Manager's Report

by Phinn Borg

(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.)

The "Avant Card Company" Postcard used for the Transgender Anti-Violence Project

The Gender Centre is proud of its track record in the year 2010-11 as significant changes in services were provided

First things first. After a somewhat eventful and even tempestuous year I am happy to wish you all a happy and productive 2012. The Gender Centre is proud of its track record in the year 2010-11 as significant changes in services were provided, with more staff time being devoted to advising government departments, local government bodies and commercial organisations on best practice with regard to gender issues in the workplace and services to the transgendered, intersex and gender questioning.

The Transgender Anti-Violence Project was funded and is being supported by the Inner City Legal Centre, the Sydney City Council, the New South Wales Police Force and the Gender Centre.

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was again held in the N.S.W. Parliament House and a report on that gathering will be found elsewhere in this issue.

New discussion and support groups were created and older ones expanded so that there are now regular meetings of a Women's Group, a Boys Group, an Over-55's Group, as well as groups to supply support, information exchange and social interaction for transgender parents and parents of transgender children.

A number of new activities and events are being added in 2012, commencing with Yoga classes starting February, Tango lessons in March, and informational and instructional events related to hepatitis C. There will also be a safe injecting workshop in March. The Easter Barbecue will be on March 24, at the Joseph Sergeant Hall in Erskineville between noon and 4:00pm.

As usual the Gender Centre will be staffing an informational stall at the Gay and Lesbian Fair on February 12. Come and see us for balloons and candy, oh, and useful information as well!

The postcards printed for us free by the Avant Card Company are now available (there should be at least one loose somewhere in this issue). Keep an eye out for them on the Avant Card stands in coffee shops and elsewhere, and use them for your correspondence. By doing so you will be helping us to publicise the Transgender Anti-Violence Project, which should provide us with more reliable statistics on anti-transgender violence and the eventual possibility of a safer world for transgenders and other marginalised groups.

We intend to organise a book recording the history of the N.S.W. Gender Centre, with a possible publication date in 2013, which will be the Centre's thirtieth year of operation. If you would like to contribute to this project and have information to share from early days in the Centre, please let Katherine Cummings, our Information Worker, know on (02) 9569 2366.

On a more familial note we would like you to know that at the end of 2011 Nicola, our Residential Case Manager, gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter Alise Ameerah.

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.