WELCOME TO THE GENDER CENTRE
SERVICES FOR THE TRANSGENDER & GENDER DIVERSE COMMUNITY
The Gender Centre is the peak state-wide specialist multi- purpose service supporting the transgender, gender diverse and gender questioning community of NSW . We support the community at any stage of their transition (pre, mid, and post transition),our service has the necessary specialist skills, experience and capabilities to respond to the community providing specialist counselling and psychological services, outreach, support, case management, housing,(crisis & transitional) on site Allied Health Services Psychologists, Nutritionists and Speech pathologists and referrals to other service providers. The Gender Centre also undertakes advocacy work, resource development, stakeholder training and corporate education, and operates as a secondary needle & syringe program (NSP) outlet. The Gender Centre is committed to developing and providing these services and activities which enhance the ability of transgender and gender diverse people with gender issues to make informed choices. We specifically aim to provide a high quality service, which acknowledges human rights and ensures respect and confidentiality for all.
A LETTER FROM THE BOARD OF THE GENDER CENTRE
The Gender Centre would like to thank all those in our community, and those who support our community for making this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance such a special event. We had one of our largest ever turnouts, feedback about this year’s TDOR was supportive and helpful, and will go a long way in helping us prepare for next year’s 20 year remembrance.
However, we’d also like to acknowledge that there were some issues with this year’s TDOR.
In particular, the Gender Centre would like to apologise to trans and gender diverse communities as well as intersex communities for one of the speeches that was given.
We understand that several members of our various communities felt erased by comments made by one of the speakers. For that we are very sorry, and we would like to unequivocally state that the Gender Centre fully supports people with intersex variations. We as an organisation believe that being intersex and being trans and/or gender diverse is/are not the same thing. We recognise that people with intersex variations frequently experience discrimination and erasure that is as problematic as the kinds of discrimination that trans and gender diverse people also experience. We are aware that for some present at this year’s TDOR, this may have had a compounding effect. For that we would also like to apologise.
We also would like to restate that the Transgender Day of Remembrance is an event held to recognise those in community we have lost. The focus of TDOR should be on grief, remembering and support. As such we would also like to apologise for those who found discussions about the biological and/or genetic origins of being transgender offensive. We acknowledge that these views are contentious, and that TDOR is not an appropriate venue for their expression, in the same way that a funeral is probably not the best place to talk about contentious political opinions.
For this the Gender Centre would like to apologise.
With all this in mind we have begun the process of reviewing how we intend to approach Trans gender Day of Remembrance in the future. We will be working closely with our own communities and those who have raised these issues to help us move forward together. It is the Gender Centre’s intention to not only take the best aspects of this year’s TDOR, but to learn what we need to make this an even more supportive, inclusive and powerful event for next year. Yours sincerely, The Board of the Gender Centre.
