2. “… I h
av
trappe e felt like a
d
g
was fi in a girl’s b ay boy
ve an
d don ody since I
why ..
't un
.t
be an here doesn derstand
yb
't
or wh ody who un seem to
oI
d
me ev can talk to erstands
. It af
eryda
fects
y.”
t
ors s
w a
he ce h
T
“... judi from
pre ome ious d
c lig an
re ds s.”
n
e
frie lativ
re
“(follo
wing a
n assa
police
u
imagin ) just could lt the
e
n
how I or really de ot
al
co
they w uld be feel with
i
Trans ere uneduc ng as
is s
ate
pacifie ues. I felt u d in
nh
d and
patron eard,
ised.”
3. “there is hope on the horizon that
young transpeople will not have to
tolerate what we have gone through;
but other areas of concern have not
changed and it is the job of this report
to highlight those areas.”
Krys Vere-Bujnowski
Former Co-chair, SWTEN
4. ‘Gender dysphoria’
Identification with or wish to be considered as
their true gender (not that assigned at birth)
A spectrum of identities – gender variance
Emerging evidence: brain anatomy and
physiology in transsexual people develops in
the womb. (Atypical Gender Development – A Review,
International Journal of Transgenderism)
Not a mental illness, but is often treated as
one by medical profession
5. Trans-lation
Transsexual - someone whose gender
dysphoria is such that they need to deal with it
through transitioning – usually with medical
assistance - to a gender role different from that
assigned to them at birth.
Transgender - a broader term that includes all
those who experience some degree of gender
variance, in most cases requiring no medical
intervention (GIRES 2009)
6. Trans people ...
Are all over the world – not just a Western thing
Have existed always - through recorded history
Cross all economic and social boundaries
Are part of a natural variation
Want no more than to be themselves, in peace
Are entitled to dignity, respect and
confidentiality
7. Current legislation
Human Rights Act 1998
Article 8: right to respect for private & family life
Article 12: right to marry and found a family
Gender Recognition Act 2004
• GR Certificate: able to change birth certificate
Equality Act 2010
• Protected characteristic ‘Gender reassignment’
• No need to be under medical supervision
8. UK Statistics
Are far from accurate - best estimate approx 21 in
every 100,000 people are transsexual (GIRES)
A school with 1,000 pupils will have 6 who experience
gender dysphoria during their lives.
Others likely to have transgender parent or relative
80% of trans people have encountered problems (The
Equalities Review 2007)
34.4% said they thought about or attempted suicide or
self harm (The Equalities Review 2007)
9. Early years
Children usually know how they fit within the
gender spectrum by about age 4 or 5. (GIRES)
When young the common experience (is) having
no-one to talk to, or no-one who could be trusted
to listen... (SWTEN report)
“I have felt like a gay boy trapped in a girl’s body
since I was five and don't understand why… My
head is messed up over this stuff and there doesn't
seem to be anybody who understands or who I can
talk to. It affects me everyday.” (young PP&T
contributor)
10. Early years
80% of those who go on to transition knew by the time
they were 8 years old that their gender identity was at
odds with society’s perception (Gender Identity Research &
Education Society)
“...the school environment and community (has a key
role) in securing or undermining the well-being of
Transgender children and young people”.
“Problems during school years create barriers for
individuals in fulfilling their academic, creative,
professional and economic potential”. (SWTEN report)
11. Puberty and the ‘pause
button’
Changes at puberty “can be terrifying and repulsive to a
transgendered person”.
International Endocrine Society (IES) – recommends
‘puberty blocking’ for some young trans people
"People are always afraid that (puberty blocking) will be
harmful for the children. But what they never take into account
is that it is also harmful to not give them this treatment.”
Clinics in Australia, Canada, Germany, the U.S. and
the UK have started to offer treatment to young trans
people to prevent the onset of puberty.
12. Transition
Process of moving towards living in true
identity
A fundamental, extremely stressful, life change
Typically Loss of friends, jobs, family, home - often all in one go
Male/female socialisation needs to be unlearned and new
behaviours acquired
Required to live in identity for 2 yrs prior to
medical treatment
Hormone therapy and surgery not widely
available in UK for under 18s
13. Vulnerability to
Social exclusion, bullying, abuse
Isolation
Loss of essential emotional support – family
Loss of security – home and employment
Loss of confidence and self-esteem
Risks to mental and physical health and wellbeing
Self-harm and suicide: overall attempted
suicide rate 34%; 50% for teenagers (SWTEN
report).
14. Health and well-being:
Messages from PP&T
• Local support services/groups are important
• All service providers/all sectors - publicise and
practise trans inclusiveness
• All staff (and volunteers) need awareness
training, and to practice respect
• GPs: attitudes and clinical knowledge key surgery-based trans specialists
• Mental health services: more counselling, more
timely, more Trans aware
15. Health and well-being:
Messages from SWTEN
Early intervention in schools to create a specific,
proactive, committed response to the needs of
Transgender young people, including
• active anti-bullying policies
• police working with schools to address trans issues of
safety
• awareness training for staff and governors
• trans issues described and introduced into PHSE and
other (e.g. Science) parts of the curriculum
16. How you can help
Visibly embrace diversity as an individual and/or
organisation (e.g. E&D posters)
Have up to date anti-discriminatory and antibullying policies that are publicised and enforced
Make it easy to report Transphobic incidents
Spread awareness and understanding – training
for staff and service users
Provide a mentor who can help trans people –
good pastoral care
17. “It takes so much
to
strength and courage
s
keep going as a Tran
tle
person that there’s lit
e.”
room for anything els
(SWTEN report)
judice
rst pre gious
wo
“...The e from reli
m
has co nd relatives.”
a
friends
PP&T
“... those closest to trans
people often have the most
difficulty accepting gender
transition...” PP&T
Support from
education bodies is
vital in meeting the
needs and
promoting the wellbeing of
Transgender
children and young
people. (SWTEN
report)
The exp
eri
years ha ences of early
ve
effect on a profound
individu
als’ self
develop
ment ...
(SWTEN
report)
“I c
h
gen ose to
d
shie er ide conce
a
n
from ld my tity co l my
fa
n
PP& abuse mily a flict to
T
or a nd m
ttac
y
k.” self
18. Ruth’s Story
Ruth was born in a male body but knew from
the age of 16 that she wanted to be a woman.
Learn about her hormone treatment and
surgery, and how she feels now:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Genderdysphoria/Pages/Introduction.aspx?r=1&rtitle=Gender+dysphoria++Introduction
20. Some useful links
The Beaumont trust:
http://www.beaumontsociety.org.uk/help_and_advice.html
GIRES - Information for trans people, their families and the
professionals who care for them: http://www.gires.org.uk/
Press for Change: http://www.pfc.org.uk/
NHS website: An Introduction to working with Transgender people:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@d
h/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_074254.pdf
SW Transgender Equality Network – to get involved and find out
more, including local groups, research and general information:
http://www.equalitysouthwest.org.uk/transgender
Transgender Information: transgender.information@yahoo.co.uk
Text: 0781 609 3291
Notas do Editor
Transgender contributors to Pride Progress and Transformation
Fore word to “Transgender: Dimensions of Inequality in the South West”
Transgender is an umbrella term, that is meant to be all encompassing.
Some people start their journey living as a transvestite or in certain situations in a gender role, some feel they need to go further and take hormones and have surgery.
To be covered by Equality Law there is no legal requirement for you to be under any form of medical supervision.
Trans people may be aware of “being different” from peers from a very early age. And if there is an intention to reassign then they may start to be come cross gender behaviour i.e. cross-dressing.
GIRES – Gender Variance in the UK: Prevalence, Incidence, Growth, and Geographic distribution 2009
We need to be very clear that this is not a mental illness. Because of the stress that people experience, both with physical changes, drugs, rejection by friends and family, and the loss of their support system, it does mean that Trans people often experience mental health issues, but these are not the root cause. We will come back to this later.
Article 8: the right to respect for your private and family life, your home and correspondence
Article 12: the right marry and found a family
Illegal to ask someone whether they have a Gender recognition certificate. This allows you to change your birth certificate, however, not all members of Trans community want to get one –divorce partner if you do get one.
You can acquire a valid UK passport in your acquired gender
In any school with 1,000 pupils, 6 will experience transgenderism during their lives. There are likely to be others who have a transgender parent or relative.
It is VERY difficult to collect data amongst the Trans community as they are fiercely protective of their confidentiality – particularly the transgender/cross-dressing community.
Engendered Penalties – Whittle, Turner and Al-Alami – The Equalities Review, Feb 2007
Our LGB Network and Transgender Network were involved in a regional piece of work, called pride, progress and transformation which looked examined the peoples experiences in the SW and what the issues are here.
.
The International Endocrine Society (IES) 1 issued a draft set of guidelines in early 2008-DEC. 2 They are co-sponsored by the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE), The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), and Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (LWPES).
The guidelines recommend that some transgendered children as young as 12 years-of-age should be given medication to avoid puberty. This would greatly simplify sex reassignment surgery if they decide to undergo it later in adulthood.
The main benefit from puberty blockers would be to avoid the inevitable body changes caused by puberty. For example, a male-to-female (MTF) transexual could avoid having her voice deepen, a masculine bone structure appear, her Adam's Apple enlarge, and hair growth on her face. A female-to-male (FTM) could avoid developing breasts, feminine shaped hips, and female bone structure elsewhere. Without these bodily changes, there would be less to correct during sex reassignment surgery.
Another benefit of putting off puberty would be that the individual would be more mature and capable of making a settled decision in their mid-teens rather than their pre-teens. If, at the age of 16 or so, they decide to not proceed with sex reassignment surgery when they are adults, they can stop the puberty blocker medication and go through puberty.
Blockers are now offered, but only after very extensive counselling, in the UK.
Peggy Cohen-Kettenis of the Free University of Amsterdam Medical Center
http://www.religioustolerance.org/transsexu17.htm
Male / Female socialisation - One of the things Network members often comment on is how you have to get used to people speaking to you differently, for example the way men speak to men is very different to the ways men speak to women.
Often you have to live for 2 years before they will prescribe you hormone therapy – this also presents people with difficulties as some people feel they need to have the hormones to have the confidence to live in their desired gender.
Blockers are available earlier than this, and many transpeople who wish to permanently reassign may take hormones they have acquired off the internet – they are that desperate.
Before and during transition many people feel very vulnerable which can be increased depending on a number of factors.
NB – Have a genuine understanding of, and a commitment to Trans inclusiveness. I.e. not just ticking boxes!