Wednesday, 15 November 2023

Ministers statements: Trans Awareness Week

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (12:05): I rise today in my capacity as Minister for Equality to share the really important celebration, commemoration and engagement that we have this week as part of Trans Awareness Week. It is so important when we have conversations about the life experiences of transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse people that we are talking with a sense of engagement, respect and understanding around the importance of safety and inclusion. This week we collectively acknowledge, recognise, celebrate and amplify the voices of trans and gender-diverse communities. Sunday marked the first day of Trans Awareness Week, which is taking place from 13 to 19 November and culminating in the Trans Day of Remembrance on the 20th, an opportunity to reflect on lives lost, including as a result of systemic violence, discrimination, harassment, injury and exclusion.

When we talk about the progress that we have made, it is important also for everybody to commit to supporting and to making space for trans and gender-diverse people. This morning at Parliament it was a significant sign of progress to host Transcend Australia, its CEO Jeremy Wiggins and the extraordinary Frankie and her amazing mum Patrice. Frankie is 15. She is an exemplary leader. She is somebody who is prepared to share her vulnerability and her lived experience – the bullying and harassment and exclusion that she experienced from year 2 onwards, before finding the support, the care and the inclusion that she deserves. She and her mum are two such examples of why it is so important to make and to keep trans kids safe. That is something to think about not just this week in Trans Awareness Week but every day of every year.