. Whilst it is necessary that the patient understand what procedures
they are undergoing, with reference to their genetic organs such as ovaries, the doctor need only
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state this once and then continue on with the process using gender neutral terminology.
Transgendered people should never be forced to publicly out themselves, or be in fear that
uneducated doctors may accidentally do so. If we are to encourage the transgendered community to
properly access healthcare as they require it, then it must be ensured that all healthcare practioners
become gender literate and respectful of transgendered patients. If this is not achieved, then
transgendered people will stop seeking appropriate medical treatment, and their health will therefore
be placed at serious risk.
GLBTI Services
The GLBTI label has been used across a variety of government fields in relation to services, funding
and awareness. This acronym, however, has been given significant criticism due to its effect of
combining the gay, lesbian and bisexual community with the transgender and intersex one. Whilst
both these communities certainly represent minorities who are in serious need of government
assistance, they have very different experiences and requirements. In regards to funding it should be
noted that the number of people who identify as transgender or intersex almost equal that of gay,
lesbian and bisexual and the distribution of funds should reflect this.
GLBTI services are useful for some youth experiencing gender confusion. The benefit of this
community is that it allow for those youth who have encountered discrimination due to their
difference to come together and share in that experience. With a more specific focus on transgender
issues than general mens or womens services, these spaces can provide a gender literate
environment in which youth can further explore their issues. They can also provide a good setting in
which to make social connections with individuals who are informed on gender issues and
understanding of the complex nature of transgenderism.
Whilst GLBTI services are beneficial to some youth experiencing gender confusion, there are also
numerous reasons why those youth might require assistance from more general services. Unlike
many members of the gay community, majority of transgendered people aim to live invisibly in their
chosen gender. In the same way that a biological man does not advocate his gender, a
transgendered man generally does not want to proclaim his gender. Rather, he would like to be
accepted as a male and continue with his life in a normal fashion. Therefore using specifically
transgendered services, or GLBTI services can be seen as unnecessary and humiliating to some
transgendered people. For many members of the community they will not publicly out themselves by
being seen to use transgendered or GLBTI services.
A further reason why transgendered youth may avoid GLBTI services is due to fear of bullying within
the service. A recent study in the US, which examined transgendered youth in schools, reported that
homosexual males are some of the biggest perpetrators of bullying. Whilst no Australian research has
been done in the area, this US study certainly raises the question of whether GLBTI services are the
safest spaces in which to assist and guide struggling transgendered youth. This is not to state that
the gay community in its entirety is bullying the transgendered community but if this is occurring,
even rarely, then sending these vulnerable youth into an environment with their perpetrators is
extremely dangerous.
Although GLBTI services do successfully function as safe spaces for some transgendered youth, it
cannot be ignored that in many circumstances they are not suitable to cater for much of the
community. With this in mind it is imperative that general services catered to youth, women or men
become informed on the issues regarding transgendered people in order to be able to manage them
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as clients. As services catered to the wider community, it is vital that they welcome transgendered
clients and can manage them in a way that upholds their dignity and self-respect.
Recommendations
In order to attempt to rectify the dire state of the transgendered community, the Gender Centre
recommends that a number of steps be taken. The Human Rights Commission has the power to
propel these ideas, and seriously improve the quality of life of these seriously at risk youth.

Education within schools must be increased, with particular attention paid to the
prevention of bullying of transgendered students. Education should also extend to
teachers to ensure that they set an appropriate example of how to treat a
transgendered student with dignity and respect.

All possible steps must be taken to encourage the precedent set in Re Alex to be
overturned, allowing youth to access relevant hormones in their transition.

Healthcare practioners must all undergo training to learn how to treat
transgendered patients with dignity and respect. This includes appropriate
language use, and protected privacy regarding their gender.

The allocation of funds under the GLBTI acronym must be equally distributed
amongst the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, the transgendered community,
and the intersex community.

Workers at GLBTI services must be informed and aware of the recent trend
towards transgender bullying by the gay community.

General services, such as womens, mens or youth, must become gender literate
through training and education, allowing them to become safe spaces for
transgendered youth.
Document Prepared November 2010
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