Trans* Jersey

Press release: 2 June 2015

Trans* Jersey welcomes Jersey’s sex discrimination regulations that go further than the UK in their protections for people of non-binary genders.

rainbow-respect-375x250The States of Jersey have passed regulations today that expand the island’s anti-discrimination legislation to encompass sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation and pregnancy and maternity. The new regulations, due to come into force on 1 September 2015, give protection to transgender islanders, but also protect all those who do not identify with the gender binary of man or woman.

Jersey has gone further than the UK’s Equality Act by recognising that there are more than two sexes. The island’s regulations explicitly protect intersex people as well as men and women from discrimination under the protected characteristic of sex.

“This is an important inclusion that recognises a small and often misunderstood section of society. It makes clear the distinction between intersex and transgender people – a common misconception – and it allows those who were born neither biologically male nor female and who identify as intersex to do so, knowing that they do not have to choose man or woman if they do not want to and they will still be protected from discrimination under the law,” said Vic Tanner Davy, Founder of Trans* Jersey.

For the 1-2% of the population that experience some degree of gender dysphoria (a feeling that your gender identity does not match the gender role assigned to you by society), they are also given protection under the new regulations. Jersey’s regulations state that a person is transgender whether or not they intend to have medical intervention to transition. This, again, goes further than the UK in its protection.

Trans* Jersey’s founder, Vic Tanner Davy, said: “Not everyone who experiences gender dysphoria will take steps to do anything about it. As well as those who decide to transition, the regulations protect those who identify as any one of a number of genders that can be termed genderqueer from discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

“The trans* community in its widest sense is at its most vulnerable from physical and verbal abuse when it does not fit society’s ideal of men or women. This means that those early in their transition or those who cannot, or do not want to, transition are the most likely to experience discrimination. Jersey has recognised this and put in place protections. We are pleased that Jersey is leading the UK in this and we congratulate the States members on their decision today.”

Trans* Jersey is offering training sessions for organisations on how to deal with trans* employees and service users ahead of the new legislation coming in on 1 September 2015. They can be contacted by email: admin@transjersey.org

Trans* Jersey

UKIA-Trans* Jersey alliance

Trans* Jersey is very proud to announce that it has become an associate member of the UK Intersex Association (UKIA). The United Kingdom Intersex Association (UKIA) is an education, advocacy, campaigning and support organisation which works on behalf of Intersex people.

UKIAUKIA has the following aims:

  • to educate, inform and campaign in order to remove the shame, secrecy, social prejudice, ignorance and stigmatization that surround Intersex people;
  • to campaign against the pathologising and medicalisation of Intersex peoples’ lives;
  • to campaign against the use of surgery and other medical treatments for coercing Intersex people to physically conform to cultural definitions of “normal”;
  • to campaign against the widespread practice of withholding information from Intersex people regarding the medical implications of being born Intersex, where these exist;
  • to campaign for the same status and respect for human rights accorded to all others to be equally accorded to Intersex people.

As the above list of aims suggests, there is a lot of work to be done around educating people about what Intersex means and the reality of the lives Intersex people live, not least with the medical profession.

Many of the UKIA aims could apply equally to the trans* community, which is why Trans* Jersey sees this association with the UKIA as a good fit for the work being done in Jersey to improve the lives of all those who, for whatever reason, fall outside of the gender binary.

There are other aims that the UKIA highlights that are unique to the Intersex community and Trans* Jersey hopes to work with the UKIA to educate and inform the general public, the medical profession in Jersey and the States of Jersey about these specific requirements.

To support this work, Trans* Jersey has signed up to the following UKIA principles:

  • Total opposition to cosmetic surgery on intersex infants in an attempt to “normalise” their appearance;
  • Rejection of the concept that the human species exists as a physical binary (male & female) model and contends that anything which deviates from this stereotype is “abnormal”;
  • Accept that all individuals, whatever their identification (male, female, other etc.) are to be respected and have the right to equal opportunities both socially and occupationally;
  • Support the campaign to secure the rights of intersex people to change their birth registration to match their personal identification, rather than that which was chosen for them;
  • Rejection of the pathologisation of intersex conditions (such as the use of demeaning terminology e.g. “Hermaphrodite”, “Disorders of Sex Development (DSD)” etc.

It is hoped that together Trans* Jersey and the UKIA can make a difference to our island’s Intersex residents.

Trans* Jersey

Press release: 10 April 2015

Trans* Jersey highlights the need to provide options for people of non-binary genders.

1-2% of the population experience some degree of gender dysphoria (a feeling that your gender identity does not match the gender role assigned to you by society). Not everyone who experiences this misalignment will take steps to do anything about it. However, some will, and when they do they may wish to adopt a new title, such as “Mx”, a gender-neutral alternative to “Mr” or “Ms”.

When Erin Bisson, a Jersey trans woman, went to change the title on her documents with various organisations, she found that her preferred title of Mx was not always an option open to her and some seemed baffled by her request. Mx Bisson says: “It should not be difficult and, quite frankly, it should be by choice. Personally, I am so happy and proud to be transgender, and I would like my title to reflect that.”

200452424-001Trans* Jersey’s founder, Vic Tanner Davy, said: “I am not surprised by Erin’s experience. Unless you are trans* or know of someone who is, you may not realise that there are people who don’t identify as either a man or a woman. The Mx title allows those people whose gender is fluid to show ID documents that match their presentation, irrespective of whether their appearance is masculine or feminine on the day their ID has to be shown.”

Trans* Jersey is aware that the Social Security Department is currently looking into adding Mx as a gender-neutral option for customers. Vic Tanner Davy says: “It would be a very positive step towards equality for the trans* community if all the States departments could offer this option. If you are someone who has a title, like Senator, Advocate, Reverend or Doctor, and you have ever felt aggrieved when it is dropped or misused, you will understand how it feels to be called a title that does not correctly represent you. It is the same for trans* people.”

Whilst other organisations catch up, Mx Bisson has received her new debit card from NatWest and she is delighted. She said: “I was surprised. They handled it very quickly and, although there was a problem at first, they handled it very professionally, and I have a card with my preferred title on it.” NatWest are now training their employees on the use of Mx as an optional title.

Trans* Jersey is very happy to assist to any organisation who would like to offer gender-neutral options on forms and computer systems. They are also pleased to offer organisations training sessions on how to deal with trans* service users. They can be contacted by email: admin@transjersey.org

Trans* Jersey

Trans 100 2015 published

trans100logoThe Trans 100 for 2015 has been published. It is a “curated list of out trans people who are working on trans issues in the United States and having a positive impact”. The stories of the work being done contained in the document makes interesting and inspiring reading for anyone who is working for the trans community in whatever way.

Video Trans* Jersey

Hormone information

Information on hormones and hormone therapy from a US based gender therapist. Some of the advice offered is relevant to the USA only so you should use these videos as a general guide and check out the specifics of hormone therapy and your situation with your own gender therapist:

Trans* Jersey

Draft Sex Discrimination Law released

The Social Security Department has released a consultation draft of the Discrimination (Sex and Related Characteristics) (Jersey) Regulations today. The draft can be downloaded by clicking here.

The draft represents a great deal of hard work by the Social Security Ministers, Francis Le Gresley and Susie Pinel, and their team. It takes as its starting point the UK’s Equality Act 2010 but then improves upon it, taking into account areas where the Act falls short. Protection for transgender people is one of those areas and the draft has gone further than the UK in its recognition of the diversity of sex and gender by protecting both intersex and genderqueer people.

The highlights for trans* islanders are as follows:

  • Gender reassignment is a separate protected characteristic. So, even if we don’t identify as man or woman (the two genders mentioned under the protected characteristic of sex), we are still protected from discrimination (direct, indirect or harassment) because we have the characteristic of gender reassignment.
  • Intersex individuals are protected under the characteristic of sex. This is an addition Trans* Jersey asked for and recognises that there are more than two sexes and that being intersex is different from being trans*.
  • The regulations say:
      “A person has the protected characteristic [of gender reassignment] if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s gender by changing the person’s physiological or other attributes that are associated with a particular gender.”
      “A person who has the protected characteristic is known as a transgender person and persons who share the characteristic are known as transgender people.”
      “A person is a transgender person whether or not the person has or intends to have any medical intervention in order to change any attributes that are associated with a particular gender.”
  • This last paragraph protects the broadest population possible and gives protection to those trans* islanders who are genderqueer (ie. either have no wish to live as one particular gender or have no wish to fully transition to live as their recognised gender). This was something that Trans* Jersey asked for. As we know, living between genders is hard, whether through choice or because we are at an early stage in our transition. It is also when we are most likely to experience discriminatory behaviour.
  • The exceptions to prohibited acts mention gender reassignment in two places only. Otherwise, there are no exceptions, i.e. no circumstances under which it is acceptable to discriminate against a transgender person.
  • One exception is to allow religious organisations who do not wish to recruit a transgender person as a minister of religion to do so without being prosecuted. However, religious organisations may not discriminate in the provision of services to transgender people or in employing them in other capacities in the organisation.
  • The other exception is to allow Jersey sporting organisations working under national or international competition rules (that may have specific clauses regarding trans participation) to comply with those rules without being prosecuted. Unfortunately, the sporting arena is an area that is a minefield for trans sportsmen and women with a lot of myths about trans people’s physicality still persisting. The International Olympic Committee (one of the more progressive) allow trans competitors so long as they possess their gender recognition certificate, have had hormone therapy for at least two years and have had surgery. (You can find out more about various sporting organisations’ policies here.) Fortunately, for those of us who are not elite atheletes, the draft regulations do not allow your local sports club to discriminate against you participating in sport for fun as your recognised gender.

sportIf you have any queries about how the draft regulations might work in practice, please email admin@transjersey.org and we’ll do our best to answer them.