Manager's Report

by Elizabeth Riley

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

On July 23rd, we are running our third and final General Meeting for this year prior to the Annual General Meeting in September. The Management Committee and staff of the Gender Centre would encourage as many members as possible to attend and provide input on the services we are able to provide to you. This is a good opportunity to come along and have your say and keep abreast of the events that are occurring at the Centre.

Corrective Services:

I have been invited to sit on a sub­committee formed to ensure the effective implementation of the Transgender Prisons Policy. Col Eglington is also to be invited and the rest of the Committee is made up of representatives from Corrective Services, Corrections Health Service and the Anti-Discrimination Board. We have held two meet­ings so far and I am impressed with the commitment shown by all committee members. I will provide a more detailed report on this as we progress.

Department for Women:

Following a several month period of discussion and letter writing to a number of Government Departments I recently attended a special meeting with representatives from the Department for Women. The aim of the meeting was to set in motion the establishment of a working party to look at the wide range of issues confronting the transgender community. We would hope to set in place strategies to combat the difficulties that face the transgender population at all levels of their daily lives. I will inform you further on this as the momentum gathers but I am optimistic that we will see significant change in wider community attitudes.

Employment Updates:

Not a lot to report in the employment field this time around. We are still waiting to hear from the Body Shop and other projects listed above have lessened the time available to continue the pursuit of new employer groups. I would nonetheless remind people that Westpac and Manpower offer ongoing opportunities for those who are interested in applying for work. Staggered mail outs are in progress to a number of major organisations in N.S.W. promoting opportunities for the transgender community.

Department of School Education:

Exciting developments are taking place with the N.S.W. Department of School Education. I have conducted some training sessions with representatives of the student welfare branches of the Department and have been invited to also conduct three separate training sessions with members of the Student Representative Council (S.R.C.). One brief session with student representatives from across N.S.W. produced some of the most meaningful and sensitive questions imaginable from this group of young people. I look forward to further training with great anticipation for future improved awareness and attitudes towards transgenders. We are also looking at the possibility of training at the broader level of gender issues that confront all people. This could be truly groundbreaking and I will again report further as this work takes shape.

Goals Group:

We advertised in the last issue of Polare inviting interested people to participate in a workshop to set up goals groups for members of the transgender community. Unfortunately response was minimal and we are forced to cancel this particular workshop.

Workplace Transition:

We have seen a number of successful cases of workplace transition since legislation came into place in 1996. Unfortunately, there has been a recent case that has not proved successful. Ironically, the organisation's management was very keen to assist the individual through their process but their attempts met with some resistance and the individual chose to resign. In this case this is a sad outcome and I am including here a copy of our model policy designed to assist both the transgender individual and the organisation with some sound advice on how to successfully negotiate the process of transition. Anyone anticipating transitioning in the workplace should read the following policy and when the time comes contact The Gender Centre for advice.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.