Coordinator'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.)

Chris Puplick resigns as President of the NSW Anti Discrimination Board.

I feel compelled to begin this report by expressing my sorrow at Chris Puplick's resignation from the ADB. I have had cause to work with Chris on many occasions and my association with him dates back to before the transgender components of the legislation took effect in 1996. In all that time I have found his unwavering commitment to human rights and the eradication of discrimination in all its forms enormously inspiring.

Chris has been a great ally to our community, and indeed to all those communities that have faced discrimination. Despite his incredibly heavy workload, not just as President of the ADB, but in the many other agencies for which he has had responsibility, he has always made himself available to discuss issues and to play a key role in addressing them. His departure from the ADB marks a sad day for our community and for all those communities that have benefited from his commitment and dedication. He is a man of great integrity and he leaves behind a pair of shoes that will be very hard to fill.

It has been my great pleasure to have had the opportunity to work with Chris over the years and I wish him all the best for the future.

The Neglected Communities Forum.

The recent ‘Neglected Communities Forum' held at Parliament House, an event incidentally that was initiated by Chris Puplick, has proven the catalyst for significant developments in seeking appropriate law reform. A number of recommendations stemming from the various papers delivered at the forum have been compiled by the ADB and a meeting of representatives from each of the groups involved has been scheduled for late May/early June to explore areas where there is disagreement.

Key areas under scrutiny involve the varied positions adopted by representatives from the transgender, transsexual and intersexed communities and much of the issue stems from the way these terms are defined. I am hopeful that we can find common ground so that the process of law reform is not impeded and that basic human rights regardless of definitions are not compromised.

In any event, the process of change is rarely a rapid one, so I expect there will be ample opportunity for voices to be heard so that progress achieves optimum outcomes. More on this in future reports.

Elizabeth Anne to attend HBGIDA Conference

I am pleased to be able to report that Elizabeth Anne, the Gender Centre counsellor, will be delivering a paper at the Harry Benjamin conference to be held in Belgium in September of this year. It has become increasingly apparent over recent years that Elizabeth is one of the few counsellors who can claim to be expert in providing effective and appropriate counselling to transgender people and their family members. Elizabeth will have a great opportunity to spread her wisdom at one of the key gender events on the world stage.

One area that Elizabeth will be concentrating on is the disparity between the traditional approach to counselling and the real nature of counselling as it applies to this community. She will no doubt challenge a few of the old traditional notions of some of the participants and hopefully leave them with a new perspective and some new approaches to take home with them. In any event I am sure the conference will be the richer for her participation and we look forward to hearing her report when she returns.

Anti Transgender Violence Project.

Over recent months the Gender Centre, and in particular Katherine and to a lesser extent myself, have been involved in a research project funded by the NSW Attorney General's Department to investigate strategies that may help to reduce the levels of violence experienced by the transgender community. The project has been a huge one and has explored violence across a broad range of categories in identifying the types of violence that can occur and strategies that can help to overcome them.

The original project, including the conducting of a trial to reduce violence, was to have concluded by the end of June. However, the complexity of the project, coupled with the general lack of prior research in the area, resulted in the project being extended. We hope to have a final published report soon and anticipate concluding the project in December of 2003.

The overall project has been guided by a steering committee with representatives from AG's, NSW Police, Dept of Community Services, the Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project, South Sydney and Marrickville Councils and the Gender Centre. A sub committee including representatives from DoCS, NSW Police, AG's and the Gender Centre is working to finalise the report. The efforts and commitment of the steering committee in working towards a safer environment for our community is greatly appreciated.

We will keep you informed of our progress on this important project and of the possible contributions community members may be able to make.

Expert Advisory Group on Gender Difference, NSW Health.

The Expert Advisory Group on Gender Difference is a new committee formed by NSW Health to examine a range of health needs for people in the transgender community. The Gender Centre has been invited onto the committee to provide advice on the issues concerning our community. There are a number of key representatives from our community and from the medical fraternity and the policy development section of NSW Health.

At the time of writing this report I have not yet attended a meeting. However, I am anticipating that we will be successful in achieving a number of significant gains over the course of the committee's term and I will provide details of these in future reports as they occur.

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