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.)

Below is my report from the Gender Centre Annual Report for the year 2004/2005. Before going to the report, some additional information.

New Staff.

I would like to welcome two new staff members to the Gender Centre team. The first is Sean Taylor who was successful in securing the position of Community Support Worker, a restructured position incorporating what was formerly the Social and Support Worker. Many of you will remember Sean who has returned to the Centre after a five-year absence. Sean was the Social and Support Worker from 1996 to 2000 and we were very sorry to lose his valuable talents when he decided to leave. His transition back to the Gender Centre, thanks to his prior experience, has been wonderfully smooth and I am sure all clients will benefit from his skills, enthusiasm and commitment.

We have also, and again as part of our restructuring of positions, been able to secure the services of Daniel McKinley who will be working part-time in the shared role of H.I.V. Outreach Worker. Daniel has a wealth of talent and I am sure his inclusion on the staff team will further enhance our capacity to provide quality services to the community.

Wannita Hutchison is also working with the centre in a voluntary capacity. She is working primarily in reception and general office duties. Volunteers at the centre have restricted roles which do not involve interaction with clients in any context other than the provision of basic information, (not advice), and in generally welcoming visitors to the centre. Wannita is likely to be at the centre on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only.

Professional Support

Transgender people in professional walks of life often find themselves isolated from others in the community due to the nature of their work. The centre is seeking interest from people in these circumstances who feel they may benefit from establishing a support network.

Whether you are a teacher, a police officer, an engineer, a computer technician or working in any other profession where you feel you are the only transperson in the industry and you feel it may be of benefit to connect with others in a similar situation then we would like to hear from you.

Call me at the centre to register your interest and if numbers warrant we will assist in the development of a support network.

Annual Report

Overview

I take pleasure in providing the following report outlining the events of significance that have occurred over the last financial year and the endeavours and contributions of the centre and its staff to promoting the health, well-being and human rights of all members of our community.

I have frequently commented on the advances we have made in recent years in improving access and equity for transgender people within the wider community. Despite the clear gains made and the much wider community acceptance of gender diversity that is evident, however, there remain many challenges that we need to work together as a community to overcome. All progress is likely to be met with a level of resistance and this was certainly the case with the events surrounding Mission Australia and their application for an exemption under Section 26A of the N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination Act which was granted in July 2004. This is discussed further below.

It is extremely important, therefore, that we present a united front against any and all who seek to impose their will, beliefs and prejudice to the detriment of our community.

The Mission Australia Issue

Having enjoyed a strong and co-operative relationship over many years with A Woman's Place and Lou's Place, two services run by Mission Australia, we were alarmed to discover that within the hierarchy of Mission Australia an application was lodged with the N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB) to exempt these services from providing service to pre-op transgender women. Both services had provided key and essential support to transgender women in crisis for many years. In the case of A Woman's Place, this support even pre-dated the Gender Centre which came into existence in 1983. Given this history, their application for an exemption came as a terrible blow to those vulnerable members of our community who had for so long relied on the care and respite these services offered. It also dealt a huge blow to the Gender Centre which had long relied on these services as safe referral options to clients in crisis, the kind of support that has otherwise been almost non-existent.

More alarming was the response from the N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination Board and the N.S.W. Attorney General who saw fit to grant the exemption despite the fact that the application from Mission Australia lacked substance, omitted any reference to the support these services had historically provided and failed to honour the consultative processes it promised. It was also of major concern that no mechanism was provided for agencies such as the Gender Centre or the lobby group SAGE to provide input into the decision-making process.

This resulted in the Gender Centre withdrawing in protest from the Sex and Gender Consultation conducted by the A.D.B.. While these issues have been conciliated and we have now resumed our place on the Consultation the adverse affect on homeless transgender women continues and we are continuing to work on a process to ensure that these lost services are met by other means in the near future. We will continue to keep the community informed as these matters unfold.

Meanwhile I would very much like to acknowledge the support that the Gender Centre has received over this issue from the following peak bodies and agencies:

• Homelessness N.S.W.;
• Australian Federation of Housing Organisation;
• S.A.A.P.;
• The N.S.W. Ombudsman;
• Inner City Legal Centre;
• City Women's Hostel;
• B. Miles Women's Housing;
• Detour House;
• Stepping Out;
• Theba Young Women's Refuge;
• Women and Girl's Emergency Centre;
• The Salvation Army;
• The Women's Housing Company;
• Y.W.C.A.;
• Marion Centre;
• S.A.A.P. Inner West Interagency members
• S.A.G.E.;
• Ttansgender Victoria;

and also:

• The staff members within the affected Mission Australia agencies who have relayed their concerns; and
• All the decent and fair minded members within our own community who have expressed their outrage and sorrow at this turn of events.

Partnerships

The Gender Centre maintains and fosters partnerships with a wide range of external organisations to further promote the rights of the transgender community. While these are many and varied, the ones listed below are those with whom significant partnerships have been established.

S.A.A.P. Inner West Interagency "Working Beyond the Frontiers Project"

This is an exciting and innovative project designed to bring together the wide range of skills and talents of a collection of homelessness agencies, their managers and staff, for the purpose of pooling and sharing expertise and support. The project has been established with non-recurrent funds provided by S.A.A.P. to the Inner West services and some of these funds have now been allocated for the engagement of an expert facilitator to co-ordinate the program.

It is anticipated that the project will develop over its initial twelve month time frame into an ongoing system of support, sharing of resources, and organisational expertise that will be of benefit to staff and clients across SAAP services in the inner west. At the time of writing this report the project is in its infancy but it already boasts several key meetings and focus groups, a website, a newsletter and access to a broad based referral network. I look forward to the long term benefits of the "Working Beyond The Frontiers" initiative.

Homelessness N.S.W.

The Gender Centre has developed close ties with Homelessness N.S.W. over the last year. This partly occurred in response to the problems arising with Mission Australia's exemption but has extended to our involvement in other projects which have included the development of a risk assessment system, which we are currently trialing and which is intended for use across the S.A.A.P. sector; as well as significant contributions to the Homelessness N.S.W. newsletter. We have received strong and committed support from this peak body and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.

The Women's Housing Company

As stated in previous Annual Reports, in the latter part of 2001 we entered into an invaluable partnership with the Women's Housing Company which provided the centre with additional exit housing for our residential clients. In the partnership we have gained four additional units. The units and tenancies of these properties are managed by the Women's Housing Company with support to residents being provided by the Gender Centre. This arrangement means that eligible residents in our refuge program will be able to enter the units for a period of twelve months after they have completed their stay at the Centre.

The Women's Housing Company are very supportive and a delight to work alongside. We have also developed a positive working relationship with B. Miles, a women's housing organisation who have a similar partnership with the Women's Housing Company, and who hold two flats in one of the same complexes as the Gender Centre.

N.S.W. Attorney General's Crime Prevention Division

The Gender Centre meets regularly with the representatives from the Attorney General and other community stakeholders on the G.L.B.T. Community Advisory Committee. The primary aim of the committee is to address the issue of crime, particularly crimes of violence, to which G.L.B.T. communities are subjected.

The Community Advisory Committee also holds joint meetings with the Network of Government Agencies (N.O.G.A.), which also addresses G.L.B.T. issues within the N.S.W. Government sector. These joint meetings help to improve N.O.G.A.'s understanding of the issues from a community perspective.

Other Significant Partnerships

We have continued our ongoing representation on our local Council. The Gay and Lesbian Liaison at Marrickville, (G.L.L.A.M.), meets bi-monthly to respond to community needs, plan events and provide advice on a range of Council programs. Marrickville Council have shown a commitment to providing an appropriate range of services to our community and we are pleased to continue our involvement with them. The Council elections held in March 2004 have resulted in a number of changes on the committee but the grass roots approach in responding to the G.L.B.T. communities continues and Council are keen to promote diversity within their boundaries and to conduct a range of community events specifically targeting our communities.

Employment Equity Specialists Association (E.E.S.A.)

The Gender Centre is maintaining an active involvement with E.E.S.A. to keep transgender employment on the agenda for E.E.O. practitioners. We continue our membership with E.E.S.A. and will continue to attend meetings where issues being addressed are of relevance to us or where there are issues that we may wish to draw to their attention. Through our work with E.E.S.A., and also with the Office of Employment Equity and Diversity (O.E.E.D.), we seek to achieve strong support from the E.E.O. practitioners in the public sector in advancing work opportunities for transgender people.

N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination Board

Despite the conflict which arose over the granting of an exemption to Mission Australia the Gender Centre remains committed to working with the N.S.W. Anti-Discrimination Board which continues to facilitate its Sex and Gender Diversity consultation. This provides an important forum for airing issues of concern to the transgender community. We will continue to use this forum in our efforts to minimise discrimination and to encourage pro-active approaches to removing the barriers to access and equity wherever they remain.

Quality Management Services (Q.M.S.)

Last, but not least, the Gender Centre has begun an accreditation process through Q.M.S.. This process looks at a wide range of aspects of our service delivery and measures them against a set of core and elective standards. The process will take approximately twelve months and is due to conclude in May 2006. Accreditation is an excellent opportunity for our service to examine those aspects of our work that we are doing well and also identify any areas where we might improve. This process contributes to engaging in the practice of ongoing quality improvement and assists us in ensuring that service provision is relevant, effective and of high quality. The Gender Centre last completed an accreditation process in 1998 and we look forward now to building on what was achieved then.

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.