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.)

N.S.W. Police Service Transgender Policy

This document is nearing completion and provides comprehensive policy on police dealings with transgender persons as employees, as victims and as perpetrators. Full details of the policy will either be printed in Polare or distributed with Polare when finalised.

There have been a range of difficulties associated with the development of this policy, particularly in relation to ensuring transgender people are treated appropriately while equally ensuring that the integrity of police records is not compromised. I believe that we are close to resolving these issues and the policy will soon be implemented. The policy will ensure that transgender people, like all members of the community, will be treated with respect and dignity in any dealings they have with the police.

Deptartment for Women Working Party

Rewrites of the Public Sector Employees Handbook are nearing their final stages. The Employees Handbook is the Public Sector Policy Document on all Human Relations matters. The rewrite included sizeable sections dealing with the employment of transgender people and is a positive step forward in recognizing our equal rights to employment in the N.S.W. Public Sector.

Any transgender person seeking employment with the Public Sector should file their application in the usual way. The handbook will go some way towards ensuring that you will not be discriminated against even if it is known that you are a transgender person.

Gay Games

A submission has been sent to the organizers of the Gay Games to seek full inclusion of transgenders in all sports as competitors in their chosen identity. The submission suggests that if there are disputes over world record times, F.T.M. hormone/steroid treatments or over the gender of the winning athlete these should be decided by the relevant international bodies.

This would allow the Gay Games to be inclusive as their mission statement professes. At the date of writing this report we have not received an official response from the Gay Games organizers. We will keep you posted on this one.

Attorney General's Crime Prevention Unit

We are currently involved with a committee working towards strategies to prevent violence against G.L.B.T. communities. We will be applying for a small grant to in the near future to conduct a literature search on the violence issues confronting the transgender community, both here and overseas.

Anyone with the necessary skills to conduct a literature search and compile a report might like to contact me if they would be interested in participating in the project.

Anti-Discrimination Board

We await responses to some disappointing developments raised at the recent transgender group consultation regarding the granting of exemptions with the Anti-Discrimination Board. It appears that an agency dealing with homelessness has been granted an exemption allowing it to refuse appropriate gender accommodation to non-recognised transgender people.

At the time of writing this report we have had no response from the A.D.B. regarding this issue but we will endeavour to have the decision overturned. Since flaws in the legislation already allow services to discriminate against non-recognised transgender people, the granting of such an exemption seems superfluous and contradictory to the A.D.B.'s stance that they are seeking reforms to remove the distinction between recognised and other transgenders from the legislation. Again we will keep you informed.

Transman

The Transman Exhibition and the Boys Will be Girls Exhibition held at the Stills Gallery in Paddington between Feb 10 and March 10 was a fabulous success and did a great deal to raise community awareness of the transgender community. I hope members of the community managed to see the exhibitions.

Counselling

Elizabeth Anne is changing hours to Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays to allow her to attend study for a masters degree in counselling on Wednesdays. All current and future clients should take note of her changed times.

She can be contacted at the centre on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for anyone wishing to arrange an appointment or seek telephone counselling.

Organizational Week - February 5 - 9

A significant amount was achieved during the week with all computers finally functioning as they should and filing systems fully overhauled. We have installed two new vertical display stands to make it easier for visitors to access booklets, brochures and other informational resources. The library now also has effective borrowing and tracking mechanisms in place. We hope that the changes will enhance our service delivery and we look forward to your feedback.

The Gender Centre Website

Craig has been patiently creating, recreating and modifying our website. The site is looking really good and provides a wide range of information and items of interest as well as important links to transgender community groups around the world.

Hits to the site have been increasing dramatically with over 800 hits in the week of 07/03/01.

Tasmanian Birth Certificates

We have received brief details concerning new rights for intersexed people born in Tasmania to change their Birth Certificates. Apparently decisions are made on the basis of Chromosomal tests and D.N.A. Anyone who might want to take advantage of this should contact Births, Deaths and Marriages in Tasmania for clarification.

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.