Get the facts about trans
For trans people, struggling with gender identity can be difficult enough without the added stress of trying to find reliable information about the transition process.
Lobby group TransGender Victoria is attempting to relieve some of the worry by relaunching a fact sheet for trans people born or living in Victoria.
TransGender Victoria spokesperson Sally Goldner said the fact sheet aims to take people through the steps of affirming their identity with up-to-date information.
“The period when [a person starts] to live as that affirmed identity can often be a time of heightened emotion, both positive and negative,” Goldner said.
“Anything that can make that time a little easier by being ‘rote’ can only assist people in moving forward with their lives.”
The fact sheet covers issues including changing birth certificates, drivers’ licences and passports, and Centrelink and Medicare issues.
Goldner said the sheet had already been in use, however, recent changes to passport laws, recognising trans people in their affirmed gender (without the need for sex-reassignment surgery), meant an update was needed.The fact sheet was developed with assistance from the Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) and Southern Health’s Gender Clinic. It was adapted from a NSW resource originally developed by the Inner City Legal Centre.
