About

On the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, Teddy Cook, the Manager of Trans & Gender Diverse Equity at ACON, talks us through the latest developments in peer-led policy, research and law reform. In a context where trans women of colour and sex workers experience the greatest risk of violence, the conservative right is pushing for ‘religious freedom’ to discriminate, trans kids have born the brunt of backlash against marriage equality and our Prime Minister has opposed human rights guidelines for trans inclusion in sport, we discuss the role of grief, the need to end cis heteronormativity, toxic masculinity and white fragility, and strategies for mobilisation and justice. Teddy introduces new findings from the largest Australian sexual health survey for trans and gender diverse people and explains what a peer-led partnership approach looks like in methodology, design and process. He explains recent law reform achievements (and next steps) in changing birth certificates and accessing gender affirming care as well as new initiatives, including a specialised trans and gender diverse health service that offers peer-run, free, rapid, HIV/STI testing and hormone level testing. Whilst advocating for appropriate questions in data collection so we can ensure culturally competent care and tailored health programming, Teddy explores how we can shift away from deficit-based, pathologizing gatekeeper models and why we should be talking about gender euphoria instead of gender dysphoria.