Editorial

by Katherine Cummings

(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.)

Stephen Whittle and his family are the subjects on the front cover of this issue. It would be hard to over-estimate the achievements of Whittle and his colleagues in the British transgender lobbying and support organisation Press For Change. They started from a situation which looked virtually hopeless as the entrenched forces of regression stonewalled every attempt to bring British gender law into line with an increasingly enlightened Europe.

Whittle and his wife were themselves the central characters in an action which tried to force the British Government to allow Stephen to have his name registered as the father of his children. This was one action which failed, as so many actions have failed, yet one cannot help but think that without these actions, chipping away at the rock underpinnings of the dour castle of British intransigence, there would not have been the tremendous success of the recent decision to conform to the European Court of Human Justice's ruling and allow transgendered people to enjoy all the rights and privileges (and duties) appropriate to their true gender.

Nor, of course, would Stephen have been awarded the Human Rights Award for 2002. There are tributes to Stephen and his work, and his winning of the Liberty/Justice Human Rights Award for 2002, in the News Items of Interest section on pages 8 and 9. This award comes from his fellow lawyers, who are in the best position to assess the contribution.

The world community of transgender owes Stephen a debt of gratitude, especially those of us who are expatriate Brits with a birth certificate we never thought would change in our lifetimes.

Thank you, Stephen.

On the home front, I have to report that my report on anti-transgender violence for the Attorney General is not yet complete, but it is in the home stretch and there a list of harm minimisation strategies for the Steering Committee to consider when next they meet. What remains for me to tidy up is the peripheral material such as the bibliography, glossary, relevant legislation and appendices. It is, however, not too late for more material. Contact me on (02) 9569 2366 if you feel you can contribute.

We are fortunate that the governmental spotlight has turned our way and we should make every effort to take fullest advantage of this unusual phenomenon. The Anti-Discrimination Board is running a program on the Neglected Communities, which will include transgender, intersex, transsexual and bisexual communities (clearly they are not using transgender as an umbrella term, but we can't carp about vocabulary when we are receiving benign attention of this nature). Georgina Beyer will be a keynote speaker and papers will be given by Rachael Wallbank (on the re: Kevin case, for which we have still not seen the Appeal judgement, one year on and counting), Dr Jay Ramanathan (on the medical paradigm), Glenn Vassallo (on bisexual issues), Tony Briffa (on intersex) and our own Elizabeth Riley (on transgender and transsexual issues).

Finally, you will note that our page twenty-three girl, Nicole, has no column in this issue. She is on leave but she has been preparing social and support events for the coming year, some of which you will find in the 2003 calendar on page 21. Some dates for our standard events such as the Men's Group, remain to be fixed. Our web designer has also resurrected our webpage in a new format and this has been taking a lot of her time and energy. Have a look. . . it's excellent.

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.