Thanks to the reforms of five years ago, WA is home to some of the most equitable and far-reaching laws regarding gay and lesbian individuals, partnerships and families. Nationally, there appears to be growing appetite for reform also, with the recent inquiry and subsequent report into same-sex discrimination released by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissions and strongly supported by a mainstream activist organisation – GetUp! Even deep within traditional bastion of political homophobia, there are growing calls for legislative reform to recognise and protect the rights of gay and lesbian Australians. Queer activists should be rightly proud of what’s been accomplished and hopeful of what may be still done. However, there is one group within the queer community that is too often forgotten, disengaged and unrepresented during in LGBT activism – the trans* community.
The current legal situation for trans* West Australians is deeply disturbing.
Many would be surprised to know that the law does not currently provide even the most basic protections against discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Individuals only receive protection against discrimination after they have completed the process of legally changing their sex – this in spite of the fact that it is during the process of transition that individuals are the most vulnerable. Compounding the problem is the fact that the current legislation makes it difficult, if not impossible for many to complete the process of legally correcting their sex. Trans* individuals must undergo prescribed surgeries before being legally recognised as a sex that is not their biological sex. Many of these surgeries are not available in Western Australia and may be unattainable due to medical or financial issues. Another requirement is that, in order not to ‘contradict’ the federal ban on same-sex marriage by default, a trans* person in a previous marriage must get a divorce before they can legally amend their sex.
As a result, there are a significant number of trans* people forced to negotiate the world with documentation that does not match their presentation – something that can present considerable risk to a person’s physical safety and wellbeing. Others are left facing impossible decisions to prioritise either their relationship or their personal identity. Anyone who does not amend their sex is left unprotected at law, and may continue to be referred to or treated as their previous sex by various organisations and government departments that they come into contact with.
There are also a whole host of issues outside of the law that present problems for trans* people – healthcare being one area in particular need of attention. Transition is an extremely expensive process, with considerable costs associated with hormones, surgeries and other necessary procedures. Elsewhere in the world, such as the US and the UK, many of these procedures can be accessed free of charge through the public health system. Not so here in WA. The cost – in terms of mental and emotional health – for those not in a financial position to transition is huge, with alarmingly high levels of substance abuse, mental illness and suicide. Knowledgeable and appropriate support services in WA are limited.
There is, fortunately, some glimmers of hope on the horizon. A recent review of the WA Equal Opportunity Act has recommended amendments to ensure that trans* people are protected from discrimination, and these are likely to be implemented by the government, although the timetable for doing so is not immediately clear. And whilst there has been a dearth of organised grass-roots trans* activism to lobby for change in WA over recent years, a new group – the WA Gender Project – has been formed and operational for slightly over a year and is currently working to build both the networks and momentum for change.
The reality is that trans* people do exist in both the queer and wider communities. They can be found everywhere – from queer events to the local suburban shopping centre. They similarly deserve all the rights and protections afforded to every other human being in the state. But as with the increasingly successful lobby for gay and lesbian reform, the key to success lies in numbers, persistence and intensity. Given the current legal and health situation for trans* West Australians then, it is due time for the queer community to get behind that oft-forgotten letter in the LGBT acronym and join trans-activists in the fight for what is fair and right for all.
Aram Hosie is the chair of the WA Gender Project.
